Jerilee Wei

In 1609, Captain John Smith encountered a rather unpleasant plant on American soil. After observing the horrible, itchy rash that developed upon contact with its leaves, he coined the term "poison ivy." The scientific name for the plant is Toxicodendron radicans, which carries an irritating, oily sap called urushiol. Urushiol causes an allergic reaction upon contact, and creates fluid filled blisters on any skin unfortunate enough to have wandered too near the plant.

Have you ever taken a human family member to the local doctor, only for this physician to smile, treat you like a valued customer, then turn around and say that your family member has no business living with you on national television? I’m guessing not. But that is exactly what is occurring in the new Nat Geo Wild program, Dr. K’s Exotic Animal ER, a show that features the daily life of a veterinarian that exclusively sees patients that are not dogs and cats.

From satellite photos, Antarctica appears to be a white, snow-covered and featureless continent. Covered by glaciers and racked by unimaginably cold weather, this continent can be easily described as inhospitable. Yet, life exists in some of the most extreme parts of this frozen land. And some these life forms-- albeit small -- have spectacular ways to make themselves known.