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The world’s largest organism - Alex Rosenthal

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The largest animal in the world is the blue whale, which weighs a massive 150 metric tons. Even so, it’s not remotely close to being the largest organism by weight. That title goes to an organism so huge that it’s estimated to weigh the equivalent of 40 blue whales. So what is this behemoth? And… where is it? Alex Rosenthal shares the story of the enormous and ancient Pando.


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About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Alex Rosenthal
  • Director Lisa LaBracio
  • Narrator Jack Cutmore-Scott
  • Music André Aires
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Fact-Checker Eden Girma
Additional Resources for you to Explore
Before we can learn more about Pando it is important to understand and know more about Pando’s tree family. Aspens are a strong and long living tree that can be found throughout Canada and the United States. Learn more about this resilient tree by looking here. During Pando’s long life it has had to face lots of threats. It survived fires, earthquakes, changes to the environment and even dodged the last ice age. The one threat that Pando can’t seem to avoid is us. Human existence has threatened Pando’s continued survival and as our population continues to grow we, directly or indirectly, become more of a threat to Pando’s future. Sadly scientists feel that Pando is slowly dying, but there are those working to save it. Seeing what we are doing to Pando should make us all examine what damage we might be causing to the environment that we interact with. Take a virtual visit to Pando and see how beautiful it is.

Customize this lesson

Create and share a new lesson based on this one.

About TED-Ed Animations

TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Alex Rosenthal
  • Director Lisa LaBracio
  • Narrator Jack Cutmore-Scott
  • Music André Aires
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Fact-Checker Eden Girma

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