Baby Mammoth 2

Baby Mammoth 2 is a National Geographic documentary from San Francisco Distribution, produced by Adrienne Ciuffo at WOOLLYWORKS INC. Production Company, and directed by Pierre Stine.

Synopsis

This National Geographic documentary explores the intriguing question: Will we ever be able to bring extinct species back from the dead?

The frozen body of a baby woolly mammoth discovered last year in Arctic Russia has provided the first detailed internal look at a prehistoric mammal. The remarkably preserved mammoth calf is named Lyuba, after the wife of the hunter who found the 37,000-year-old carcass in the remote Yamalo-Nenetsk region in May 2007.

The oxygen-deprived environment of its final resting place, likely a watery marsh or bog, prevented decay and kept it intact save for only its tail and shaggy coat. Estimated to be just three to four months old when it died, the female has now been returned to Russia from Japan after undergoing computer tomography (CT) scans. The Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo produced 3-D images of Lyuba's innards, including her heart, liver, and other organs.

Labs in the United States, Canada, and Russia are set to work on DNA samples from the fossil in a bid to decode the complete genome of mammoths. Techniques developed during this genetic research could one day help in bringing extinct species back from the dead.

Lyuba's long-term legacy could help mankind pay his debt to the extinct animals of historical times.

Work

Lumière VFX created a great number of photorealistic mammoths to make this documentary come to life. Our team was involved in every step of the 3D production. Moreover, the visual effects are a result of the creative and technical skills of our artists, who had the ability to produce several different elements, such as the fur of those prehistoric creatures, and the way they interact with their environment. Finally, Lumière's work wasn't strictly about bringing those animals to life, but also to integrate them perfectly into spectacular landscapes.

Links

• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/04/080411-baby-mammoth.html
• http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070711-mammoth-picture.html

Credits

Visual Effects by Lumière VFX, Inc.