Movies by Herbert Ostwald

Detecting Danger: Africa's Giant Rats

Detecting Danger: Africa's Giant Rats

Africa's giant rats – the size of a cat – can be trained to detect land-mines by smelling them. Giant rats are clever and they learn fast. Their sense of smell is better than a dog's, they have more stamina, and they're a lot cheaper to train. This documentary follows "Miss Marple", who was born in a training lab and who goes through a year's training before being sent on her first mission to Mozambique. A shorter version (43 minutes) screened at festivals in 2009 but was never widely released.

Caravan of the Books: Kenya's Mobile Camel Library

Caravan of the Books: Kenya's Mobile Camel Library

A library on four legs, the world's only existing Camel Library is located in Northern Kenya. As they pass antelopes and giraffes, the heavily loadedcaravan of camels are routinely carrying books through the rough savannah.In the villages with their houses of mud and dung these tenacious desert ships are wishfully awaited by the people of the nomadic Muslim tribes. Under the shade of acacia trees, especially the children are excitedly turning pages of school books, novels and comics. However, 400 kilometers outside of the capital city of Na...

The Real Guinea Pig

The Real Guinea Pig

The story of this amazingly social and cunning creature ranges from the altars of ancient rituals to the bedrooms of countless kids, and from its status as the sacred animal of the Inca to research model for human society. This upbeat and humorous documentary portrays the Guinea pigs as pets and wild animals who are at home especially in the Andes and other regions of South America.

Klappern gehört zum Geschäft: Europas größtes Storchendorf

Klappern gehört zum Geschäft: Europas größtes Storchendorf

Baboon Bandits: Monkey Alert in South Africa

Baboon Bandits: Monkey Alert in South Africa

Jimmy is a burglar and a loner, Long-Fingered Fred excels in breaking into cars, while Merlin prefers to target restaurants. Meet the alpha males of the infamous Smits Baboon Gang.