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The reintroduction of takhi horses to the Mongolian steppes, where they had roamed for millennia before going extinct in the wild in the 1960s, is often thought of as a great accomplishment of the animal conservation movement. However, as this brief animated history of the takhi from TED-Ed explains, a closer look at the story raises some complex questions about the meaning of conservation, the role of zoos and the best way to keep wild animal populations thriving. For instance: can a population of animals descended from captive breeding programmes, and closely watched and controlled to ensure their perpetuation, truly be considered wild? And, in the instance of the takhi, can these newly released horses even be considered the same animal?
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Death
Even in modern secular societies, belief in an afterlife persists. Why?
9 minutes
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Nature and landscape
Take a serene hike through an ancient forest, inspired by a Miyazaki masterpiece
6 minutes
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Design and fashion
The mundane becomes mesmerising in this deep dive into segmented displays
14 minutes
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Physics
A song of ice, fire and jelly – exploring the physics and history of the trumpet
9 minutes
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Architecture
Tour the European architecture that dreamed of a wondrous, fictitious China
16 minutes
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Spirituality
Trek alongside spiritual pilgrims on a treacherous journey across Pakistan
6 minutes
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Thinkers and theories
Photographs offer a colonialist window to the past – one that must be challenged
14 minutes
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Animals and humans
An artist and ants collaborate on an exhibit of ‘tiny Abstract Expressionist paintings’
5 minutes
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Mathematics
How a curious question about colouring maps changed mathematics forever
9 minutes