Richard Kurin on the Importance of Pandas

A hammerhead shark locates a stingray hiding beneath the ocean floor. Unnerved, the stingray makes a dash for freedom but is it too late?

Hammerhead vs. Stingray (2:25)

Whale milk is some of the richest milk available to any mammal. A baby whale will drink 150 gallons of it a day to sustain its dramatic growth.

Baby Humpbacks Need 150 Gallons of Whale Milk a Day (2:51)

The hagfish is a slime-emitting ocean-dweller that's remained unchanged for 300 million years--and it shows. It has a skull (but no spine), velvet smooth skin, and a terrifying pit of a mouth that's lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

The Hagfish Is the Slimy Sea Creature of Your Nightmares (3:00)

In 1828, John Jacob Astor built a trading post on the Missouri River. Business was so profitable that it only took four decades for Astor to become America's first multimillionaire.

America's First Multimillionaire (2:49)