A Celebration of Blue

From butterflies to volcanoes to ancient indigo, we’re seeing the world through blue-tinted glasses in this reel.

Video Script:: 

[Music] [Applause] this is the hyacinth macaw it's big it's bright and it's vulnerable to lots of threats the largest parrot by length in the world it can grow up to 40 inches their feathers are a beautiful striking blue unfortunately their good looks have made them highly desirable in the illegal pet trade fetching upwards of 10,000 dollars hyacinths are native to Central and South America primarily in the scrublands at the outskirts of the rainforest it is an affectionate bird but its powerful beak carries over 200 pounds of pressure per square inch strong enough to crack a coconut their diet in the wild consists mostly of nuts from native palms beyond being a hot commodity in the pet trade hyacinths are watching their habitats get converted to farmland leaving them less and less space to live this is the hyacinth macaw [Music] this is indigo real indigo jeans they're died from a chemical but real indigo straight from the plant has its roots in samurai culture and it's highly prized in Japan yep this story is all about the real color blue but it's not as dull as it sounds [Music] Tokushima Japan is located in the southwest of the country and for centuries it has been known for its indigo due to the yoshinogawa River which flows underground warming the soil indigo started gaining popularity in the early 1600s and was commonly used by samurais so do are you doing the silikal tunnel that you thought you Illuminati but it's got a yo-yo kisser this is Osama knee he's a sixth generation indigo plant grower totally stunning is name is alamelu so you know minutes with the most biggest of them all Kiki's demo can I go to say agua real indigo was also used for firefighters clothing because it's flame-retardant up to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit to produce indigo ink the leaves must be harvested and then dried in the Sun and flipped repeatedly with a broom until they turn a navy he'll be eating it got a physical to send us there because of this Osamu is one of the last five in new grow growers in the region the practice is time-consuming and labor-intensive so former growers have turned to cheaper chemical alternatives but the thing is with real indigo the color you can achieve is unparalleled this is Toshi haru furusho he's a fabric tire yaya submitted Talkies even given about same day some attention when i was taken over by he is able to pull out an incredible range of blues from the natural ink from a nearly black blue they called nano arrow to deep ocean Hughes called catchy arrow achieving these colors though is not easy I don't know need Toco Toco his commitment to his craft can be seen in his hands his nails are eternally stained blue from nearly 50 years of working with the die tomorrow why was da meet I wonder what do you know this man I know Sam oh he's not hanging his trial yet up either yeah buddy Pocoyo Suzuka think OTO who know Iman okay no I saw no kimochi is good you know yes hi bye number 2 good luck to you Shekar enough didn't [Music] with the lifespan able to reach as old as 69 these iguanas can live as long as humans this is the Grand Cayman blue iguana found only in Grand Cayman the largest and westernmost of the Cayman Islands their blue skin becomes more prominent when establishing territory when other iguanas are nearby males turn especially bright blue during breeding season but their blue skin isn't their only defining feature they have striking red eyes and excellent vision which enables them to notice shapes and movement at long distances listed as endangered due to human activity habitat loss and being preyed upon by free roaming predators such as dogs cats and rats these beautiful blue lizards face an uphill battle against extinction this is the Grand Cayman blue iguana [Music] [Music] remember Finding Nemo the movie that introduced us to clownfish dory the absent-minded sidekick now has her own movie but marine conservationists they're not excited they're actually kind of worried this right here is a blue tang the real-life dory they only live on coral reefs in the South Pacific but before we get to her story let's talk about Nemo the clownfish when Finding Nemo came out well okay I'll let Karen tell you I'm Karen Burke da Silva I'm a marine biologist and a conservation biologists here at Flinders University of South Australia so what happened with Finding Nemo after the release of Finding Nemo we found that there was quite a big increase in the number of people that wanted a clownfish as a pet with the increase in demand it did have an increase in captive breeding but it also meant that more fish were being taken from the wild and in fact some places there's been so much over collecting that clownfish have gone locally extinct oh so captive breeding seems like the way to go back to Dory the blue tang if her movie has the same effect as Nemo's moviegoers are sure to want to buy a blue tang of their own but there's a problem and you are my name is Matt de Maggio I'm a assistant professor at the University of Florida truffle aquaculture laboratory ok Matt so what's the problem clownfish are relatively easy to raise in captivity but up until now no one has raised blue tags in captivity blue tang larvae are inherently difficult to raise they have a very small mouth when they hatch out so the food particles that we have to offer them are much smaller and much more difficult to raise the best success we've had to date is using a Zoe plankton called a copepod the copepods that we grow here only eat live microalgae so you not have to grow live microalgae feed to the copepods basically raising blue tank so far is really really hard which means a hundred percent of blue tang are currently being taken from the wild for the aquarium trade most collectors in Australia will use very careful collecting measures in other parts of the world Southeast Asia they are using cyanide still to collect aquarium fish that's not good but there's hope Matt and his team are working hard to breathe blue tangs successfully there's only one other tank species the yellow tang that's ever been raised in captivity before we're hoping that the blue tang will be the second alright so until they do when little Johnny says he wants a Dory perhaps the better choice for now at least is to stick to the blue betta or a goldfish [Music] [Music] what may look like a beautiful green oasis is actually the top of an active volcano [Music] located in Java Indonesia is the collagen volcano at its top sits a highly acidic crater lake the water is 90 degrees Fahrenheit and appears bluish green no species live in or around the water as the conditions are too harsh for nature to survive at night a rare phenomenon can be seen unlike any other volcano in the world collagen emits what appears to be bright blue flames this blue glow is not caused by lava but instead from a combustion of sulfuric acids once the gas is cool a bright yellow sulphur forms which is mined and sold miners use steel bars to break off portions of the sulfur and carry up to 200 pounds back down the volcano the emitted gases are toxic if inhaled making this strenuous work incredibly dangerous while this unique volcano may be home to one of the world's most grueling jobs it is also a sight worth seeing [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] this butterfly was once thought to be extinct though rediscovered it remains one of the world's rarest and most elusive butterflies this is the palos verdes blue butterfly this butterfly is as elusive as it is beautiful and the brilliance of its blue wings are only visible when it opens them the wings are distinctive with their brilliant silvery blue color the butterfly was thought to be extinct in the 1980s when it seemed to disappear without a trace it wasn't until the 1990s that this visually striking butterfly was spotted again biologists were surprised and delighted in its existence and a breeding program was begun to build up the species though captive breeding has helped bolster numbers the population is still low enough to remain on the endangered list through careful nurturing and management this small but mighty butterfly has a fighting chance this is the palos verdes blue butterfly you