Their blood has saved millions of human lives. Ours is ending theirs

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]The blood of this animal has tested every vaccine you have ever received. It is bright blue. It clots instantly around bacterial toxins. 600,000 horseshoe crabs are caught for blood each year. Each one is drained of about 30% of its blood.

[00:00:20]The horseshoe crab existed 200 million years before the first dinosaur. The Atlantic population has fallen by half in three decades.

[00:00:30]Synthetic alternatives now exist, but are still not in full use. The blue color comes from copper, not iron.

[00:00:37]They survive the bleeding, but many die [music] after release. Subscribe to follow species the medical industry depends on.

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