Following the path of the condor, whose ten-foot wingspan enables it to soar effortlessly over the peaks of the Andes mountains, this film starts at the storm beaten rocks of Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America and journeys north to the highest peak in the Americas - Aconcagua. Along the way, we see exotic animals and birds such as the penguin, hummingbird, sea otter, guanaco, ostrich-like rhea, and puma.
While the cold waters of the Pacific Coast of South America are among the richest in the world, the shore is the driest desert in the world. Yet it is not at all devoid of life. Lizards snatch morsels from the waves, and seagulls fly 40 miles into the desert to nest. The condor searches for carrion and vampire bats feed on the blood of sleeping sea lions. This is a beautiful portrait of a giant land.
The third part of the series is a spectacular visual trip down the fabled river. From the snow-clad summit of the volcano Cotopaxi and others comes the greatest river in the world as melting ice creates a torrent that drops three miles in its first short distance. The river is fed by magnificent waterfalls and is channeled through gorges out into the tropical rain forest where there are more species of birds than anywhere.
Examines the fragile ecology of the Caribbean area in a unique and vivid look at the forces affecting this area's ecological balance, such as hurricanes, volcanoes, the continuing evolution of different wildlife and man's influence. International agreements and commissions created to protect the Caribbean area are also covered.
Surveying Costa Rica's Monte Verde preserve, which contains some 200 varieties of trees, including 300-ft. oaks. Animal life includes deadly scorpions; army ants; and plumed quetzals, sacred bird of the Maya civilization.
The first of the series takes us back to the 13th Century to explore medieval superstitions of ancient "naturalists." Frederick II of Hohenstaufen had a passion for falconry that resulted in his immense illustrated book De Arte Venandi Cum Artibus (On the Art of Hunting With Birds.) Series host is Dr. Donald Johanson, noted paleoanthropologist and director of the Institute of Human Origins in Berkeley, California.
Theologians and clerics in the 17th and 18th centuries were among the first to study animal behavior. John Ray began in the 1600's to catalog "the work of the Creation," starting with plants and later including birds. Sir Francis Willoughby continued this work. Rev. Gilbert White studied bird songs, Charlie LeRoy experimented with wolves and deer, and Charles Waterton wrote about jungle animals.
In 1848, Charles Darwin began the quest to understand the mysteries of the animal mind. Following Darwin's achievement - suggesting a plausible process for evolution: natural selection - Lewis Henry Morgan discovered evidence of cogitation in beavers. George Romanes experimented with fish, cats, and dogs, Douglas Spalding with newborn chicks, all finding apparent mental activity. Meanwhile Jacques Loeb attempted to prove animals "mindless."
First there is a re-creation of Ivan Pavlov's experiments which led to the discovery of the "conditioned reflex." Then we see the investigation by Otto Pfungst of "Kluge Hans" (Clever Hans) a horse whose apparent knowledge of arithmetic was actually response to subtle signals from his trainer. We also see dramatizations of Thomdike's experiments with chicks, Watson's with terns, and B. F. Skinner's famed work at Harvard in the thirties.
Continuing with the exploration of animal communication we see recreations of Karl von Frisch unraveling the language of honey bees. Julian Huxley, who discovered a possible language in the ritual movements of great-crested grebes, Konrad Lorenz who recorded the visual language of geese, and Niko Tinbergen, who studied the habits of hunting wasps and together with Esther Cullen recorded the relationship of temperament in birds to their habitat.
Scientists have long attempted to discover why animals rarely live alone. Animal society seems to be based on despotic rule by the strongest, tempered by the powerful attractive forces of sex. Portrayals of Thorlief Schjelderup-Ebbe, Solly Zuckerman, Clarence Ray Carpenter, Frank Fraser Darling, William Hamilton, and Amotz Zahavi, show the contributions of each of these men towards understanding the puzzle.
The vast areas of kelp growing on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean provide a vital food source for countless creatures.
As an agent of decay, fungi performs a function essential to life on earth.
A great variety of wildlife species live in and around the thorny acacia trees on the African plains.
Wildlife photographer Hugh Miles finds an opportunity to film a female otter on one of the remote Shetland islands.
Insects such as the beetle, firefly and moth make use of their natural chemicals as weapons against their enemies.
The time-honored and ritualistic relationship of the highland peoples of Papua, New Guinea, to the birds of paradise is examined.
A look at this large bird’s life cycle, from hatching in the Scottish highlands through migration to Africa and its annual return to Scotland.
Examined is the giant industry of bee cultivation in the U.S. and its relation to the billions of dollars annually at stake in the alfalfa crop.
An examination of the effects of alien plants and animals on Florida’s resident wildlife, agriculture, commerce and health.
An examination of the nest-building habits of birds in various parts of the world.
The life cycle of the bumblebee is compared to that of humans in order to explain the “energy crisis” confronting the insects.
The will of wildlife to survive is documented by photographers Stanley Breedon and Belinda Wright at the Keola Deo National Park in India during one of the droughts that occurs every 20 to 30 years when the monsoons do not come.
An exploration of the sunken Japanese war machinery destroyed by the Allies during World War II in the South Pacific, which provides an environment for underwater plant and animal life.
An examination of the Indonesian volcanic island Krakatoa, focusing on the global effects of the disastrous 1883 eruption that was heard 3,000 miles away and killed 36,000 people.
How the war between Iran and Iraq is threatening the fragile ecology of the Persian Gulf.
How various species of plant life lure insects and animals to effect the pollination process.
Explores the varieties of plant and animal life found in the Seychelles, a 90-island archipelago in the Indian Ocean, described in 1609 as “an earthly paradise”.
Examines the variety of plants and animals living in the Sargasso Sea, a gigantic floating bed of seaweed near Bermuda.
Natural history photographer Wolfgang Bayer documents a winter spent in Yellowstone National Park.
Describes how wildlife copes with the challenge of cold weather by storing food building layers of fat, hibernating or merely fleeing for a warmer climate
Explores Mt. Kilimanjaro from top to bottom including craters, mysterious melting glaciers, a volcano, and the distinct ecozones ranging from the plains to the summit, which contain differing types of vegetation and wildlife.
An examination of the Danube delta on the Black Sea where industrialization threatens the areas wildlife.
Examines the breeding and nesting cycles of Africa’s Bateleur eagles.
A look at the unusual plant and animal life on Kinabalu, Borneo's highest mountain.
A survey of the birds that cannot fly, some of which have evolved highly efficient means of travel on land and water.
An exploration of life forms, flourishing in the tropical islands of Palau, including schools of jellyfish.
African elephants are observed on a risky trek to a cave that provides salts and minerals necessary to their diets.
A study of the history and plight of the rhinoceros, one of the most seriously endangered species on earth.
The use of new camera lenses and special video techniques makes it possible for viewers to see the world as animals and insects observe it.
This profile of the world's most popular household pet, the dog, examines a special, centuries old relationship.
An exploration of a windy semi-desert in southwest Africa notable for its beautiful flowers.
Torrential rains flood Kenya’s Tsavo Plain triggering a cycle of animal and plant regeneration that flowers in the short period before the next drought.
How plants and their leaves adapt to different climates, predatory animals and man.
A five-year chronicle of India’s endangered gharial crocodile.
The year-long sojourn of artist and naturalist Keith Brockie on Scotland's Isle of May is captured on film.
An exploration of the ecosystem of Central America's rain forest.
An exploration of the scientific research into the nutritional, medicinal and economic value of plants.
An examination of the diverse plants and animals that have adapted to the harsh environment of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa.
A visit to Brazil's national park Emas, home to a unique collection of rare and unusual wildlife.
The huge mating flocks of the East African quelea, feared by farmers almost as much as they fear locusts.
A look at sea creatures of the Arctic including planktonic animals, small crustaceans, seals, belugas, tucked narwhals and polar bears.
After the nine-month Arctic winter, lemmings, hares, foxes and caribous become active to raise their young.
A study of man’s relationship with the Arctic and its wildlife.
Wolfgang Bayer focuses on the native giant saguaro cactus of the southwestern United States.
The sophisticated trapping mechanism of the main group of carnivorous plants.
A look at the trembling aspen, a widely distributed poplar found in more regions of North America than any other tree.
The fragile ecosystem of the great African rainforest of Korup in Cameroon.
Chronicling a weeklong series of bird-watching activities at sites that include the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades, Tampa Bay Island and Port Orange.
Wildlife cinematographer Wolfgang Bayer focuses on the Laysan Albatross of the Hawaiian Islands.
A five year study of the golden eagle, Britain's largest bird of prey, in the Scottish highlands.
An examination of the vultures of Africa's Serengeti plain and the rainforests of South America.
Examines how the plants and animals of Alaska’s Alyeska wilderness have adapted to the regions harsh climate.
An examination of the plants and animals that make their home in a shallow lagoon found on the Western coast of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
This exploration of the Galapagos Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean West of Ecuador, examines theories explaining the arrival of wildlife to the archipelago.
Marine iguanas, cormorants, green turtles, sea lions, and sperm whales are among the animals that thrive in the cold waters surrounding the equatorially located Galapagos Islands.
A look at the Galapagos Islands’ many birds, include the waved albatross, blue-footed booby, frigate bird and the ground finch; also, man’s relationship with the islands’ changing environment.
A look at how the Pantanal's wildlife species cope with the annual cycle of flood and drought which transforms the marshy prairie from a dry savannah into the world's largest freshwater wetland – a 36,000 square-mile area that encompasses Southwestern Brazil and parts of Bolivia and Paraguay.
An examination of the behavior of man’s feline friends.
The activities of an elusive female leopard are traced over a two-day period on the hot plains of Africa.
A look at the survival of the African elephants, as ivory and foraging land became more valuable.
A freshwater lake in Tunisia that turns salty every summer.
The Japanese take efforts to save an indigenous monkey.
A look at the crane, Japanese symbol of longevity, true love and happiness.
Hunters and egg poachers threaten the existence of the giant loggerhead turtle.
Following the wild mustangs of America’s West.
An exploration of the Rift Valley that sweeps North from Kenya to Turkey, where prophets said their god first planted a garden.
The unusual life in the salty Dead Sea, where the desert plunges 1,200 feet below sea level.
What happens when a finely maintained garden is abandoned.
A year on a Japanese island following a family of red foxes.
The tunnelers, thatchers, weavers, dam builders, sculptors, potters and spinners of the animal kingdom.
Echoing hoots and trills, bandit masks, feathered tufts and orange noses distinguish African forest monkeys called quenons.
Wildlife flourishes in Nevada's desert landscape because of one narrow river covering less than 1% of the land.
Attempts to protect the unique animals and plants of Brazil threatened by development of the Amazon jungle.
The lemur, an agile nocturnal primate of Madagascar, so-named because of its secretive habits and haunting cries.
The process of wildlife filmmaking as chronicled by a crew during their three-year study of the Galapagos Islands.
The tremendous difference in animal lifestyle and in landscape during East Africa's dry season and its wet season.
The hammerhead stork, believed by East African tribesmen to have the power to call lightning from the sky.
Scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft seek to uncover the mystery of volcanoes by studying them on location as they erupt.
International endeavors to protect the endangered Indian tiger are highlighted by scenes of a mother raising her cubs in the wild.
Unusual wildlife inhabitants, beautiful terrain and natural wonders grace the Pacific islands comprising New Zealand.
U.S. scientist Dan Janzen uses innovative conservation plans to create a national park amid a tropical forest.
Close-up film captures birds in-flight; tiny hummingbirds draw nectar while hovering above flowers.
A Hawaiian island evolves from underwater volcano to snow-capped mountain and finally to coral atoll.
The first of a three-part survey of "Okavango: Jewel of the Kalahari" describes how earthquakes diverted the Okavango River into Botswana's Kalahari Desert. Observed: elephants, zebras, buffaloes, vultures, ostriches, bush babies and bat-eared foxes.
Creatures of the air, trees and water brave the five-month floods through the Okavango delta. Part 2 of "Okavango: Jewel of the Kalahari," observes African skimmers, lily trotters, baboons, dwarf mouth-breeders, tiger fish and catfishlike squeakers.
People of Botswana must balance wildlife protection with preservation of their precious water source.
The Asian elephant is shown to be a creature of both great strength and intelligence.
After two years in the Pacific, the sockeye salmon battles rapids returning to its birthplace to spawn.
Ranchers and scientists practice conservationism in Venezuelan and Colombian grasslands to protect native animals.
Naturalist Tom Williams studies England's Avon River and the fish and fowl it supports.
A growing African population threatens elephant survival by farming its foraging land and hunting the beast for ivory.
An exploration of the coral reefs of the Malay Triangle made up of the Philippines, Malaysia and New Guinea.
An exploration of the Spanish Pyrenees mountains and the bearded "bonebreaker" vulture that lives in this harsh environment.
Explores Spain's Extremadura, an oak forest and wilderness plain, home to griffin vultures, imperial eagles, genets and other animals native to Africa.
Former Vietnam medic Doug Peacock lives as a firewatcher and conservationist in Montana's Glacier National Park.
Examines marsupials and others animals which have evolved because of Australia's isolation from the rest of the world.
Two distinct marine worlds meet in the waters that encircle Australia. In its long voyage into isolation following its breakaway from Gondwana, 45 million years ago, the island continent came to span both tropical and temperate seas. Today its shores are ringed by the most diverse assemblies of marine life on earth. This program recounts the making of this unique Australia down under, from the storm tossed kelp forests of the cool south, to the magic splendours of the Great Barrier Reef. The program begins its story where Australia was born, in the southern latitudes of the Antarctic seas. Antarctica is the last remnant of Gondwana - it froze over after the other continents broke away, but its cool rich waters still generate a wealth of nutrients which, carried by the deep currents, sustain Australia's marine life.
A koala up a gumtree is the classic image of the Australian bush. How that odd partnership evolved is one of the strands woven into this episode of Nature Of Australia. The program tells the story of how the island continent's wooded margins came to be dominated by one unique type of tree growing in a great variety of forms - the eucalypt. The nursery for nearly all life in Australia is the rainforest, of which only a few patches remain today - th last remnants of vast, dense forests that covered Australia when it first broke away from the ancestral super-continent of Gondwana, and voyaged north into isolation. From among its proliferation of plants emerged the eucalypts, the characteristic gum trees - and from among the forest animals arose a great and varied company of marsupials, adapting to every kind of environment that evolved in response to Australia's changing, drying climate.
Australia's arid interior is often called the dead heart. In fact, it teems with life, supported by a hidden network of buried rivers recharged by rare but heavy rains. This episode tells the story of this surprising desert - formed when the climatic change overtook and dried out central Australia. What was once a land of vast lakes and broad rivers turned into a parched region of glittering stone and burning sand, interwoven with swathes of hardy woodland and plains of desert grass. A great variety of plants and animals has adapted to life in the arid centre, with its swings between the brief good condition that follow the unpredictable rains, and then long periods of drought. It's the land of the lizards - from giant goannas that sniff out snakes hiding under the sand, to the tiny, delicate Lake Eyre dragons who've made the desolate saltpans their domain.
Australia's northward drift slowed down when it collided with Asia about 15 million years ago - in the upheavals, chains of islands were thrust up and eventually they became the stepping stones for an invasion that would change the face of Australia. With the arrival of the first humans - at least 50,000 and possibly as long as 120,000 year ago - a new force entered the continent to shape the fortunes of its plants and animals. The first landfall was on the far north coast of Australia, a rich and tropical region ruled by the annual monsoonal rains. This program tells the story of Australia's top end, where the first Aboriginal people arrived, settled, and perfected the use of fire as a means to manage the landscape.
Modern Australians want to recapture the Aborigines ability to live harmoniously with indigenous plants and animals.
The different types of owls and the characteristics which make them ideal birds of prey.
Wildlife artist Bruce Pearson sketches the various bird species found in the arid lands of Western Africa's Mali, through which the River Niger flows.
Explores the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Vancouver, B.C.
Explores the variety of local environments found around waterfalls in Africa, South and North America.
Profiles of the Kalahari Desert's gray meerkat or mongoose, and a Kenyan colony of bee-eater birds.
The Adelie penguin is observed at the Cape Bird nesting site on Antarctica's Ross Island.
Chronicling the life of "Mozu the Snow Monkey," a macaque with deformed limbs that's survived harsh winters in Japan's highlands to raise seven offspring. The complex social structure among the primates is documented.
Examines the role computers play in managing the Everglades and whether this vital freshwater marsh will survive the effects of diking, draining and development.
Unique animals and plants flourish atop mist-shrouded Venezuelan plateaus thousands of feet above the surrounding jungle.
Scientists study birds of prey, creatures historically admired and hated, as indicators of environmental damage.
Wildlife flourishes around the manmade lake conservationists denounced 30 years ago at its creation.
The area's evolutionary roots opens this look at the African valley.
The wildlife that lives on the Great Rift's ash plains.
Examines the Red Sea, the island of Madagascar and East Africa.
Soft coral, sponges, tubeworms, anemones and giant cod adapt to life in Antarctica's subzero waters.
Profiles the wildlife living within the British crown colony of Hong Kong
An exploration of the Caledonian forest in Scotland, Britain's largest remaining area of ancient woodland.
A portrait of the endangered mountain gorilla in equatorial Africa.
A look at the maneating tigers of the Sundarbans delta in India.
Resource management in Italy's alpine Gran Paradiso National Park has consequences beyond the parks boundaries.
Scientists study sandhill cranes on Nebraskan plains, Alaskan and Siberian coasts and in the Northwest Territories.
The forests and waters of Ethiopia's Bale Mountains, may one day renew the country's depleted landscape.
A look at how Europe's birds of prey have adapted.
The relationship between working sheepdogs and flocks of sheep. Selective breeding yields a sheepdog with outstanding abilities to tend the creature other canines prey upon.
A wildlife survey of "The Colorado," the 1700-mile river that originates in the Rockies.
Thousands of years of human settlement provide the backdrop by which to discover the wildlife of Ireland.
The fur trade continues to threaten the South American otter with extinction, despite its status as an endangered species.
Profiles the Haida Indians who live on British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Island.
An exploration of the environmental impact of man's attempts to halt the erosion of Presque Isle beaches.
The effect of the 1988 fire on the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park.
A natural history of the snake includes its significance to man as a symbol of fertility, immortality and death.
Sharks, rays, squids and blue whales live in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.
Three species of monkeys, the muriqui, the golden lion tamarin and the buffy-headed marmoset struggle for survival in Brazil's coastal Atlantic Forest.
A look at how Norway and Sweden are affected by eight months of winter.
A look at the Swedish archipelago and Norway's fjords.
Africa's spotted hyena is a matriarch dominated, efficient predator.
Sight and sound are experienced through animal eyes and ears.
Enhanced olfactory sensitivity; unique animal senses.
Internal clocks guide life rhythms of eating, sleeping, mating, hibernation, birth and death.
This program travels to the island of Cayo Santiago off Puerto Rico to study the behavioral patterns of a colony of feral Rhesus Macaques.
Rangers at Denali National Park in Alaska train hikers for planned encounters with grizzlies; Alaskan grizzly bears are seen salmon fishing at Brooks Falls.
Penguins, maras, guanacos, sea lions and killer whales highlight this portrait of Patagonia.
In light of the Persian Gulf War and the recent oil spills, PBS airs an update of the 1984 episode of Nature, Treasures of the Gulf, that focused on the effects of the Iran-Iraq war on the fragile ecology of the Persian Gulf.
The beauty of the African plains and the effects of tourism on the area.
Filmmaker Simon Trevor, a former game warden, records the decimation of African elephants.
The natural and human history of the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Life within a close-knit golden jackal family on the plains of Lemuta in Africa.
Biologist Lynn Rogers follows the black bear out of hibernation and into the Minnesota woods.
The relationship within a wild dog pack on Africa's Serengeti Plains.
A profile of the albatross examines its traits and habitats, as well as the mysteries and myths surrounding it.
A polecat winters at a working farm in Wales, along with scavenging foxes, rats and birds.
Grizzlies, wolves and cougars roam Montana's rugged, pristine Glacier National Park.
This program features the Kogi tribe who live in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Columbia. They are pre-Columbian peoples, and consider themselves as the elder brothers of humankind. They insist that it is the modern world, the younger brothers, who are destroying the harmony of life on earth.
Vietnam's wildlife is reappearing after the great losses suffered during the war.
Simon King films a lioness and her pride during winter on Africa's Serengeti plain.
A look at the environmental crisis on Madagascar and new conservation efforts being made.
This first episode in the miniseries explores the European discovery and settlement of the New World. Two views are presented, that of the colonists struggles to survive in their new and unfamiliar setting, as well as the Native Americans success within the same environment.
A look at the colonization of Canada and the fur trade.
A focus on the prospect of gold in the new world, and the Spanish exploration of Florida in search of that alluring metal.
An exploration of the Great Plains of North American from the Lewis and Clark expedition through to the present day.
A focus on the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone National Park.
A look at life in the Sonoran Desert.
Exploring the people and wildlife of Alaska.
This last episode in the miniseries looks at the landscape and wildlife of California.
This program follows a herd of zebras along their yearly migration route through the African plains.
Follows the yearly migration of the caribou of Alaska and the Yukon Territory in an effort to find suitable birthing grounds, all will trying to avoid wolves and other predators.
India's remote Ladakh region in the Himalaya Mountains, home to the snow leopard and other rare wildlife.
Chimpanzees and other primates survive on Tiwai, an Upper Guinea island where witchcraft and taboos still exist.
Roger Tory Peterson's fight to save America's birds and their habitats.
The life cycle of a female northern elephant seal is documented.
Explores the lives of dolphins all around the world, and the scientists who are trying to communicate with them.
Loggers and conservationists have conflicting plans for ancient forests of redwoods, Douglas firs, hemlocks and Sitka spruce trees along the Northern Pacific rim.
This miniseries starts off by exploring the abundance of wildlife around the Volga Delta in Russia’s Astrakhan region.
An exploration of the wildlife of the Russian Arctic, and in particular Wrangle Island, featuring polar bears, musk oxen, Ross’s Gulls, reindeer, foxes, walruses, and the Red-breasted Goose.
A focus on the wildlife of the Central Asian deserts.
Between China and Central Asia is the Tian Shan mountain range, home to Marco Polo sheep, white-clawed bears, snow leopards, yaks, and the ibex.
A look at the wildlife in the huge Siberia forest reveals bears, elk, wolves, and musk deer among many other creatures in this frozen expanse.
This last program in the miniseries explores Kamchatka Peninsula where the Russian Arctic meets Southeast Asia. Home to perhaps the highest concentration of volcanoes in the world, this remote region is teeming with life both on land and in the sea, from the Amur Tiger to the Giant Pacific Octopus.
Fish, bats, birds, whales, giant squids, sharks, dolphins, sea lions and more flourish in and around the Sea of Cortez.
The African Blackwood is prized the world over for its wood in the making of musical instruments. Nature takes you on a journey through the history of this “tree of music” and into modern day efforts in Tanzania to save this ever dwindling resource.
Get right inside the hives of bees and wasps to see the inner workings of these complex societies.
A look at two separate families of arctic foxes. One living in the frozen, barren tundra of northern Russia, the other living in the slightly more comfortable surroundings of the Norwegian coastline.
A study of cheetah behavior follows a mother and her cubs on the Serengeti plains.
A gorilla orphanage and a proposed forest reserve may save the lowland gorilla.
As its numbers increase and its natural range diminishes, the coyote moves into populated regions like Los Angeles.
Touring the "Hebrides: The Secret Islands" off the coast of Scotland, "home to only the toughest and most adaptable species.
In Kenya’s Amboseli National Park is a family of elephants led by its matriarch Echo. Elephant expert Cynthia Moss, takes us up-close and inside the lives of these magnificent animals.
Raccoon and beaver lifestyles in the Canadian wilderness.
Exploration of Puget Sound's ecosystem.
Timothy Dalton searches for wolf habitats in North America to learn more about the animal
The history of llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos in South America.
The two-hundred-foot walls of ice in Glacier Bay overwhelm the senses, but they also surround the most beautiful sights Alaska has to offer — the Northern Lights, the roaming grizzly bears, and the humpback whales. The glacier itself is also creating new life — it has retreated some 70 miles up the bay, wiping the ecological slate clean, allowing new plants and animals to start again from scratch.
This program looks at the varied ways in which life reproduces. Whether a species has one sex, two sexes, both at once or none at all, the urge to procreate is there.
Explores the various influences on mating and courtship, from the sun, the moon and the change of seasons, to the specific behaviors within species.
Explores the selection process among different species for choosing a mate, whether it’s for life or just for the day.
An investigation into the origins of human sexuality and sexual roles.
A look at the reproduction process from conception to birth of a wide variety of animals.
A look at the parental process of all sorts of earth’s creatures.
"Nature's Great African Moments" features clips from episodes focusing on the continent and its abundant wildlife. Included: wildebeests, zebras, lions, giraffes and flamingos.
"Anima Mundi" offers images of the natural world set to music; "Before It's Too Late" examines zoos' efforts to preserve endangered species. Included: attempts to restore near-extinct mammals to mainland Australia.
A study of the goshawk, a bird of prey that has been restored to the Scottish woodlands after being pushed to the brink of extinction. Included: the goshawk's courtship ritual; how chicks learn to fly.
"A Sea Otter Story---Warm Hearts & Cold Water" examines a California aquarium's efforts to raise an otter and teach it necessary survival skills. Also: the impact of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill on Alaskan otters.
"Toadskin Spell" examines frogs and toads and how the qualities of their skin help them survive extreme climates. Included: toad-derived poisons, medicines and hallucinogens.
Following Anthony Hopkins to Tanzania to study lions. Included: an encounter with Masai warriors; the lioness's role in the hunt; footage of zebras and wildebeests.
This installment of PBS's multi-award winning Nature series delves into the life and history of the highly endangered giant panda. Nature: Pandas of the Sleeping Dragon studies the habits and habitats of the giant panda throughout China's Sleeping Dragon Mountains.
"Warts and All" follows three generations of a wart-hog family over the course of a year. Observed: attacks by hyenas, leopards and flamingos; how wart-hog males fend for themselves from an early age.
The first programme in a five part series that combines wildlife footage with drama and documentary in exploring the fundamental relationship between man and nature across the Pacific Ocean. Explores the islands of Tahiti and Marquesas, which were settled some 2000 years ago by Polynesian seafarers.
Following the flamingo as it searches for places to feed and breed in East Africa's Great Rift Valley. Observed: flamingos feeding on algae, dancing and attempting to escape predators.
Following the work of forensic experts who use plants, insects and animals to help solve police cases. Included: how seeds on a blanket placed a rape suspect at a crime scene; how fly eggs helped police identify a serial killer.
Bob Hoskins travels through Sumatra, India and Nepal to learn about wild tigers.
Following a rare ghost bear, a black bear with all-white fur, as it hones survival skills on an island off the western coast of Canada. Included: salmon migration; preparations for hibernation; black gray wolves; killer whales.
Following a herd of Thomson's gazelles, a species that uses swift, “life-saving legs” to survive attacks by predators on Africa's Serengeti Plains. Included: their flight from cheetahs (their “greatest enemy”), jackals and hyenas; how “Tommies” travel in herds.
"New Guinea: Island Invaders" explores the island, located north of Australia in the East Indies. Examined: the land bridge which enabled animals from Australia to cross over to New Guinea. Also: the marine crocodile
"New Guinea: Other Worlds" explores the island's remote interior, home to the bird of paradise, which natives believe to have spiritual powers. Also: how gold prospectors came to the interior and were surprised to encounter people exclusively using stone-age tools.
"Jaguar: Year of the Cat" follows the predator in its native rain forests of Belize. Included: a pair stalk turtles, peccaries and armadillos; scenes of the habits of their animal neighbors, including toucans and ocelots.
NATURE takes you into the depths of the ocean to discover the most remarkable life still undiscovered on our planet that will certainly be found in the sea.
Considering the similarities between simian and human intelligence. Included: a chimpanzee demonstrating a sense of self, as he recognizes his own reflection; how certain chimps can use tools; a chimp species that has recreational sex.
Travel to "The World of Penguins” to discover the great variety of these aquatic birds.
Exploring the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, formed when Asia and Australia separated, which combines elements of both continents. Included: crested black macaques; a reticulated python; the babirusa ("pig-deer"); red-knobbed hornbills; fruit bats.
Following the "Hunters of the Sea Wind," predators that stalk a Pacific current for the thousands of fish it carries. Included: dolphins; yellowfin tuna; blue marlins; lantern fish; and sailfish. Also: tuna fishermen releasing dolphins from their nets.
A look at parrots, birds with a playful nature and remarkable mimicry skills that have endeared them to pet owners worldwide. Included: the largest parrot species, the hyacinth macaw; scarlet macaws, white cockatoos and monk parakeets.
"Alien Empire," a three-part exploration of the world of insects, begins with survival methods used by many species. Included: how exoskeletons provide protection and can be used offensively; unusual reproductive habits of mayflies and wasps.
Part 2 of "Alien Empire" delves into the violence and communal living that are at the core of insect life. Included: cockroach and butterfly eating techniques; highly effective termite killers called "assassin bugs."
"Alien Empire" concludes with a look at how insects have spread and how humans have tried to combat that expansion. Included: crickets that have adapted to climatic extremes; the threat posed by gypsy-moth caterpillars.
Jane Goodall introduces a program that charts a "sweeping family saga" as it plays out among chimps in Tanzania's Gombe National Park. Observed: how the younger offspring try to capture their mother's attention.
A look at snakes, sea creatures and plants that employ venom, either as a defense mechanism or as a way to disable prey. Included: king and Siamese cobras; scorpions; rattlesnakes; and the Australian blue-ringed octopus.
Exploring the wildlife and terrain in the wilderness of Australia's Kakadu National Park, where years are divided between droughts and monsoons. Included: Gouldian finches, sulphur-crested cockatoos, magpie geese, dingoes and wallabies
Tracing the monsoon season when India receives most of its rain. Included: how the rains avert droughts on most of the subcontinent, but also cause massive flooding. Observed: gharial crocodiles; weaverbirds; Indian elephants; one-horned rhinos; langurs.
In the NATURE program SPERM WHALES: THE REAL MOBY DICK, the efforts of Jonathan Gordon and other researchers to study the whales' physicality, modes of communication, and social interactions contribute to our understanding of the underwater world.
Charting the declining fortunes of a pride of "Crater Lions" that lives in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater. Included: lion attacks on buffaloes; a young cub's encounter with jackals; efforts to repopulate the pride; wildebeests, elephants
Delving into the mysteries of the colorful monkeys called mandrills, as a troupe of the creatures are followed through the West African rainforests. Included: the travails of a lead male fighting off a rival; the females' role as group leaders; hammerhead bats and river martins.
Exploring pigs, described by host George Page as “the world's most cosmopolitan characters,” with a focus on their adaptability to a variety of environments. Included: pigs as pets; hunters stalking a “bearded” pig in Borneo.
Following a family of elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park. Included: the family's matriarch giving birth, rescuing her kidnapped daughter and chasing away hyenas. Also: male and female mating rituals.
Observing wild buffaloes and gray wolves in the Canadian wilderness. Jeff and Sue Turner spent two years filming the ritual battles between these ancient adversaries in Wood Buffalo National Park, where the drama unfolds in the subarctic winter.
Profiling the mahouts of southern India, who are skilled in the art of training wild elephants. Included: a journey north to stop herds of marauding elephants that are destroying villagers' crops and taking lives.
Deep in the thorn forests of Madagascar live troops of ring-tailed lemurs, the most beautiful and most social of Madagascar’s extraordinary primates. Our story follows five baby lemurs as they try to make their way in the world. In an intimate portrait never before filmed, we learn of their high times, their sufferings, and the special bonds that hold their unique society together.
Tales of canine loyalty to humans, including segments illustrating how dogs detect people buried by avalanches, enhance the lives of prison inmates and offer "therapy" for seriously ill youngsters. Also: the use of dogs to assist people with disabilities; dog scouts and couriers.
Profiling the bowerbird, an ingenious "architect" of the Australian rain forest that builds elaborate bowers of sticks to attract a female. Footage also includes the spiny echidna, which feasts on termite mounds; a bright blue crayfish; and carnivorous dingoes.
The four-part "Spirits of the Jaguar" explores the human and natural histories of Central America and the Caribbean. Part 1 focuses on the region's animal and plant life, and its volcanic origins some 150 million years ago. Included: iguanas; crocodiles; fossilized tree sap that offers a record of ancient island life.
Part 2 of "Spirits of the Jaguar" explores the "Forests of the Maya," where 1200 years ago an extraordinary civilization emerged in the Central American jungles. Included: Mayan ruins; exotic animals like the jaguar that permeated Mayan folklore; underground rivers and caves.
Part 3 of “Spirits of the Jaguar” recounts the evolution of the Taino civilization. The Taino were the first inhabitants of the Caribbean some 2000 years ago, and their way of life was destroyed with the arrival of European explorers. The hour examines marine life that provided food for the Amerindians.
"Spirits of the Jaguar" concludes with the story of the Aztec empire, which in the 1500s stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific in what is now Mexico. Footage includes scenes of hawks that once inspired Aztec myths, and ruins of pyramids and temples.
TOOTHWALKERS presents extremely rare under-the-ice footage that reveals a complex and potentially dangerous side to this huge and often mysterious mammal.
An unforgettable view. To see the Grand Canyon for the first time is an experience few people will forget. The canyon vista — with its incomprehensible size, deep color, and rich display of rock layers — is unmatched by any natural display on Earth. But while the rock formations may seem arid and lifeless, the Grand Canyon is home to an astounding variety of creatures. In its mile-deep plunge, the Grand Canyon’s terrain ranges from conifer forest to desert, with river niches in between.
The birth of a baby gorilla, the flight to freedom of a California condor, and a panda's attempt at seduction are among the stories from the San Diego Zoo. Included: a black rhino's birth; the construction of a polar-bear habitat; preparing zoo meals.
Studying elephants' ability to adapt to varied environments. Included: researchers probe the myth of the pygmy elephant of the rain forest, and follow forest elephants that live in small family units in central Africa.
Examining efforts to save orangutans from extinction at a rehabilitation center in Borneo, where the apes are later released into the wild. Also: footage of an orangutan birth; a study in which apes learn communication with humans.
Exploring otters as they frolic at Yellowstone Lake, a powerhouse of geothermal activity, where the warmth beneath the rocks sustains life, even in winter. Also seen: bald eagles performing an airborne bonding ritual.
Filmmakers explore a region of the Brazilian rain forest to find three species of marmoset, the smallest monkey in the world. There, they find a fourth species previously known only to the Satare Maues Indians, who believe marmosets are reincarnations of their own children.
Exploring aquatic life along the Pacific coast of British Columbia, where colorful undersea creatures live in the pounding surf. Included: a palm tree-shaped sea anemone seen doing a sensual “dance.”
"The Secret Garden" probes the "suburban jungle" of bugs, slugs, birds, snakes and wildlife that inhabit backyard gardens. Included: mating snails that "touch each other with shameless abandon"; a beetle with a taste for tadpoles; weeds that vie for space and light.
Part 1 of "Forces of the Wild," a five-part miniseries, explores the birth of the planet Earth, from the formation of the atmosphere and water to the miracle of life. Also: volcanoes and lava forms in Hawaii, and undersea volcanic zones near Iceland.
Part 2 of "Forces of the Wild" examines wind and water, two forces that shape the Earth and are each "a recipe for paradise---and for disaster." Footage includes tropical rain forests and deserts, including Death Valley (Cal.).
"Forces of the Wild" Part 3 documents the influence of the sun and the moon on life. Included: the prehistoric Stonehenge megaliths; gravity's effects on the moon and the earth; myths surrounding the seasons.
Part 4 of "Forces of the Wild" offers a grim warning against mankind's efforts to change elemental forces that shape the planet and transform nature to suit the modern world. Included: the effects of pollution and the weather pattern known as El Niño.
"Forces of the Wild" concludes with a look at the work of photographers who shot stunning images of Hawaii's Kilauea eruptions, and of geese migration. Also: interviews with pilots and scientists of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.
Extraordinary footage of eagles illustrates species of fish eagles and forest eagles, including Southeast Asian white-bellied eagles, seen in daredevil aerial combat and diving for deadly sea snakes; the golden eagle, a “flying masterpiece”; the classic bald eagle.
Exploring a man-made jungle teeming with life---wildlife, that is---amid a forest of skyscrapers in New York City. Included: red-tailed hawks; nesting parrots at Brooklyn College; and subway rats, raccoons and cockroaches.
The polar bear rules the north. To the hardy native people who settled the harsh lands of the Arctic, the powerful hunter with the ghostly white coat is known as the “lonely roamer.” But most of us know the huge mammal as the polar bear. And the story of how the world’s largest land predator prospers in one of Earth’s harshest environments is the subject of the NATURE program Great White Bear.
NATURE lifts part of the veil of mystery shrouding some fascinating — and often fearsome — creatures in The Secret World of Sharks and Rays. Sharks and their biological cousins, the rays, are among the highest-profile denizens of the deep, thanks to the popularity of books and films that have cast them in leading roles — as antagonist, not protagonist.
The NATURE program American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation tells the sad story of how the buffalo nation was destroyed nearly a century ago by greed and uncontrolled hunting — and how a few visionaries are working today to rebuild the once-great bison herds. It offers a remarkable portrait of America’s last significant wild bison herd, made up of a few thousand animals living within Montana’s Yellowstone National Park. And it highlights the efforts of Native American leaders dedicated to bringing back the animal that once gave life to their tribes. “Buffalo have to be there for our culture to exist,” says Fred DuBray, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe who appears in American Buffalo. “As we bring our herds back to health, we will also bring our people back to health.”
"India: Land of the Tiger" begins a six-part journey, led by wildlife expert Valmik Thapar, through the land of Kipling's "Jungle Book." "The Tiger's Domain" opens the series, and tracks tigers, Asiatic lions, monkeys, jackals, sloth bears and cobras. Also: a ceremonial snake festival.
Part 2 of "India: Land of the Tiger" follows the sacred waters of the Ganges River, whose grasslands are home to rhino, wild buffalo, elephants, tigers and a cacophony of birds. Also explored: the mangrove-rich Sunderbans Delta, where the tiger is worshipped as a god.
Part 3 of "India: Land of the Tiger" explores the vast expanses of unknown seas, from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. Included: elephants swimming from island to island; whale sharks; coral reefs; convict fish; and the voracious Bombay duck.
Part 4 of "India: Land of the Tiger" travels to the harsh northwest "Desert Kingdom," home to stately black bucks, Indian gazelles, wild ass, lynx-like caracal, monkeys that live among the people, and vultures that feed on carcasses of dead livestock.
Part 5 of "India: Land of the Tiger" journeys to the inhospitable peaks of the Himalayas. These icy citadels are "Mountains of the Gods" that support a rich variety of life, such as snow leopards, blue sheep, brown bears, red pandas and flamboyant pheasants.
"India: Land of the Tiger" concludes with a journey into the subcontinent's lush "Monsoon Forests" for a look at their inhabitants: rare tigers and elephants, primates such as the hoolock gibbon, the milgiri langur, the lion-tailed macaque, giant hornbills.
NATURE's John Denver: Let This Be A Voice explores the American West with the late singer and conservationist.
"Serengeti Stories: The Work of Hugo van Lawick" follows the famed wildlife filmmaker and includes clips of his masterpiece, "People of the Forest," about chimpanzees and their social relationships. Also: clips of "Wild Dogs of Africa" (1972), a heroic story of survival.
"Iceland: Fire and Ice" is a "wonderland of eternal opposites," where glaciers sit on top of volcanoes. In this land of ice there are no trees, but it is home to Arctic foxes, a large bird population and twice as many sheep as people. Included: footage of ice caves.
Once the home of a notorious Soviet prison camp, the isolated peninsula of Kamchatka remains a haven for one of Earth's last giants, the grizzly bear.
Cats command our attention and our devotion. These fascinating creatures have been perplexing people for thousands of years.
How does such a seemingly passive life form accomplish the complex task of reproduction?
Profiling the 28-year-old lowland gorilla Koko, who communicates by sign language with her mentor, Francine Patterson. Koko, who understands English, has “a good sense of humor,” says Patterson, and “a strong sense of self.” She's also seen painting and watching TV, and playing with male gorillas Michael and Ndume at Patterson's Gorilla Foundation in Northern California.
Documentary that explores Antarctica's weather phenomena, its rugged and adaptable wildlife and the powerful dynamics of its ever-changing icecap. Part 1 discusses the effects of the katabatic -- the relentless wind that sweeps over the Antarctic landscape, often at speeds of more than 100 mile per hour, re-sculpting the topography of the continent and affecting the climate of the entire southern hemisphere.
Part 2 investigates the icebergs, million-ton islands of ice that have broken free of glacial cliffs to become floating platforms of life. Despite the harshness of the environment, diverse eco-systems thrive. The principal wildlife includes crabeater seals and leopard seals, Adelie and emperor penguins, Minke whales, krill, snow petrals and algae.
Though their glory days may be in the past, these hoofed creatures continue to enthrall us, as the NATURE program HORSES demonstrates in sparkling detail. From the steppes of Mongolia, where children race at breakneck speeds perched on stallions ten times their size, to the fields of Georgia, where people confined to wheelchairs find new freedom in the saddle, HORSES highlights the many roles played by this multi-talented beast of burden. There are also rare glimpses of the world’s most endangered horse, and an inside look at the art of the horse whisperers, the trainers who through their gentle touch can transform a wild bucking bronco into a stately show horse.
Ironically, the powerful, dedicated canines profiled in Sled Dogs: An Alaskan Epic are little more than mutts. They are mixed-breed huskies that have endurance.
Human lives have been influenced by animals in matters that reach far beyond the food chain. In surprising ways, animals help teach, heal, and strengthen people -- in body, mind, and spirit.
Birds may have a reputation for being less than geniuses, but researchers are discovering that some are remarkably smart. Some birds have the capacity to recognize, count, or name different objects. Ravens, for instance, have the ability to solve difficult puzzles, such as untangling a knotted string to free up a tasty treat or figuring out how to steal fish by hauling in an angler’s untended line. And, as shown in the first part of NATURE’s Inside the Animal Mind, crows on the remote Pacific island of New Caledonia have learned a skill that people once thought only primates could master: the use of tools. The birds use long, specially chosen twigs to spear the plump grubs that hide deep beneath the bark of rotting logs.
Spanning the Pacific from the inlets of the Alaskan coast to the Polynesian Islands and the shores of Antarctica, Humpback Whales presents a multi-faceted portrait of this fascinating mammal. This program follows the humpbacks closely and uncovers revealing details that add to the growing knowledge of these creatures
Happiness, sadness, anger, fear, love, hate — emotions play a pivotal role in our lives. But do they loom large in an animal’s world as well? Part Two of NATURE’s Inside the Animal Mind explores that question in fascinating detail.
As you read this, you are probably aware of reading this. Indeed, you can also imagine yourself reading this — a sort of picture within a picture in your mind’s eye. But do animals share this kind of consciousness? That is the question asked by Part Three of NATURE’s Inside the Animal Mind. The program ponders just what consciousness is — and which animals might share this trait with people.
Cheetahs in a Hot Spot takes viewers to Namibia, one of the world’s richest cheetah habitats, for a remarkable look at these graceful hunters. It follows six gangly young cheetahs as they come of age in the desert wilderness of Etosha National Park, where they learn the essential hunting and social skills that will enable them to rear families of their own. But the documentary also captures the sobering challenges that other cheetahs face on nearby livestock ranches, where farmers routinely trap and kill the cats to reduce attacks on their herds. And the NATURE special profiles the courageous work of cheetah rescuer Lise Hanssen, who is creating alternatives to the deadly rivalry between rancher and predator.
NATURE’s Showdown at Grizzly River tells the story of one bold little bear’s coming of age at the falls. It follows an 18-month old cub named Toughie as she spends her last few months with her mother, learning to pluck salmon from the fierce current, eat nutritious marsh grasses and, most importantly, how to behave around other bears. Besides tangling with cubs her own size, Toughie also learns how to deal with the towering adult males that threaten her young life, but may one day father her own cubs.
Jackals of the African Crater documents the dramatic, and sometimes heartrending, stories of these jackal families. One pair of black-backed parents struggles to feed its pups in the midst of a dry season, only to lose their nearly grown offspring to a hungry golden jackal.
No flowering plant has captured the attention of humans, or stirred their passions, in quite the way that orchids have.
NATURE follows the world's most dauntless creatures in their epic migrations in "Earth Navigators."
Many animals have a special ability to transform themselves, for the sake of survival, reproduction, or both.
According to legend, Spanish explorers believed that a fountain of eternal youth bubbled up to the surface somewhere in the place we know today as Florida. In a poetic way, they were right.
Julia Roberts, one of the most famous and beautiful American actresses of today, lives among the nomads of Mongolia and discovers their relationship with the horse.
A new age of ocean exploration is lifting the veil of mystery shrouding a creature of legend -- the octopus.
Discover amazing birds -- from hummingbirds and peregrine falcons to parrots and barn owls -- on NATURE's "Extraordinary Birds."
The enigmatic subjects of NATURE: The Urban Elephant, Asian elephants are losing territory to the inevitable process of deforestation. Industrialization all over Asia has hurt the mahouts, or elephant drivers, so that the trained elephants and their riders are being driven into major cities such as Bangkok to earn a meager living receiving donations and food from curious tourists.
Life on the savannah of southern Tanzania is a study in contrast between rainy and dry seasons. When water is abundant, the wildebeest at the rivers provide food for the lion population, while the buffalo graze contentedly on the succulent grasses in the hills. The two great adversaries -- lion and buffalo -- can keep their distance.
Each October, the remote Canadian town of Churchill in Manitoba plays host to some very unusual guests. More than a thousand hungry polar bears gather there to await the refreezing of Hudson Bay and then move out on the ice in pursuit of their traditional winter diet of seal. The world's largest land carnivore, polar bears can be very dangerous for humans as well as sea creatures -- but for tiny Churchill, they also are a tourist-dollar bonanza.
THE FOUR BILLION YEAR WAR explains how both conflict and cooperation have helped shape the species that today populate our world. And it profiles the winners and losers in this epic evolutionary contest — from the massive dinosaurs who disappeared long ago to the humble bacteria that have survived for billions of years virtually unchanged.
Gene Swapping Variety is indeed the spice of life. That is the message of THE MATING GAME, Part 2 of NATURE’s six-part TRIUMPH OF LIFE series. It takes a passionate look at the evolution of sex, which allows a species to pass its genes along from generation to generation.
For billions of years, life on Earth has been engaged in its own ETERNAL ARMS RACE, the subject of Part 3 of NATURE’s TRIUMPH OF LIFE. As predators became better hunters, their prey also evolved better defenses.
Life may be a contest in which only the fittest individuals survive, but cooperation has also played a key role in evolution. WINNING TEAMS takes a close look at the alliances that animals have forged — with others of their own kind and very different organisms — in a bid to stay alive. In fact, teamwork occurs everywhere, from flocks of birds and herds of wildebeest to colonies of ants and termites.
Hearts, eyes, flippers and wings — evolution has forged many remarkable body structures. But none is more amazing than the brain, that bundle of nerve cells that allows us to sense our surroundings, sort out information, and make decisions. Indeed, the great importance of BRAIN POWER to evolution is the subject of this week’s installment of NATURE’s TRIUMPH OF LIFE series.
This sixth installment focuses on the mass extinctions that have occurred over time. Though attention is paid to the factors that probably led to the demise of the dinosaurs, far more time is devoted to examining a wide variety of land and sea creatures that are continuing to fight off extinction. Climate changes, the birth of more highly evolved life forms, and changes in ocean currents are just a few of the factors that can play a major role in determining which species will prevail. Scientists and historians share their thoughts about which of today's species are most likely to remain triumphant over the coming millennia.
Who can resist the magnetic allure of a baby? The presence of little ones of any species invariably generates instant attention and concern from onlookers. In fact, it seems that both humans and animals are hard-wired to find youngsters adorable. The practical and essential reasons why the very young have an ability to play on our heart strings are explored in Baby Tales.
The birth and survival of a panda cub signals hope for the world's most cherished endangered animals, in NATURE's The Panda Baby.
The saga of one South African fur seal's adventures and adversities as he matures into a massive bull is captured on GOLDEN SEALS OF THE SKELETON COAST. The saga starts with the male pup's birth along the barren, windswept Skeleton Coast in West Africa. By the time he takes his first breaths, he's already facing danger -- in the form of jackals invading the seal colony.
When animals are the subject, most people associate Australia with lovable koalas and leaping kangaroos. But an even more distinctive aspect of Australian wildlife is its abundance of animals -- from snakes and spiders to a host of marine life forms and at least one mammal -- that use venom to defend themselves, attack prey, and in some cases help digest food.
Just like the mighty herds of wildebeest, the people who make their homes on Africa's great Serengeti plains are constantly on the move. This episode focuses on two women searching for their spiritual identity. Alice Wangui, a Nairobi hair salon owner, takes a trip to her native Kikuyu village so that her child will be born with a sense of community. On the savanna proper, Flora Salonik lives in an isolated farming hamlet, and struggles with the decision of whether or not to return to her own roots: the bustling metropolis of Arusha, Tanzania.
For centuries, the Tuareg people have braved the brutal Sahara to trade in salt, a precious cargo once worth its weight in gold. In this episode of AFRICA, Adam Ilius,salt production a young boy of nine, crosses hundreds of miles of desolate and dangerous desert on his first trans-Saharan salt caravan. After months of traveling, will Adam make it to Bilma, Niger to sell the caravan's salt for necessary food and clothing? Or will the shifting sands of the desert spell disaster for this tenacious group?
Deep in the central African rainforest, a struggle for survival rages. This episode takes a close look at how booming overseas markets for rainforest trees threaten the existence of two groups of Africans. Cameroon's Baka people, a traditional rainforest group, have lived in harmony with the forest for centuries, but now the sound of electric saws deafens the daily music of birds and monkeys. monkey, video link In Accra, the capital of Ghana, Annan Cedi, a coffin maker, needs these precious rainforest woods to construct fantasy coffins for international clients. Will the Baka be able to protect their ancient way of life and with it, an invaluable eco-system? And will Annan be able to maintain his business?
Isolated by mountains, Ethiopia is a center of spirituality. Here, faith is a driving force in the lives of many. This episode explores the depths of Ethiopia's religious beliefs. In the holy highland town of Lalibela, young Kibkab Wodemariam studies each day in hopes of becoming a priest. In the hills above Lalibela, Abba Defar labors at bringing to life his vision of a cathedral hewn from mountain rock. Will Kibkab Wodemariam be rewarded for his studies with the honor of participating in the annual procession for the holy day of Timkat? And will Abba Defar ever complete his mammoth symbol of faith in the Ethiopian highlands?
In the Sahel, the semi-arid border between the Sahara and the savanna, people mark the passage of time with ceremony and tradition. As the hot sun beats down on the Niger River delta, the annual Fulani cattle drive is underway. Young Errou Sisse must leave his girlfriend and travel hundreds of miles across parched earth with his family's cattle in search of adequate grazing land. As he travels through the desolate landscape, he and his fellow herders must survive on milk, and what little they can trade in the widely scattered villages of the Sahel. Meanwhile, another young man is hoping to mark an important passage of his own. In a cliffside Dogon village in Mali, Atime Dogolo Saye awaits the sacred dama ceremony to honor the spirits of the dead. Without participating in the dama, Atime will forever remain a boy, denied the right to raise a family of his own. Will these two young men be successful in their journeys? And will they find love when they reach journey's end.
Water is the lifeblood of Africa. It can create famine or fortune. In this episode, two families are hoping for fortune. Charles Tinkewimeru has been working the waters of Uganda's Lake Victoria for several years, building a good business selling fresh fish and dried minnows. But catches are steadily declining and Charles must come up with a new trade. Meanwhile, further inland in Uganda, the Ngwatima family has planted its annual rice crop. But the rains are late this year. A good crop depends on water, and now the Ngwatima must battle the elements in the hope of keeping their crop alive until relief comes from the skies. Will water bring fortune to these families, or will the shifting clouds spell disaster?
Surrounded by gleaming aquamarine waters and fine white sand, Zanzibar looks like a tropical paradise. But life here is not easy. No one knows that better than Issa Simai, who spends his days, spear in hand, in the warm Indian Ocean trying to catch enough octopus or lobster to make a living. Issa is also a member of The Leopards, Zanzibar's most successful soccer team. This season, they have won their way to a playoff on the mainland, Tanzania, in Dar es Salaam. But before the Leopards even reach the field, they face a daunting obstacle: paying for the trip. Will the Leopards make enough to hire a boat to the mainland? And even more challenging, will they ace the playoff and return home to the cheers of their Zanzibar fans?
The site of a large geological deposit of mineral wealth, South Africa has prospered from a history of mining, with the lion's share of riches going to white workers and owners. South Africa's system of apartheid has since been abolished, and blacks are claiming more of the skilled jobs in the gold mines. In the last episode of the series, two women attempt to reach their goals of better job opportunities. Africa, Pt. 8: Southern Treasures looks at Xoliswa Vanda and Putswa Tekane as they try to work in an industry that may be on the decline.
Filmed in the mountains of Montana, this poignant, engrossing chronicle focuses on an extraordinary stallion, whose life has been recorded since his birth in the wild in 1995 by Emmy-winning filmmaker Ginger Kathrens.
An incisive look at the breeding, behavior, and training of humankind's best friend, including useful pointers on how to avoid mistakes when selecting a puppy.
The escalating battle for space on this planet between people and wild animals has grown increasingly one-sided, as humanity asserts its domination. But a few intrepid species are successfully challenging, harassing, and even exploiting us on our own turf.
Long recognized as one of the most intelligent birds, the raven also has a less than savory image as a scavenger that does not discriminate between humans and animals.
On January 28, 1998, a monster weather system slammed into Oahu’s north shore. The Coast Guard called a Condition Black — all access to the water denied. It was every surfer’s dream and nightmare combined, playing and replaying on a seemingly endless loop, as colossal waves up to 40 feet high surged over the beaches of Oahu in a monstrous, unstoppable procession. The stunning footage, some recorded on IMAX film, the stories of the surfers, and the storm itself form the breathtaking core of Condition Black.
Journey with Meg Ryan to the jungles of Thailand in search of the white elephant, a rare creature coveted by royalty -- and threatened by extinction.
From the Caribbean, the documentary hopscotches to various points on the globe to show viewers a diverse array of animals that make music.
They box and wrestle, kick with authority, and cover large patches of ground with powerful leaps. In fact, the red kangaroos of Australia’s Outback are among the finest athletes of the animal world. And that’s just as well, since the Outback presents one of the most challenging environments on the planet.
Follow Ewan Mcgregor as he travels to a remote Canadian outpost on Hudson Bay, where he investigates the annual invasion of hungry polar bears.
Lynn Sherr, the award-winning correspondent for ABC TV’s 20/20 newsmagazine, went to Africa for the first time in 1973 and fell in love — with giraffes. “They were a dazzling, unexpected revelation: gawky, graceful anomalies; cool, gentle giants dressed in golden, stained-glass coats. And when they ran, they seemed to float. I was hooked.” Journey to Kenya and South Africa, and to an American zoo that is the giraffe breeding capital of the Western Hemisphere, for a revealing look at this powerful, captivating creature when Ms. Sherr hosts Tall Blondes.
“Bet Yer Blue Boons” is one of the most agile and intelligent cutting horses in the world, a true champion. “Rio,” a spectacular polo pony, is a gifted athlete able to sprint at 30 miles per hour, then stop suddenly and turn on a dime. “Chamont” has the natural talent and physique of a great dressage horse, but also at times a timorous personality that puts a question mark on his future success. Each of these remarkable animals shares an astonishing trait: the ability to implicitly trust, and perform complex tasks in tandem with, a human partner working toward a common goal. This teaming of horse and rider is arguably the most sophisticated and intriguing example of human-animal cooperation. NATURE explores and illuminates this absorbing phenomenon in Horse and Rider.
Dive to the Abyss showcases a group of marine biologists as they explore three different underwater environments.
A filmmaker goes in search of the scary and fascinating creatures that feed on blood in NATURE's BLOODY SUCKERS.
Hunted almost to extinction over the past three centuries, cougars are making a comeback today, with some 30,000 living in the wilds of North and South America. But still they face uncertain prospects, as human encroachment continues to shrink their natural habitats. Doggedly tracking these magnificent animals, once known as the “king cat,” filmmaker Ron Shade provides an incisive look at their prospects for survival in Trail of the Cougar.
On the surface, it's the bleakest of lands, with ferocious winds, flightless birds, and enough ice to flood half the planet's population if it were to melt. But below that frozen mass, a fantastic environment of indescribable beauty teems with life. NATURE takes viewers into the world that is "Under Antarctic Ice."
A four-part series on “The Reptiles” begins with “Alligators and Crocodiles.” Included: their sensory systems and intelligence; courtship and mating signals; importance to ecosystems; their evolving relationship with humans; and their roles in the food chain that vary with their locations, including Australia; India; Florida; and Venezuela. Howard McGillin narrates.
A look at snakes. Included: their evolution and movement; how venom works; hunting methods and prey's defenses; venom collectors and experiences with bites; snake charmers; close-ups of mouths and fangs; and the largest, the Anaconda, found in Venezuela. Howard McGillin narrates.
Observing turtles and tortoises, the shelled animals that have been on Earth more than 200 million years. Included: problems they face in the modern world. Howard McGillin narrates.
Focusing on several of the over 4000 types of lizards, including the Komodo dragon; sea-feeding marine iguanas; chameleons; venemous gila monsters; and geckos, who defy gravity by walking upside down. Also: a visit with Henry Lizard Lover, a photographer who lives with 37 lizards whom he treats like humans.
Animals are a formidable presence in the Bible, which makes reference to more than a hundred species, some metaphorically and others literally. But many of those creatures are gone from the Holy Land today, or on the verge of extinction there.
For more than a century, Yala National Park in Sri Lanka has been one of Asia’s most celebrated wildlife preserves, a lush windswept tropical forest rich in rare aquatic birds and abundant with ferocious predators, such as crocodiles and sloth bears. But only in very recent years has Yala’s big cat distinction been brought to light: It contains one of the world’s largest concentrations of leopards. NATURE takes viewers deep into the jungle habitat of these elusive animals, in Leopards of Yala.
The Steller’s sea lions that populate the Alaskan coastline are powerful, playful, and sometimes rowdy creatures who bump and jostle each other on land but acquire a sublime gracefulness in the water. They are also the subject of a strange and tragic mystery: Steller’s sea lions are rapidly disappearing from one of the last great wildlife strongholds of the world, and no one knows why.
Thousands of tons of war wreckage sank into the fabled lagoons of the South Pacific islands during the naval and air battles of World War II. But instead of devastating the region’s underwater ecology, the detritus of human conflict turned into artificial reefs, upon which fantastic mini-ecosystems took shape. NATURE gives viewers a new perspective on wildlife in the South Pacific when its cameras board the WAR WRECKS OF THE CORAL SEAS.
A chronicle of hippopotamus life along the banks of Zambia's Luangwa River includes footage of males fighting over territory; females protecting their young; the hippo's importance to river ecology; and societal rituals involving the head male of the pod. Mark Hamill narrates.
Animal life in the Kalahari Desert, where rainy and dry seasons direct the inhabitants, including zebras; wildebeests; elephants; finches; bullfrogs; and flamingos, whose chicks must walk nearly 100 miles when fertile feeding areas dry up. Christopher Plummer narrates.
Detailing the ecosystem of the Kalahari Desert as the Okavango River overflows, transforming a saltpan in to an oasis. Included: fish eagles in aerial combat for airspace over best fishing areas; the sitatunga antelope with ski-like hoofs. Christopher Plummer narrates.
Each year, in the late summer, a region known as the Red Triangle bustles with marine mammal activity. Lying between San Francisco and Monterey, the Red Triangle includes beaches where elephant seals go to molt, and offshore sites where great whites feed on unwary prey. When not prowling the Red Triangle, great white sharks search the kelp forest for sea lions, or roam the open ocean. Their migration is predictable. Each year they turn up at the same place at the same time, occasionally crossing paths with humans who still swim and surf in these dangerous waters.
In 1995, while filming wild horses in the mountains of Montana, Ginger Kathrens discovered a striking, almost pure white colt just hours after his birth.
Wilderness is elusive in Britain, but in the Highlands of Scotland, the sacred dance between predator and prey is still played out against a rugged and unforgiving landscape. Gliding above this wild land is Britain's most magnificent predator -- the golden eagle.
This episode of Nature, narrated by Stockard Channing, provides us with a fascinating look into the many steps of evaluating a diamond and preparing it for public sale. Miners dredge the earth, dealers fret over valuation exams to probe the minutest details of the stones, and finally the would-be owners gasp in awe. Diamonds are their own glorious world. Get a look at how they go from mining to necklace--with plenty of human drama along the way. You may never look at jewelry the same way again.
Everyone loves macaws. Playful, intelligent, beautiful, they are the stars of parrot parks and zoos, and the cherished pets of devoted owners around the world. All of which makes them prime targets for poachers, who can make enormous profits from illegal sales of the birds. Thousands are smuggled from the wild each year, and many die in the process. In the forests of South America, several species of macaw are severely endangered. But there is hope on the horizon. Dr. Charlie Munn, a wealthy American who is also a leading ornithologist and world expert on parrots, has begun a campaign to promote eco-tourism as a means of saving the birds. Employing former poachers as conservationists, and providing locals with the means to start and maintain a trade in tourism instead of smuggling, he’s betting that instead of buying birds, their fans will pay to see them in the wild.
About 8,000 years ago, the relationship between cows and man began with the revolutionary advent of domestication in Mesopotamia, the Indus River Valley, and Africa. Discover how cows have altered human life, human biology, and the geography of the world.
NATURE's "Ireland" explores the richly textured natural world of the Emerald Isle, from its diverse wildlife to its craggy mountains and fog-shrouded coastlines.
To help ensure the survival of endangered whooping cranes, Operation Migration maintains an artificial breeding program that prepares chicks for adulthood.
“Land of the Falling Lakes” looks at Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park, an ancient forest of stunning beauty and waterways continuously evolving from limestone formations. Included: the brown bear, one of which intrudes on a wolf pack's meal of wild boar; and the olm, a subterranean creature without eyes which navigates and hunts via bioelectrical senses.
Follow the adventures of Pale Male, a daring red-tailed hawk who manages to thrive in the urban world of New York City.
The big cats of Africa have always been favored subjects of wildlife filmmakers. But as little as 15 years ago, no one had captured the unforgettable image of a leopard in its ghostly nocturnal stalk. Viewers had never seen intimate portrayals of the sleek and elusive serval, or witnessed the nighttime romps of the beautiful black-eared caracal. The team of Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett filled those gaps with a series of spectacular breakthrough films in the 1990s. Among the first to apply infrared light and night vision goggles to wildlife studies, they combined technology with intrepid determination and a strong dose of luck, illuminating the cats we hardly knew, and giving us fresh insights into those we only thought we knew, such as lions and cheetahs.
Rarely seen aspects of shark behavior highlight this extraordinary view of undersea life, including an organized feeding frenzy with other predators that help herd their prey; night hunting in packs; and their violent courtship ritual. Also: the red-lipped batfish, which “walks” on the ocean floor via modified fins.
Yellowstone's restored grizzly-bear population and its conflicts with humans are examined, with food the force driving the bears, which have been protected as endangered species for 30 years. That's now challenged by lawmakers, while ecological changes threaten bears' food sources. Chris Cooper narrates.
“Violent Hawaii” offers a panorama of nature in action, including volcanoes; humpback whales; tsunamis; and big-wave surfers and the lifeguards who rescue them at a beach nicknamed “Jaws.” James Naughton narrates.
Most big cats do their best to remain hidden from human eyes, but none are quite as adept at this as the snow leopard. These cats lead largely solitary lives, populating the Himalayas at altitudes that offer only about half the oxygen to which humans are accustomed. So when wildlife filmmakers Hugh Miles and Mitchell Kelly set out to film this animal they knew they were in for a challenge.
“Cuba: Wild Island of the Caribbean” explores the country's diverse animal life, much of it found nowhere else. Included: the Cuban crocodile, which can leap as high as seven feet.
Orphaned orangutans, their parents killed for their value as 'exotic' animals, face a struggle to survive in the jungles of Borneo. The researchers of Camp Leakey rescue the young and try to help the species hang on.
For nearly 40 years an albino gorilla named Snowflake was adored by people around the world. NATURE’s Snowflake: The White Gorilla tells the story of this remarkable animal, from his loving upbringing by humans to his eventual death from skin cancer in 2003. It also tracks the revolutionary changes in our understanding of how best to care for gorillas that have taken place during Snowflake’s lifetime.
Scientists have discovered that natural poisons and venoms contain chemicals that can be used to create drugs for treating everything from chronic pain to cancer.
The first of three “Deep Jungle” shows, with high-tech innovations capturing views of rain-forest life big and small. Included: the elusive Sumatran tiger; flying lizards and snakes in Borneo; a bird that moonwalks as part of its courtship ritual; a moth that feeds with a 12-inch tongue. John Hannah narrates.
In the Amazon — the world’s largest rainforest — trees fight to the death for water and sunlight. Giant spiders as big as dinner plates take shelter in underground lairs. Buzzing bees and scurrying mammals help hold together an amazing web of life that centers on the Brazil nut tree. One of the world’s largest rivers carries floodwaters that turn forests into massive lakes.
What jungles reveal about humanity, through studies of primates and ruins of ancient civilizations in Guatemala and Cambodia, and why those cultures collapsed. Cameras capture monkeys using tools to open nuts, and chimps are seen in a coordinated hunt for one of their own.
Nearly three decades ago, filmmaker Hardy Jones became fascinated by wild dolphins. Even though many said it couldn’t be done, he set out to film these sleek sea mammals in the open ocean. Along the way, he became closely involved with his subjects and came to appreciate dolphins as highly intelligent creatures worthy of careful protection. Eventually, Jones turned his camera into a tool for conservation. He filmed dramatic dolphin hunts, and the documentary footage made headlines and sparked international protests. Jones also discovered the effects of chemical pollution on dolphins and orcas, the largest species of dolphin. He came to realize that threats to these marine mammals were threats to the ocean itself, and to us all.
On the southeast coast of Australia, the town of Eden nestles along the shores of Twofold Bay. It was once a center of Australia’s thriving whaling industry, in part because it lies along the migration path of baleen whales swimming northward from the Antarctic. But residents say Eden’s whalers got some unusual help — from orcas, or killer whales, that patrolled offshore.
In interviews with scientists and eyewitnesses, NATURE probes the evidence that some animals may have senses that allow them to predict impending natural disasters long before we can.
Rescue missions to save animals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Included: a dog that spent days on a rooftop is saved; four dolphins that were washed out to sea from the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Miss., are rescued by a NOAA crew. Also: the evacuation of 19 penguins, two sea otters, a sea turtle and sea dragons from the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans.
NATURE’s Encountering Sea Monsters follows Bob Cranston in his quest to film and understand the world’s most mysterious cephalopods. Imagine coming face to face with a cannibalistic creature that is as tall as you are and has long tentacles, a razor-sharp beak, and skin that flashes with bizarre, dazzling color. NATURE’s Encountering Sea Monsters does just that, as underwater cameraman Bob Cranston explores the remarkable world of marine creatures called cephalopods. Cephalopods include squids, cuttlefish, octopi, and nautili. Cranston and top marine scientists dive in waters from Indonesia and Mexico to Australia and Texas, meeting up with a variety of cephalopods — from the tiny but deadly blue-ringed octopus to the giant Humboldt squid, known for its aggressive behavior, flashing light shows, and cannibalism. Join Bob Cranston as he fearlessly reaches out and interacts with some of the ocean’s most fascinating life forms.
Anthony LaPaglia narrates this look at life in one of the world's most inhospitable places, Death Valley. Included: Devil's Hole pupfish, which live in waters deep beneath the desert's surface and whose numbers are dwindling; kangaroo rats; black-tailed jackrabbits; and bighorn sheep, which have a nine-stage digestive system that enables them to eat even the harshest of desert plants; and the desert tortoise, which eats enough food for a year---and mates---during just two weeks each spring.
For more than 20 years, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has entertained, educated, and fascinated its nearly 2 million annual visitors with pioneering displays of realistic undersea environments. Now NATURE gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at one of the world’s leading centers for marine research and conservation — a marvel of engineering and biology that, literally, captures Oceans in Glass.
Underdogs tells the poignant story of two misfit dogs whose lives were turned around by people who saw their potential for greatness.
Join spider expert Martin Nicholas, a mild-mannered water treatment engineer by day, as he tours the world in search of some of the most amazing arachnids.
"Animals Behaving Worse," the sequel to "Animals Behaving Badly," explores the clever and often amusing ways in which animals must behave in order to survive the increasing presence of humans.
A troop of chacma baboons in Zimbabwe is taken over by and forced to adjust to a new male "king." A pair of twins, along with every other young baboon in the troop, is in danger because the king must kill the females' offspring before he can mate with them.
Patricia Clarkson narrates this look at the relationship between the sycamore fig tree and the tiny fig wasp, which is so small it could fly through the eye of a needle. The trees, which flourish in Kenya, produce fruit that provides nourishment to more wildlife than any other tree in Africa, but without the pollination the wasp provides, that might not occur. The documentary also examines other creatures that make the trees their homes, including gray hornbills (one of Africa's largest birds).
Africa's lion population appears to be declining at an alarming rate. NATURE's THE VANISHING LIONS searches for explanations and solutions to the troubling trend. Across Africa, the King of Beasts is in trouble. In the late 20th century, wildlife preserves were created to curtail safari hunting, but the African lion population continues to decline. Their numbers have dwindled from 100,000 in the early 1990s to no more than 30,000 and as few as 16,000 today. What could be endangering the King of Beasts?
They are among the most reliable witnesses to a crime — expert in their testimony and bulletproof in their account. Yet they never utter a single word. They are the animals, plants, and insects that are being recruited by a special breed of forensic scientists to solve the most seemingly impenetrable of crimes.
In 1959, the United States Air Force captured dozens of baby chimpanzees in Africa, transporting them to Alamogordo, New Mexico where they and their offspring were enlisted into in the space program. NATURE's "Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History" explores the lives of these chimpanzees who were forced to endure a grueling life as the ultimate human stand-ins.
Brave the extreme conditions of Earth's southernmost continent for a close-up look at the varied penguins of the Antarctic.
NATURE presents a breathtaking look at wintertime deep within Yellowstone, America's first national park.
Lynn Sherr hosts a collection of clips highlighting memorable moments from the program's first 25 years. Also: a tribute to the series' creator and host George Page, who died in 2006. Included: hatchling sea turtles on a Caribbean beach; barnacle goslings in the Arctic; a wildebeest defending her calf from wild dogs on the Serengeti; crocodiles attacking gazelles; chimpanzees saved from medical testing; a reunion of two elephants after 25 years apart.
With NATURE’S Rhinoceros, wildlife filmmaker Nigel Marven brings you face-to-face with the world’s five species of rhino, each struggling, with varying degrees of success, for their continued survival. For some rhinos, the future may rely on breeding programs, such as at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens, where Sumatran rhinoceros Emi is now nearing the end of her third successful pregnancy, having already given birth to Andalas and Suci, the only two Sumatran rhinos ever to be born in captivity.
More than 15 years ago, Martyn Colbeck began to document the lives of African elephants. He has grown close to elephant matriarch, Echo, and her close-knit family.
Conservationist Rom Whitaker searches for the last of the supersize crocodiles among the titans of the croc world: Nile crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles, and gharials.
Humans have had a unique relationship with raptors for centuries. Now, using the tricks of raptors, engineers have devised fighter jets with unprecedented maneuverability and stealth. In Raptor Force, you’ll learn the secrets of these astonishing aerialists, and how they’ve mastered, more than any other type of bird, the art of soaring.
The longest chain of mountains on the planet lies along the western edge of South America like an immense dragon - its tail falling into the freezing Antarctic Ocean, its head breathing fire 5,000 miles north. The Andes, home to the highest points outside the Himalayas, are remarkable not only for their volcanoes and their jagged peaks, the spines of the dragon's back; the niches they shelter are a world of extremes and hidden secrets. NATURE journeys the length of the Andes, passing through deserts and cloud forests, across glaciers and fjords, encountering the amazing creatures that call these habitats home: penguins and hummingbirds, pumas and flamingos, a deer only 12 inches tall, a tree-dwelling bear and much more.
Along her 9,000-mile voyage to nest, our loggerhead tour guide encounters hammerhead sharks, deep ocean tempests, and fishing nets.
NATURE’s two-part special Dogs That Changed the World tells the epic story of the wolf’s evolution, how “man’s best friend” changed human society and how we in turn have radically transformed dogs. From the tiniest Chihuahua to the powerful and massive English Mastiff, modern domesticated dogs come in a bewildering array of shapes and sizes, with an equally diverse range of temperaments and behaviors. And yet, according to genetics, all dogs evolved from the savage and wild wolf — in a transformation that occurred just 15,000 years ago. In Part One, “The Rise of the Dog,” you’ll learn about how the domestication of dogs might have taken place, including the theory of biologist Raymond Coppinger that it was the animals themselves — and human trash — that inspired the transformation. The genetic analysis of Peter Savolainen of the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden has placed the origins of domesticated dogs — and those of the first dog — in East Asia. You’ll also discover 14 dog breeds that controversial genetic studies show are the most ancient — and the best living representatives of the ancestors to all living dogs. --Cited: PBS Nature's website
NATURE’s two-part special Dogs That Changed the World tells the epic story of the wolf’s evolution, how “man’s best friend” changed human society and how we in turn have radically transformed dogs. From the tiniest Chihuahua to the powerful and massive English Mastiff, modern domesticated dogs come in a bewildering array of shapes and sizes, with an equally diverse range of temperaments and behaviors. And yet, according to genetics, all dogs evolved from the savage and wild wolf — in a transformation that occurred just 15,000 years ago. Over 400 breeds of dog are recognized around the world, each unique for its personality, habits, and form. Most of these breeds exploded onto the scene over the past 150 years, spurred by the Victorian-era passion for the “dog fancy” — the selective breeding of dogs to enhance particular characteristics. By tinkering with its genetics, humans made the dog the most varied animal species on the planet — and also created a host of hereditary health problems. Despite the plethora of new shapes and sizes, dogs have retained the instincts bred into their ancestors by thousands of years of work: the urge to herd or hunt, to dig and to guard. In Part Two, “Dogs by Design,” you’ll discover how these hard-wired behaviors help different types of dogs, from hounds to herders, excel at different tasks (and why it can sometimes be so difficult to train them to do otherwise). You’ll also learn how dogs’ finely tuned senses are serving humans and saving lives. --Cited: PBS Nature's website
The world of sharks is explored off the coast of southern Africa. Included: basking sharks; blue sharks; great white sharks; sand tiger sharks; short-fin mako sharks; and tiger sharks.
The Serengeti, in northern Tanzania, teems with big predators. But none compare to the lion. The Serengeti sustains one of the biggest lion populations in Africa: approximately 3,500 lions in 300 prides. But this pride, residing in the central Serengeti, is an exception. 22 lions in all: they are a Super Pride. Few lion prides reach Super Pride status. This phenomenon requires the right conditions. Plentiful prey and strong pride males are key to its success. But keeping cubs alive to maturity is the Super Pride's ultimate goal. Sometimes the greatest threats to a lion cub's life come from other lions…
Ohio's annual Ferret Buckeye Bash is the largest and most popular ferret show in the country. Hundreds of top breeders, seasoned experts and ferret enthusiasts pamper and parade their pets in a quest for prizes and prestige. Though these mischievous and often quirky creatures are unlikely show animals, the competition is intense. Tension is high but the tiny competitors don't understand all the fuss; they're too busy creating mayhem!
Follow two moose families as they negotiate the perils of wild and suburban Alaska. With encounters with predators and man a constant danger, life for a young moose is a daily battle for survival. A colossus of size, power and majesty, with an armoury unmatched on Earth, 'Mighty Moose' explores the hidden life of an icon of the Northern wilderness. In a savage landscape, the moose confronts daunting foes... and struggles against more insidious threats. And when it ventures out of the wilderness, it finds the obstacles of the human world both bewildering and deadly. Moose must increasingly share the forests, waterways, and now, sprawling urban centres with humans. As moose-human encounters increase, hungry moose invade backyards, parks and pools. Sometimes, encounters can be deadly - for moose and humans. Roadway collisions are at record highs, and rising fatalities drive car companies to develop and test moose-proof designs.
The Season 26 opener probes colony collapse disorder---the dramatic loss of honeybees in North America and Europe. The honeybee is responsible (via pollination) for one of every three bites of food people eat. Included: long-term ramifications; possible causes.
Scientists and bee experts discuss the crucial role that honeybees, a "keystone species," play in our economy and ecosystems, as well as bees' fascinating social organization and what we can do to reverse the decline of nature's pollinators.
Discover the epic history of the Druids, one of more than a dozen gray wolf packs now occupying the 2.2 million acres of Yellowstone National Park.
Documentarian Simon King raises two orphaned cheetah cubs in Kenya's Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. He's seen bottle-feeding them and---to prepare them for the wild--- teaching the pair to hunt. King narrates.
Nature's ugliest creatures are spotlighted, including the dung beetle, elephant-seal bull, ghost-faced bat, Indian stork, naked mole rat, needle-toothed viperfish, proboscis monkey, star-nosed mole, tapeworm, vulture and warthog. Included: how their looks and attributes contribute to their survival.
Dr. Philip Stander, a Namibian carnivore expert, investigates the resurgent lion population in the Namib Desert. Included: the uniqueness of the big cats; and their biggest challenge---residents who see them as threats to livestock.
An exploration of Australia's diverse parrot population, including the fig parrot, the golden-shouldered parrot and the palm cockatoo. The overview examines their mating rituals and fight for survival, and details the damage the birds can do to farmers' crops.
The link between the horseshoe crab, which has remained the same for some 350 million years, and the red-knot shorebird, is explored. The horseshoe crab's spawning grounds, the Delaware Bay, are an important feeding ground for the red knots on their way from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic. Included: how biologists connected a drop in the red-knot population to a similar decrease in the crabs. Also: how horseshoe-crab blood is used to test human medicines.
An examination of what the future may hold for polar bears, which evolved from grizzlies during the last ice age, due to the dramatic changes in their Arctic habitat. The documentary also details how grizzlies are expanding their territory northward, encroaching upon the polar bears' domain. Included: a polar bear giving birth; grizzly and polar-bear mothers teaching their cubs to hunt.
A two-part examination of courtship rituals in the animal kingdom begins with females. Included: what they look for in potential mates.
The two-part examination of courtship rituals in the animal kingdom concludes with the male half of the equation. Included: the lengths to which they go to woo females, including changing body color; dancing; fighting; and making music.
A fascinating profile of a 33-year-old silverback named Titus, the leader of a gorilla clan in the mountainous region between Rwanda and Congo who faces a challenge for supremacy from his second-in-command, Kuryama. Archival footage and the observations of researchers fill in his backstory, including how, as a young adult, he engaged in secret liaisons with females behind the back of pack leader Beetsme, then led a rare bloodless coup against Beetsme.
Marine biologist-filmmaker Rick Rosenthal documents billfish (marlins, sailfish and swordfish), whose numbers have dwindled over the past 50 years from overfishing. Included: off Mexico's Contoy Island, he finds thousands of sailfish feasting on sardines; and along Australia's Great Barrier Reef, he swims with a "grander" (a marlin over 1000 pounds).
A chronicle of the first year in the life of a male red deer in the Austrian Alps. Included: his first six weeks, when he learns about the world; his introduction to humans; his first winter, when tragedy strikes, decreasing the odds of survival.
On a remote Arctic island, a breeding pair of gyrfalcons and a pack of Arctic wolves struggle to raise their young as nine months of snow and ice melt away.
Just how smart are monkeys? Their curiosity leads them to try new things, but it’s their culture that teaches them much of what they know.
Following their protection as an endangered species, bald eagles have come roaring back. But even in the best of times, life in the wild is a surprisingly tough struggle.
In 1893, a bounty hunter named Ernest Thompson Seton journeyed to the untamed canyons of New Mexico on a mission to kill a dangerous outlaw: a wolf named Lobo.
Follow Rom Whitaker as he journeys around the world, reimagining the lines between fact and fantasy, in search of the fabled dragons' contemporary counterparts.
We find them in the evening digging through our garbage, hiding under our houses, or walking through our yards, streets, and parks. Skunks seem perfectly adapted to life around us. But we are less comfortable around them, for fear of their potent spray. As we expand our urban areas, many skunks find themselves increasingly unwelcome neighbors. It seems everyone has their own skunk story. But what do we really know about these infamous black and white creatures?
In South Africa's Drakensberg Mountains, one animal’s perseverance makes it the ultimate survivor: the eland, the largest member of the antelope family.
Some people are cat people, some are dog people. But regardless of which camp they fall into, most people are simply crazy about their pets. The connections people form with their cats and dogs are often the longest, strongest relationships in their lives. They are our soul mates, our best friends, sometimes even our surrogate children. What makes these creatures such key members of our families?
Kilauea continually molds Hawaii’s Big Island. Creating new land, shaping ancient forests and carving tunnels through the earth, the volcano fascinates a dedicated group of scientists and filmmakers who follow its every action. Using innovative new imaging technologies to map the magma chamber, following the lava’s heat along its journey underground, and listening to the constant noises of its movements, geologists map the shifting liquid earth as they work to understand its awesome force.
More than a third of all amphibians have already been lost, and more are disappearing every day. A fungus called chytrid has been identified as the major culprit.
Around the globe, unique and fascinating species face extinction. Follow the plight of these creatures and the dedicated conservationists who fight for them.
Returning home to the Isle of Mull after 15 years abroad, Gordon Buchanan was happy for the chance to take a new look at his native land, through his camera lens.
The world's largest waterfall, Victoria Falls, is explored through the eyes of a 74-year-old fisherman who's lived near the 350-foot wonder, located on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, for all of his life. During the rainy season (November to April), much of the wildlife that depend on the river for subsistence dissipate into the savanna. The rest of the year, however, it attracts baboons, eagles, elephants, hippos, kingfishers and quelea finches, among other creatures.
The epic story of a wild stallion continues with the third installment of the Cloud series.
Across the animal kingdom, some of the most essential lessons -- and the most extreme challenges -- occur in the first moments of life.
The black mamba is Africa’s deadliest snake. In Swaziland, snake handler Thea Litschka-Koen and her husband, Clifton, endeavor to change attitudes and save lives.
A baby humpback enters the world and joins the 3,000 or more whales that congregate in the waters off Hawaii each winter. This is the story of her first year of life.
These tiny marvels dazzle and delight bird watchers all over the world, and NATURE reveals their stunning abilities as they have never been seen before.
The wilds of Yellowstone National Park are a world of predators, scavengers and opportunists. In this vast and complex kingdom, two dominant predators reign supreme: the grizzly bear and the wolf. Size and power square off against speed and teamwork, as mighty grizzly bears contend with powerful packs of wolves for control of the food supply. Though these two fearsome hunters would normally rule their ranges uncontested, in Yellowstone they must share resources, or face starvation.
The Balkan Peninsula is notorious for being one of the great battlegrounds of history. And yet, it possesses another side unknown to many, where ancient forests and vast wetlands harbor pristine wilderness, and sheer cliff walls and desolate plateaus preserve a seemingly unchanged past. Surveying these striking and stark landscapes, one might think they’ve ventured into the Middle-earth of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Indeed the Balkan Peninsula is home to a variety of regions that border on mythical. In Croatia’s Kopacki Rit Wetlands, land mines keep people away, but enable native wildlife to thrive. Further south, Montenegro’s Tara River carves through Europe’s longest and deepest canyon, and neighboring forests provide refuge to rare animals such as the Balkan Lynx. To the east, millions of birds flock to the Danube Delta to feast on swarms of mosquitoes. And at the west of the Balkans is Skadar Lake, a remarkable landscape of peaks and water.
The Everglades’ watery oasis has been invaded by giants. As part of an ever popular international pet trade market, and incidentally along paths of human travel, many exotic animals have been removed from their native lands and landed where they are not necessarily welcome arrivals. Among these invasive species are a growing number of Burmese pythons, which have taken up residence in the wetlands of Florida, courtesy of overwhelmed pet owners and hurricane-hit animal warehouses.
They are the scenes of some of the largest concentrations of predators and prey on the planet – the vast tracts of grassland and savannah found on every continent but Antarctica. Yet survival in this kind of open, horizontal world is far from easy, with few places to hide, a scarcity of vegetation, drought, fire and the threat of attack by some of the world’s fastest and most powerful hunters. From Africa’s Serengeti to California’s grasslands, some of nature’s most dramatic moments are caught, examined and “fractured” into their unique parts … within creatures great and small … to reveal the amazing abilities that give each animal the instinct, intelligence and brute prowess to survive. From elaborate impact sequences that spin around animals caught in a “frozen moment” to animations that go inside their bodies – a unique view of animals’ amazing biomechanics is revealed.
Teeming with creatures in every shape and form, the jungle is the most diverse habitat on the planet and home to nearly half of the world’s plant and animal species. Rising hundreds of feet from the dark depths of the tropical forest floor, through layers of twisting branch and canopy full of life – this vertical landscape pushes the limits of animal engineering. The jungle’s layers are peeled back to dissect more amazing moments of impact. Stealth and ambush reign in the jungle and survival depends on highly tuned senses and ingenious defenses. From ninja ants to flying snakes, cameras dive underwater, sail through trees and penetrate fur, feathers, skin and bone to reveal the science of some amazing animal engineering hidden deep in the jungle.
Cuba may have been restricted politically and economically for the past 50 years, but its borders have remained open to wildlife for which Cuba’s undeveloped islands are an irresistible draw. While many islands in the Caribbean have poisoned or paved over their ecological riches on land and in the sea in pursuit of a growing tourist industry, Cuba’s wild landscapes have remained virtually untouched, creating a safe haven for rare and intriguing indigenous animals, as well as for hundreds of species of migrating birds and marine creatures. Coral reefs have benefited, too. Independent research has shown that Cuba’s corals are doing much better than others both in the Caribbean and around the world.
Echo, Africa’s most famous elephant, was the subject of many films and the matriarch of perhaps the most studied wild elephant herd in the world. In May of 2009, she died of natural causes. This film is a look back at this remarkable animal through extraordinary footage and interviews with the researchers that cared for and studied Echo and her family.
Although cultures around the world may regard the crow as a scavenger, bad omen, or simply a nuisance, this bad reputation might overshadow what could be regarded as the crow’s most striking characteristic – its intelligence. New research indicates that crows are among the brightest animals in the world. NATURE’s A Murder of Crows brings you these so-called feathered apes, as you have never seen them before.
As recently as the 1980’s, Iraq’s Mesopotamian Marshes were reminiscent of the Garden of Eden – indeed, many biblical scholars believe they are one and the same. Fed by the combined waters of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, this enormous marshland of over 6,000 square miles dominated southern Iraq. For more than 7,000 years, these wetlands provided a bountiful home for both wildlife and humans. A large population of indigenous people, the Ma’dan Tribes known as Marsh Arabs, had thrived there for centuries. But in the 1990’s, due to political conflict, Saddam Hussein attempted to eradicate them – not through systematic extermination, but by destroying the marshes on which they depended for survival. Massive canals were dug, diverting river water away from the wetlands and towards the Persian Gulf. Huge embankments were built to prevent water from entering the marshes. What had been a green paradise twice the size of the Everglades shrank to less than 10% of its original size. Most of it was transformed into a parched, lifeless desert. The wildlife and the people were forced to leave.
Wolverines are among the most elusive creatures on the planet. They seek out the toughest terrain – the most rugged, remote and fiercely raw – and they’ve always been scarce to begin with.
Leopards may be smaller than lions and slower than cheetahs, but it is believed there are roughly ten times more of them than lions, tigers and cheetahs combined. How have they achieved this? The key to their success is their cunning, stealth, and adaptability. From South Africa to Sri Lanka, leopards live secretly, clinging to the shadows.
2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of “Born Free” – a book and then a film that changed forever the way we think about wildlife. What has happened to lions since this story? What has happened to the people featured in the film? And what has “Born Free” taught us?
On the island of New Guinea in the South Pacific lives the most striking and diverse group of birds on the planet. Birds of paradise defy imagination. Covered in spectacular plumage, each species within the Paradisaeidae family is distinct. Some birds are patterned with feathers of bright yellow and green, some have flashy iridescent plumes that catch the light, while others have tails that extend three times the length of their body. Bizarre courtship displays by the male birds show off their exquisite assets, as they dance, puff out, vibrate, hang upside down, stretch their wings, and even contort their bodies into completely different shapes in order to impress a nearby female.
Examining the diversity of Himalayan habitats and wildlife, including snow leopards, red pandas, Asiatic black bears, musk deer, snub-nosed monkeys, Tibetan foxes and high-flying birds. Included: how eagles and wolves rely on teamwork to survive; how the blood of bar-headed geese has a special hemoglobin that enables them to fly in the thin air of the Himalayas. Also: the mountains' valleys, which are home to rain forests that conjure Shangri-La.
Wildlife filmmaker Colin Stafford-Johnson tracks the trek of Broken Tail, a 2-year-old tiger that disappeared from Ranthambore National Park, a tiger reserve in India, and was killed by a train 100 miles away. Their horseback journey takes them across Rajasthan, where they witness how India's historical and contemporary cultures are linked to tigers; introduces them to a poacher; and takes them to Ramgarh sanctuary, a former hunting lodge. They also share favorite memories of Broken Tail.
A look at decennial migration of pelicans to the Australian outback, brought on by flooded riverbeds.
In February 2009, conditions were ripe for wildfires in the state of Victoria in southeast Australia. Relentless heat waves, seemingly endless drought, and arid winds sweeping in from the outback had left the countryside tinder dry and braced for the worst. Then, on Saturday, February 7, Victoria went up in flames; and raging fires engulfed everything in their path. By the time the fires subsided, 173 people had lost their lives, over one million acres of mountain ash forest had been destroyed, and countless animals had perished. The overwhelming firestorm was one of the worst in the country’s history, and came to be known as Black Saturday. Survivors of the Firestorm follows the phoenix-like story of Victoria’s wildlife, the fall and rise of the great mountain ash forests and all that dwell within them, and the extraordinary capacity of a damaged natural world to bounce back.
This film investigates the collapse of Pacific salmon populations and the desperate efforts to save them: Our once great runs of salmon are now conceived in laboratories, raised in tanks, driven in trucks, and farmed in pens. In its exposure of a wildly creative, hopelessly complex, and stunningly expensive approach to managing salmon, the film reveals one of the most ambitious plans ever conceived for taking the reins of the planet.
Chris Morgan sets up camp at a remote spot in the heart of Alaskan wilderness, alongside the largest concentration of grizzlies in the world. It is June in the Alaska Peninsula. The sun sets well into night and bears are taking advantage of the long days to feed, mate, and raise new cubs. Morgan tracks their progress as they feast on the riches of the season and re-establish the complex hierarchal social dynamics of bear society. Along the way, he experiences close encounters with bears, observing brutal battles among males during mating season as well as tender moments between a grizzly mom and her cubs.
Chris Morgan explores the world of black bears caught in the crossroads of urban development in Anchorage and the wilderness. This is a new normal for bears and for their human neighbors. Some bears are so comfortable living in urban surroundings that their primary habitat is a golf course. In residential areas, bears frequently raid garbage bins and birdfeeders for easy snacks. But these behaviors are less than ideal for bears and residents alike. Morgan heads north out of Anchorage to Denali National Park, where the mountains loom over treeless plains and bears get by on a diet of thousands of berries a day. The grizzlies share the enormous park with foxes, wolves and moose — and with one intrepid bear biologist and his team. Morgan continues his journey north on a bone-shaking, 610-mile motorcycle journey from Denali to Prudhoe Bay along the only Alaskan highway to reach the Arctic. Prudhoe Bay, a once pristine area at the edge of the Arctic Ocean, has been changed forever by the oil industry.
Chris Morgan travels to the far north of Alaska, the tiny North Slope town of Kaktovik. It’s early November and winter is coming on. But each year, the polar bears struggle for extended periods on dwindling fat reserves, waiting for the opportunity to hunt on sea ice that takes longer to freeze. In early spring, Morgan joins local hunters in Barrow, the northernmost city in Alaska, as they go out on their own hunts, facing some of the same challenges as the bears. In late spring, Morgan travels to the North Slope of the Brooks Range, where countless thousands of caribou cover the ground for miles. The grizzlies are waiting for them, as they have for thousands of years.
In 1986 a nuclear meltdown at the infamous Chernobyl power plant in present-day Ukraine left miles of land in radioactive ruins. Residents living in areas most contaminated by the disaster were evacuated and relocated by government order, and a no-man’s land of our own making was left to its own devices. In the ensuing 25 years, forests, marshes, fields and rivers reclaimed the land, reversing the effects of hundreds of years of human development. And surprisingly, this exclusion zone, or “dead zone,” has become a kind of post-nuclear Eden, populated by beaver and bison, horses and birds, fish and falcons – and ruled by wolves. Access to the zone is now permitted, at least on a limited basis, and scientists are monitoring the surviving wildlife in the area, trying to learn how the various species are coping with the invisible blight of radiation. As the top predators in this new wilderness, wolves best reflect the condition of the entire ecosystem because if the wolves are doing well, the populations of their prey must also be doing well. Accordingly, a key long-term study of the wolves has been initiated to determine their health, their range, and their numbers. Radioactive Wolves examines the state of wildlife populations in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone, an area that, to this day, remains too radioactive for human habitation.
Skyscrapers towering over major cities or spectacularly-designed bridges often come to mind when we think of great feats in architecture and engineering. However, some of the most amazing, creative, and innovative structures on earth are not man-made or urban at all, but residences built by animals in the natural world. Termites across Africa's plains build ten-foot-high mounds, temperature-controlled high-rises maintained by solar power and complete with flood contingency plans. Leaf and grass cutter ants move 40 tons of earth to create subterranean cities with highways, homes, farms, trash pits, and nurseries for 12 million residents. Army ants create living houses made entirely of their own bodies. Cave swiflets mold crystal nests from their gluey saliva. New Guinea's male Vogelkop bowerbirds, meticulous interior decorators, use their artistic visions to woo. Beavers build enormous dams, changing the landscape to create a safe environment for their lodges. And hummingbirds delicately weave tiny camouflaged cradles out of cobwebs, grass, twigs, and leaves. Guided by instinct, animal architects build an remarkable variety of elaborate dwellings with their simple supplies. Every house suits the needs of its owner, to shelter and protect. NATURE investigates what goes into making a home when you're wild and cost is not a factor. They may be single-use, multi-generational, or multi-purpose; they may be anything from a small depression in the sand to a many-chambered tunnel, a nest, a burrow, or a mound, but for animals big and small, these dwellings are always impressive home sweet homes.
Harpy eagles are the most powerful birds of prey in the world. Standing three feet tall, with a six-foot wingspan and razor-sharp talons the size of bear claws, these birds are the heavyweight hunters of the South American rainforest. They are the top predators in the jungle canopy, feeding regularly on tree-dwelling mammals like monkeys and sloths. But scientists know very little about harpy eagles because their numbers are few and their habitat is large. Hidden in the branches of the canopy, they are rarely seen, let alone filmed. After locating a nest 130 feet above ground in an enormous Ceiba tree, wildlife filmmaker Fergus Beeley and his team of cameramen install a "nest cam" to monitor a harpy family. Over the course of a year, they struggle to document the lives of these elusive birds in Venezuela's Orinoco River jungle. The team comes dangerously close to the notoriously aggressive birds, risking serious injury for the chance to gain new insight into these Jurassic-like creatures. NATURE enters the secret world of the harpy, and provides a treasure trove of new information about this majestic species.
After a local farmer left a bowl of eggs on Joe Hutto's front porch, his life was forever changed. Hutto, possessing a broad background in the natural sciences and an interest in imprinting young animals, incubated the eggs and waited for them to hatch. As the chicks emerged from their shells, they locked eyes with an unusual but dedicated mother. Deep in the wilds of Florida's Flatlands, Hutto spent each day living as a turkey mother, taking on the full-time job of raising sixteen turkey chicks. Hutto dutifully cared for his family around the clock, roosting with them, taking them foraging, and immersing himself in their world. In the process, they revealed their charming curiosity and surprising intellect. There was little he could teach them that they did not already know, but he showed them the lay of the land and protected them from the dangers of the forest as best he could. In return, they taught him how to see the world through their eyes. Based on his true story, My Life as a Turkey chronicles Hutto's remarkable and moving experience of raising a group of wild turkey hatchlings to adulthood.
In the past 50 years, the eastern gray kangaroo population around Canberra, Australia’s capital city, has exploded from a few hundred to tens of thousands. Forced from the surrounding drought-stricken hills, hungry kangaroos have done their best to adapt to city life, dining on city parks and suburban lawns—though they do pay a price for their meals. Each year, thousands of kangaroos lose their lives in collisions with cars on busy roads, causing injuries and property damage of more than a million dollars in the process. Overgrazing by large numbers of kangaroos has also created stress on the environment. It’s all led to a government policy of culling, and an emotional public dispute between those who support reducing kangaroo numbers, and those who are appalled by the prospect of killing this beloved Australian icon. The government’s culling “solution” has led some Canberra residents to seek out new, innovative, and kangaroo-friendly ways to regulate the surging population. Can they be relocated, or can their numbers be controlled through forced contraception? Following the stories of several urban kangaroos, Kangaroo Mob reveals how these metropolitan marsupials manage to survive the city, and documents the ongoing debate on how best to manage them.
Alaska’s Admiralty Island is home to an estimated 1800 brown bears, the largest concentration of bears in the world. Nearly 100 miles long and 20 miles wide, it is half the size of Yellowstone National Park, yet it sustains four times more grizzlies. The native Tlingít people call this island “Kootznoowoo,” meaning “Fortress of the Bears.” It is a place where bears depend on fish, fish depend on trees, and the trees depend on fish-eating bears to spread the nitrogen rich bodies of salmon throughout the forest. Everything depends on the annual salmon run. When a change in the weather keeps the salmon from arriving, the entire ecosystem is affected. A La Niña winter has cooled the water to two degrees below normal, keeping the salmon out of the streams and delaying the run. It’s the worst salmon season in the last 40 years. As the bears wait for the salmon, they hunt and scavenge for anything they can find to supplement their unsatisfying diet of grass. The receding tide offers unique opportunities, and one young bear demonstrates a remarkable talent for clamming. But the feast is short-lived. With the passing season showing no sign of fish, the bears become increasingly gaunt and desperate. Will the salmon finally make their way up the streams of Admiralty Island? And will the bears survive until they do?
Are we, in an effort to outwit raccoons, actually making them smarter and unwittingly contributing to their evolutionary success? Are the ever more complex obstacles that our fast-paced urban world throws at them actually pushing the development of raccoon brains? In this film, scientists from around the world share their thoughts and work to help explore this scientific theory. Attempting to do something that has never been done before, they closely follow a family of urban raccoons as they navigate the complex world of a big city.
Whales and dolphins conjure a deep sense of wonder in us that’s hard to explain. From the Arctic to the Amazon, this groundbreaking three-part series goes on a global expedition with world-renowned underwater cameramen, Doug Allen (Planet Earth) and Didier Noirot (Jacques Cousteau’s cameraman), as they capture spellbinding footage of these marine mammals. Ocean Giants looks at how cetaceans hunt, mate, and communicate, and follows scientists as they strive to uncover new insights about these animals. The first hour, Giant Lives, enters the world of the great whales. In the Arctic, giant bowhead whales survive the freezing cold wrapped in fifty tons of insulating blubber two-feet thick, making them the fattest animals on the planet. But the biggest animal on the planet is the blue whale. Measuring a hundred feet long, and weighing in at 200 tons, it is double the size of the largest dinosaur.
Whales and dolphins conjure a deep sense of wonder in us that’s hard to explain. From the Arctic to the Amazon, this groundbreaking three-part series goes on a global expedition with world-renowned underwater cameramen, Doug Allen (Planet Earth) and Didier Noirot (Jacques Cousteau’s cameraman), as they capture spellbinding footage of these marine mammals. Ocean Giants looks at how cetaceans hunt, mate, and communicate, and follows scientists as they strive to uncover new insights about these animals. The second hour, Deep Thinkers, explores the cognitive and emotional lives of dolphins and whales. Like us, cetaceans have special brain cells, spindle cells, that are associated with communication, emotion, and heightened social sensitivity. These cells were once thought to be unique to us, but research is now showing that whales and dolphins may have up to three times more spindle cells than humans.
Whales and dolphins conjure a deep sense of wonder in us that’s hard to explain. From the Arctic to the Amazon, this groundbreaking three-part series goes on a global expedition with world-renowned underwater cameramen, Doug Allen (Planet Earth) and Didier Noirot (Jacques Cousteau’s cameraman), as they capture spellbinding footage of these marine mammals. Ocean Giants looks at how cetaceans hunt, mate, and communicate, and follows scientists as they strive to uncover new insights about these animals. Marine mammals’ extrasensory perceptions and communication skills are the focus of Voices of the Sea, the final hour of the series. Whales and dolphins depend on sound to function in their ocean home. They use ultrasound to see inside other creatures, clicks and whistles to speak, and echolocation to navigate and hunt in the pitch-black depths.
Central Idaho's Frank Church--River of No Return Wilderness is the largest contiguous wilderness area in the lower 48 States. Endless rugged mountains, wild rivers, forests and deep canyons define this land--home to numerous species of wildlife, including wolves, who have just returned after 50 years of near absence. A young couple, Isaac and Bjornen Babcock, chose this wilderness for their year-long honeymoon. But what begins as a romantic adventure becomes something much greater for the couple--and a tale of hope and celebration for every life trying to make it in the unforgiving heart of the wilderness.
White lions are among the rarest and most treasured animals in the world. Rarer still is their survival in the wild. Their white color stands out in Africa’s wild bush country, increasing their risk of being targeted and killed by rival predators and marauding adult male lions. Used primarily for communication and camouflage, color is one of nature’s most dependable defenses. White lions lose the ability to blend in to their surroundings, exposing them to other predators as well as jeopardizing their own ability to hunt. Overcoming their heightened visibility may be the greatest challenge young white cubs face. Often mistaken for albinos, white lions actually do have some pigmentation and dark eyes. They are leucistic animals, produced by the mating of two tawny lions that both carry a recessive gene for white coat color. Their ghostly white color is both a blessing and a curse, earning them a mythical status and a unique vulnerability. Only three white cubs have reached adulthood in the wilds of South Africa since white lions were first documented there in 1975. Now, two white cubs, sisters, have beaten the odds, surviving all the challenges of their youth with the help of two remarkable lionesses—their mother, Matimba, and their aunt, Khanya. Without an adult male lion to protect their small pride, Matimba and Khanya must rely solely on their own knowledge, strength and courage to protect their family.
Loud bellows ring out from a small pocket of forest surrounded by dense suburbs and busy roads in Brisbane, Australia. It’s mating season for koalas. Their thunderous roars are difficult to reconcile with the familiar perception of them as cuddly creatures. But these complex choruses of bellows and grunts have become invaluable for those striving to learn more about the species. Cracking the Koala Code explores the day-to-day dramas of an extended family of koalas, seen through the eyes of the scientists studying their every move and vocalization. Biologists Dr. Bill Ellis and Sean Fitzgibbon are engaged in ground-breaking science sponsored by the San Diego Zoo. Using 3G solar-powered mobile phones to record koala vocalizations, and applying their recordings in the field to evoke koala responses, they have managed to decipher some of the koalas’ communications. These “cracks” in the koala communication code have provided new insights into the basic language and social structure of these marsupials who are dealing with social pressure, conflict, disease, and the external stresses of living in an increasingly urbanized world.
Hunted almost to extinction, the last wild Siberian tigers can only be found in the forests of the far eastern Russian frontier—but not easily. Ecologist Chris Morgan embarks on a challenge that will fulfill a lifelong dream — to find and film a Siberian tiger living wild and free in these forests. To help him, Morgan turns to Korean filmmaker Sooyong Park, the first individual ever to film Siberian tigers in the wild. Park spent more than five years watching and waiting for a glimpse of the elusive creatures, confined sometimes for months in tiny underground pits or 15-foot hides in trees. His technique was unconventional, but produced more than a thousand hours of wild tiger footage that told the story of a three-generation tiger dynasty. During their time together, Park teaches Morgan the secrets of tracking tigers—where to look and what to look for in these vast, seemingly-uninhabited frozen forests. Eventually, Morgan’s mentor and guide leaves him to his own private quest, and it is up to Morgan to follow the tracks and markings of these giant cats, searching out spots where tigers are prone to hunt, setting up cameras he hopes will also capture a precious image of a wild Siberian tiger.
Throughout the long months of the Arctic’s frozen winter, the sun remains below the horizon. The cold is intensified by the darkness, making life difficult, if not impossible, for all but the toughest and most experienced of animals. Snowy owls are built for the challenge, their every sense and skill honed to take on the eerie, bleak world. When the brief Arctic summer approaches, bringing light back to the tundra, snowy owls embark on an even more daunting challenge than keeping themselves alive. They breed and attempt to raise young in one of the harshest environments on the planet. Once summer arrives, they will have just 82 days of sunlight to successfully raise a family of helpless owlets until they are ready and able to fly. Documenting the degree of difficulty involved in those efforts, a team of filmmakers must face some challenges of their own as they set out to record the rarely observed daily lives of a breeding pair of snowy owls.
Are animals capable of feeling complex emotions? Recent observations of unexpected cross-species relationships in zoos and animal sanctuaries around the world may provide some answers. Endearing interactions between a cheetah and a retriever, a lion and a coyote, a dog and a deer, a goat and a horse, and even a tortoise and a goose offer captivating glimpses of supportive connections in the animal world. Each interspecies pair challenges the conventional wisdom that humans are the only species capable of feeling compassion and forming long-lasting friendships. Animal behavior experts weigh in with their opinions, and animal caretakers share their personal experiences with cross-species relationships in this compelling tale of unlikely animal couples.
Ducks are ancient creatures. True originals, ducks practice habitual lifestyles that have been essential to their evolutionary success for millions of years. There are more than 120 different species of ducks—many with delightful names like “Buffleheads,” “Shovelers,” and “Woodies” that embody their charming personalities and curious mannerisms. Despite the glorious display of their iridescent feathers, these webbed-footed waterfowl maintain a reputation for being clumsy and awkward. But in reality they are surprisingly athletic birds; some have been clocked flying almost 100 mph, allowing them to outpace eagles and hawks. Ducks have an uncanny knack for survival, and their exuberant behavior never ceases to entertain. Take to the skies with a flock of green-winged Teal. Watch Wood ducks raise a family. Learn why Goldeneyes head north in the winter. Each bird is unique, full of surprises, and will leave you eager to learn more.
Attenborough revisits key places and events in his career and shows how a succession of technical innovations in filmmaking led to remarkable revelations about our planet and the creatures that inhabit it.
Attenborough shares his memories of the scientists and the breakthroughs that helped shape his own career in translating these discoveries into film.
Attenborough reflects on the dramatic impact that we have had on the natural world during his lifetime.
Wolves and buffalo try to get along in Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park.
When we think about plants, we don’t often associate a term like “behavior” with them, but experimental plant ecologist JC Cahill wants to change that. The University of Alberta professor maintains that plants do behave and lead anything but solitary and sedentary lives. “They’re actively engaging with the environment in which they live,” Cahill insists. “They actively communicate. They actively respond to the nutrients, and the predators, and the herbivores that are around them. It’s a really dynamic system.” By exploring the fascinating behaviors of plant life, including the dodder vine, wild tobacco plant, and Douglas fir, What Plants Talk About teaches us all that plants are smarter and much more interactive than we thought!
Eels have been a source of fascination to writer, artist and conservationist James Prosek since childhood. His introduction to the slimy, muscular fish occurred when fishing as a boy in the ponds and rivers of Connecticut. He would catch them by accident when fishing for something else. But when an old game warden explained that they were born thousands of miles away in the Sargasso Sea, somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle, Prosek became hooked and determined to learn as much he could about the mysterious creatures. Prosek’s journey takes him to Maine, where New England fishermen reap the benefits of a multibillion-dollar eel business; to Japan, where the fish are a staple of Japanese diet, with more than 130,000 tons of eel consumed each year; and to the Maori in New Zealand, where eels are revered, often depicted as mythical beings or guardians. Eels can be found all over the globe, in fresh and salt water ecosystems alike. But today, risk of over-fishing and the presence of dams and other obstacles that prevent eels from reaching their oceanic spawning grounds pose new threats to an animal that once roamed the planet alongside the dinosaurs.
The striking white Lipizzaner stallions of the famed Spanish Riding School in Vienna have been thrilling audiences for centuries. During the winter public performance season, the horses execute breathtaking displays of carefully choreographed and synchronized movements known as high classical dressage. The riding school’s success relies on the strong bonds the animals establish with their riders during years of training; Lipizzaner stallions go through a minimum of six years of practice and preparation before performing publicly. Legendary White Stallions explores how Lipizzaners have developed from horses bred for war in the rugged Atlas Mountains of North Africa into living works of art capturing the hearts of millions in a world-famous court of kings.
Just a century ago, there were less than a million deer in North America. Today, there are nearly 30 million. The Private Life of Deer looks at how these wild deer interact with one another, and how they adapt to living in a suburban environment.
Botswana’s Makgadikgadi Pans are home to the largest zebra population in southern Africa, but it’s not an easy life. There is no permanent water in the arid saltpans, so thousands of zebras are dependent on isolated summer rains for their survival. Fleeting thundershowers produce islands of grass scattered across the otherwise barren landscape. When the seasonal storms end, and the dry season begins, the striped nomads start their long trek west to the Boteti River for fresh drinking water. There, water is plentiful, but the zebras must travel further and further from the river to reach adequate grazing before trudging miles back to quench their thirst. It’s a grueling routine that will continue until the storm clouds return, the dry season ends, and the zebras can return home where they will welcome newborn foals into their families.
This is the story of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's 501st attempt to save an orphan otter. From her discovery as a stranded newborn pup crying on the beach through her rehabilitation in secret roof tanks atop the Aquarium, we follow as Otter 501 learns how to dive, hunt, eat, and fend for herself in the wild, where survival is a long shot at best.
Examining the ways animals attract mates. Included: the feminine wiles of a young gorilla; the search for a partner among a thousand flamingos; the "open" relationships of blue-footed boobies; and the soap opera-like entanglements of gibbons.
A look at the difficulties of raising parrots. The intelligent birds have a life span of 80-90 years, which means they often live longer than their owners—when their owners don't give them up after a few years, that is. They also form strong bonds with caregivers, which can result in odd behavior if a caregiver leaves for an extended period of time, as Liz and Russ Hartman learned: their bird became so upset while Russ was away on a business trip that it plucked all the feathers from its chest.
The coywolf, a mixture of western coyote and eastern wolf, is a remarkable new hybrid carnivore that is taking over territories once roamed by wolves and slipping unnoticed into our cities. Its appearance is very recent — within the last 90 years — in evolutionary terms, a blip in time. Beginning in Canada but by no means ending there, the story of how it came to be is an extraordinary tale of how quickly adaptation and evolution can occur, especially when humans interfere. Tag along as scientists study this new top predator, tracking it from the wilderness of Ontario’s Algonquin Park, through parking lots, alleys and backyards in Toronto all the way to the streets of New York City.
There is an unusual looking monkey called the crested black macaque that is endemic to rainforests in Indonesia, which includes the island of Sulawesi. These striking black primates, sporting punk hairstyles and copper-colored eyes, first caught the attention and won the heart of wildlife cameraman and biologist Colin Stafford-Johnson 25 years ago. But since then, their numbers have dropped by almost 90 percent, so the filmmaker returns to the island to discover why and how he could help.
“Honey badger is bad ass.” Those words and corresponding video became a YouTube sensation with 51 million hits. This relentless little creature is one of the most fearless animals in the world, renowned for its ability to confront grown lions, castrate charging buffalo, and shrug off the toxic defenses of stinging bees, scorpions, and snakes. Little is known about its behavior in the wild or why it is so aggressive. Our film will follow three badger specialists in South Africa who take on these masters of mayhem in ways that must be seen to be believed.
The Shannon is Ireland’s greatest geographical landmark and the longest river. It is both a barrier and highway – a silver ribbon holding back the rugged landscapes of the west from the gentler plains to the east. On its journey south, the Shannon passes through a huge palette of rural landscapes, where on little-known backwaters, Ireland’s wild animals and plants still thrive as almost nowhere else. For a year, wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson lives on the river — camping on its banks, exploring its countless tributaries in a traditional canoe, following the river from dawn to dusk through the four seasons, on a quest to film the natural history of the Shannon as it has never been seen or heard or experienced before.
The animals of the world may increasingly need our help with big issues like preserving habitat or species conservation. But sometimes individual animals need our help as well. Left disabled without fins, flippers, beaks or tails because of disease, accidents or even human cruelty, these unfortunate creatures need what amounts to a miracle if they are to survive.
Joe Hutto’s idea of research is anything but normal, dedicating seven years of his life to becoming a wild mule deer. The herd would ordinarily run from any human but, incredibly, these keenly intelligent animals come to regard this stranger as one of their own. Accepted by the matriarch, he walks among them, is even groomed by them, and can lie with a pregnant doe talking to its unborn fawns. As he crosses the species divide Joe is tapping into a new understanding about these elusive animals, literally entering a deer society. The captivating joy he feels for his new family is nothing short of infectious, but this human predator also learns to see the world from the point of view of prey – and it’s an experience that will ultimately rock him to his very core; sharing their world so personally finally takes a toll that sends him back to his own kind.
In the frigid valleys of Japan’s Shiga Highlands, a troop of snow monkeys make their way and raise their families in a complex society of rank and privilege where each knows their place. Their leader is still new to the job and something of a solitary grouch. But one little monkey, innocently unaware of his own lowly social rank, reaches out to this lonely leader, forming a bond with him that manages over time to warm his less than sunny disposition. It is a rare and remarkable gesture that alters both their lives. Changing seasons bring new babies to care for, a profusion of insects and blossoms to eat, family disagreements to squabble over and tragedies to overcome. Mating season brings competition for females as the days grow shorter and colder in a rush toward winter. But with their now confident leader to guide them and their families to shelter and care for them, this troop of snow monkeys is ready to face the world.
A growing number of scientists, conservationists and grass-roots environmentalists have come to regard beavers as overlooked tools when it comes to reversing the disastrous effects of global warming and world-wide water shortages. Once valued for their fur or hunted as pests, these industrious rodents are seen in a new light through the eyes of this novel assembly of beaver enthusiasts and “employers” who reveal the ways in which the presence of beavers can transform and revive landscapes. Using their skills as natural builders and brilliant hydro-engineers, beavers are being recruited to accomplish everything from finding water in a bone-dry desert to recharging water tables and coaxing life back into damaged lands.
A look at some of the planet’s great gatherings, creatures that come together in inconceivable numbers – sometimes in millions, billions, and even trillions. Included are bats and bees, locust and ants, monarch butterflies in Mexico, 17-year cicada hatches, grunion in the Sea of Cortez and carp in the Mississippi River, sardine runs off the coast of South Africa, super flocks of parakeets in the Australian Outback, mayflies on the 4th of July, and even penguins and wildebeest. Some gather to breed or to migrate, some for protection, some simply to keep warm in the cold. But in the process, a kind of super-organism is created in which individual intelligence is superseded by a collective consciousness that shares information and moves with a single purpose for the benefit of all. Check out swarm intelligence, essentially a living embodiment of social media in the natural world.
Sir David Attenborough hosts an exploration of the weird and wonderful world of frogs. Firsthand stories, the latest science and cutting-edge technology are used to demonstrate the wide variety of frog anatomy, appearance and behavior.
Documentary showing penguins as they have never been seen before. From the Antarctic to the tropics, spy cameras capture unique footage of three extraordinary species.
This pledge period special airs throughout December, 2014 and contains segments from 16 of Nature's films about birds.
The Season 33 premiere spotlights such quirky creatures as the giant panda, which eats 16 hours a day; and the big-headed mole rat of Ethiopia's Bale Mountains, which unlike other mole rats heads above ground to eat. Also: an ant-sized chameleon; the mudskipper fish, which can live out of water; the deep-sea nautilus; New Zealand's kakapo, a flightless parrot; and the Arctic woolly bear caterpillar, which spends most of its life frozen.
In 2000 in the jungles of Panama, a young journalist, named Ana, has a chance encounter with a tiny orphaned sloth, which she names Velcro. For nearly two years, the pair is inseparable until finally Ana travels up a remote river to reintroduce Velcro back to the wild. This is the story Ana’s return to Central and South America to see how much has changed since Velcro came into her life. Sloths, once largely ignored, have become a hot topic of scientific researchers. New studies are showing that they’re not so sloth-like after all, that they have social structures, they move like primates, and that males keep small harems. Sloth sanctuaries and rehabilitation centers are also springing up throughout the Americas as development displaces these gentle creatures. Shot on location in Panama, Costa Rica and Colombia this is a story of friendship and a growing network of people working to learn more about sloths in order to protect them.
A shift of power is taking place at the top of the world. The Arctic is undergoing a dramatic change, and with this change one iconic Arctic hunter may soon have to give way to another as solid ice turns to open sea. The polar bear, once king of the North, needs ice to stalk its prey. Killer whales, or orca, on the other hand, are unable to hunt in an ocean locked in ice. As the ice increasingly disappears, the tables have turned. Polar bears are struggling to survive while the now open ocean provides bountiful new hunting grounds for the whales.
France is known for its delicious food and wines, great art and architecture and celebrated culture of all kinds. But there’s another side to this popular destination that is not as visible, its wild side. Deep in the French countryside, it is possible for the adventurous to spot brown bears, wild boar, griffon vultures or wolves.
Every summer, thousands of gentoo penguins surround a post office on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Cameras, X-rays and ultramicroscopes reveal details about the life of owls, including how they hunt, how their vision and hearing work and how they fly so quietly.
To truly understand the complexity of a wild orangutan society and the skills the orangutans have learned from their mothers in the wild, Ecologist Chris Morgan travels to a remote patch of forest also in Northern Sumatra, a peat swamp forest known as Suaq Balimbing. Working with a team of experienced researchers, he becomes completely immersed in this unique social band of wild orangs who use tools, share food, forage together, and create their own distinct culture.
Exploring how birds carefully select their materials, and craft their homes for the all-important tasks of protecting their eggs and raising their young.
Animated blueprints and tiny cameras chart the building plans and progress of beavers, tortoises, hummingbirds and woodrats, examining layouts and cross sections as they evaluate the technical specs of their structures.
Some animals find that living in the midst of huge colonies of their own kind is sometimes a matter of necessity and sometimes the most secure and rewarding housing arrangement.
This is the true story of a family of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys living in the highest forests in the world. Only recently discovered, snub-nosed monkeys are hauntingly beautiful primates, gentler than others of their kind. Elfin-like, they seem both childlike and wise beyond their years. The family is led by a formidable fighter and his fighting force who guard a troop of 8-10 families. The survival of this unique monkey society, formed in response to the hardships of the Himalayas, depends on strong defensive strategies and the cooperation and interdependence of them all.
A look at the challenges young animals face. While some are nurtured by their mothers or mentors, others must fend for themselves almost immediately after birth. Included: finding food; avoiding predators; and making friends.
It’s been called The Big Empty – an immense sea of sagebrush that once stretched 500,000 square miles across North America. Yet it’s far from empty, as those who look closely will discover. In this ecosystem anchored by the sage, eagles and antelope, badgers and lizards, rabbits, wrens, owls, prairie dogs, songbirds, hawks and migrating birds of all description make their homes.
Part 1 of 2. The Season 34 premiere focuses on the work of human caretakers of orphaned baby animals. At Australia's Cape Otway Conservation Centre, the staff cares for a baby koala found along a road. It's weak and underweight, and should be spending its first six months inside its mother's pouch; the staff gives it a teddy bear to hold for comfort. At a sanctuary in Costa Rica, meanwhile, primatologist Sam Trull cares for six baby orphan sloths, including one that has pneumonia.
Growing up in the wild is hard enough on young animals when they have parents to rely on for protection and guidance, but what happens when they lose their parents? How do they survive? Over the past few years, great strides have been made in understanding how to rescue and rehabilitate orphaned wildlife.
It may seem strange that among the more than 10,000 bird species in the world today is a group that literally cannot fly or sing, and whose wings are more fluff than feather. These are the ratites: the ostrich, emu, rhea, kiwi and cassowary. How and why these birds abandoned flight has puzzled scientists since Darwin’s time, but DNA and dedicated research are helping to solve these mysteries.
Follow filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert as they travel down a river in a remote corner of Botswana and tell the story of two bull elephants that lived into their 70s. The Jouberts discovered the skulls of the old bulls with their tusks still intact, indicating that they had died of natural causes and not at the hand of ivory poachers. Finding undisturbed elephant remains is a rare event, but is more likely in Botswana, which boasts an elephant population of more than 130,000, the largest of any African country.
Mini-cameras, moving x-rays and night vision cameras capture the wild behavior of parakeets, hamsters, cats, rabbits and Peruvian dogs.
Moving x-rays, ultraviolet light and doggycams show how pets experience their world through hidden channels of communication.
Animals outwit predators in order to stay alive.
Animals adapt their bodies or behavior to secure their next meal.
Males use size, style and skill to trick the competition.
Exploring the world of moose in the Canadian Rockies, focusing on a calf's first year of life.
Paleontologists bring the largest dinosaur ever discovered to virtual life.
The journey of an emperor penguin chick, from its emergence from the egg to its independence.
Reunions between wild animals and their caregivers reveal whether interspecies bonds can stand the test of time.
Once facing extinction, Asia's last wild lions live dangerously close to India's villagers.
Sea and land animals work together to stay alive and solve complex problems.
A veterinarian and his team encounter dangerous challenges as they care for endangered animals at a hospital in the Guatemalan jungle.
With high speed camerawork and breakthrough new science, we enter the fast-paced world of hummingbirds as never before. Speed is their middle name. Their lives are moving faster than the eye can see. They possess natural born super powers that enable them to fly backwards, upside-down, and float in mid-air. And for the first time, we see them mate, lay eggs, fight, and raise families in intimate detail. They are great athletes, tender mothers, brave in combat, and up for any challenge. They are Super Hummingbirds, the smallest and most brilliant birds on earth.
Vianet Djenguet has lived half of his life in Europe, yet his heart still lies in his homeland, his Congo. As a successful wildlife cameraman, Djenguet is returning to his roots to reveal the beauty and majesty of his country and the people within. His journey will be one of self-discovery as he travels up the Congo River toward his ancestral home, meeting an abundance of weird and wonderful characters along the way, both animal and human. Finally, Djenguet is able to give his beloved homeland the glorious spotlight it deserves and discovers an even deeper connection with this place than he could have ever imagined. 'You haven't really travelled until you experience a place like the Congo,' says Djenguet.
What does it take to relocate a herd of wild giraffes in Africa? One man, his family, and a band of enthusiastic helpers are about to find out. Their journey will take them across the wild heart of Uganda, crossing the mighty Nile River. The size of this operation cannot be underestimated, particularly when your cargo is so precious. That's because these are no ordinary giraffes, they are in fact the world's rarest. Any mistake could be costly, not only for the giraffes being moved but also for an entire species
How the first cats arose in Asia and eventually came to conquer Africa; an in-depth look at lions, servals, caracals, cheetahs, tigers, fishing and sand cats.
Cats in the Americas, including the rise of domestic cats; an in-depth look at the jaguar, urban mountain lion, ocelot, Canada lynx, margay, siamese cat and the sphynx.
Travel across the snow globe with wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan to meet the animal survivors of winter from the penguins in the Antarctic to the Arctic fox and the bison of Yellowstone. Snow looks magical, but it’s a harsh reality to these animals.
Spy Creatures explore the rarely seen emotions of animals, revealing if they are as strong and complex as our own. Join the “spycams” as they are accepted into a wild dog pack, witness elephant love, and are mourned by a troop of monkeys.
Spy Creatures infiltrate the world of animal intelligence, ingenuity, and creativity. Watch our spies disguised as animals observe a gray squirrel stealing Spy Nut, a sea otter cracking open a meal, and an orangutan washing with soap.
Spy Creatures and their new wild friends rely on each other to look out for predators. A Spy Meerkat babysits meerkat pups while a Spy Cobra pretends to attack the mob. Spy Crocs witness a convenient partnership between real crocodiles and birds.
Spy Creatures infiltrate the underground world of animal mischief, crime, and retribution. Spy Monkey is caught between crossfires as real monkeys fight over beach bar alcohol. Spy Egret is also a waterhole victim when elephants throw mud everywhere.
The final episode explains how the concept of the Spy Creatures evolved at John Downer Productions from the original Bouldercam to the Penguincams that inspired the next-generation “spycams” featured in this series. It shows the painstaking work that goes into building the lifelike models and how the team deploys and operates the robotic cameras on location all over the world.
Yosemite Valley is a land forged in wildfire and sculpted by water; the delicate balance of these two elements is essential to the creatures and trees that call this land home. But with climates changing and temperatures rising, the Sierras are under siege. Scientists, experts and adventurers head into Yosemite to see how these global changes are affecting one of America’s greatest wildernesses.
Follow the story of conservationists trying to restore the island's most endangered species.
Every night the giant armadillo digs a new burrow and leaves behind one of the hottest plots of real estate in the tropical Pantanal.
The regeneration and transformation of the unmanaged forests of the Kalkalpen National Park in Austria, the largest wilderness area in the Alps.
In this two-part series, join John Downer Productions, producers of "EARTHflight" and "PENGUINS: Spy in the Huddle", for a front row seat into an in-depth look into the lives of dolphins. The series incorporates unique footage from 13 ingenious “spy” cameras including animatronic squid, a robotic turtle and even a dolphin “double agent”.
Conclusion. The mysteries of dolphin communication and strategies are explored. Included: the orca, which is the largest member of the dolphin family; and Dall's porpoises, which are the fastest dolphins in the world.
Meet Naledi, a baby elephant orphan who finds her place in the herd with the help of her caretakers.
Discover the secret life of red foxes who can make a home anywhere from cities to the Arctic tundra.
Join filmmaker Charlie Hamilton James as he visits otters around the world to uncover their secrets. Three curious river otter orphans in Wisconsin are followed. The secrets to the otter's survival around the world are uncovered with innovative experiments, cameras and CGI.
Helen Macdonald's book "H Is for Hawk" told the story of a grieving daughter who found healing in the form of training Mabel, a goshawk. For the first time after Mabel's death, Macdonald tries again to train another one of these secretive birds of prey and intimately explore their lives in the wild forests they call home.
The life of a cheetah family unfolds through the eyes of conservationist-cameraman Kim Wolhuter. The mother is completely on her own, protecting her five newborn cubs and teaching them how to hunt some of the continent's fastest game. Included: the inquisitive cubs explore the world around them and discover their place in the forests of Zimbabwe.
Uncover nature's biggest little secrets from mini nocturnal monkeys to sand-sculpting puffer fish.
The white wolf fights for survival in the ice and snow on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut.
The astonishing collar-camera footage reveals newborn Kalahari Meerkats below ground for the first time, unveils the hunting skills of Magellanic penguins in Argentina, and follows the treetop progress of an orphaned chimpanzee in Cameroon.
The cameras capture young cheetahs learning to hunt in Namibia, reveal how fur seals of an Australian island evade the great white sharks offshore, and help solve a conflict between South African farmers and chacma baboons.
Deep-dive with Chilean devil rays in the Azores, track brown bears’ diets in Turkey, and follow dogs protecting flocks of sheep from gray wolves in Southern France.
The story of Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, living in a Kenyan sanctuary under 24-hour armed guard. Trace his harrowing journey as scientists and animal experts race to save the species before it dies out forever.
Exploring the abilities of butterflies, including their 360-degree infrared vision, camouflage, chemical weaponry and flight.
A look at animals that steal, cheat and fight to get food, including kleptomaniac crabs, thieving macaques, con artist spiders, tricky tigers, and cannibalistic lizards.
A look at animals that steal, cheat and fight to get food, including kleptomaniac crabs, thieving macaques, con artist spiders, tricky tigers, and cannibalistic lizards.
Getting ahead in the mating game requires some astonishing behavior—from promiscuous prairie dogs, to backstabbing manakins, kidnapping macaques, and hyenas with a bad case of sibling rivalry.
The Season 36 finale details conservationist Maria Diekmann's efforts to save pangolins, the most trafficked animal in the world. The scaly yet endearing mammal's basic biology remains a mystery, hampering conservation efforts.
Meet the planet’s ultimate cats. Cheetahs are renowned as the fastest animal on land, but the latest scientific research suggests that speed isn’t actually their greatest weapon. In Sri Lanka, a tiny rusty spotted cat explores his forest home. A male snow leopard, perhaps the world’s most lonesome cat, searches for a mate in the Himalayas. The Canada lynx lives farther north than any cat, relying on snowshoe hares to survive the bitterly cold winters. An African leopard mother fights to raise her cub in the worst drought in decades. In Tanzania, lions form super prides in order to hunt giant prey.
Discover how cats have conquered the world, thriving in almost every landscape on Earth. In the wetlands of Asia, fishing cats have adapted to an aquatic lifestyle. In the world’s oldest desert, Africa’s youngest lion pride survives against the odds. A military-grade thermal camera in Costa Rica peers into the dark to find a pregnant jaguar waiting for turtles on a tropical beach. High in the forest of Central America, a female margay leaps from tree to tree, slow-motion footage revealing her acrobatic skills. In California a bobcat, blind in one eye, seizes an opportunity to hunt gulls on a secluded beach. At low tide in the Sundarbans of India and Bangladesh, a rarely seen swamp tiger emerges from the mangrove forest to patrol his shorelines. Then there’s Africa’s black-footed cat, the smallest and deadliest of all.
Scientists are studying cats in greater detail than ever before. New approaches and technologies help uncover some of the cats’ most intimate secrets, including the cheetah’s remarkable gymnastic abilities and why lions are able to hunt so cooperatively. Conservationists are fighting to protect the most endangered species around the globe, such as the Iberian lynx, once considered the rarest cat on the planet.
A look at the extraordinary abilities of squirrels, from the brainy fox squirrel to the acrobatic gray squirrel to the problem-solving ground squirrel.
The journey of a family of wild dogs in Zimbabwe. Included: rarely seen behavior, from tender moments with newborn pups, to the thrills of hunting wildebeest. Also: close encounters with their greatest enemy, the lion.
Led by their mother, two newborn polar bear cubs leave their den for the first time to make the dangerous voyage to the sea to feed, facing Arctic foxes, bears, extreme weather, snowdrifts and ice cracks along the way.
A remarkable chance discovery is about to reveal secrets that have laid hidden for 200 million years. A super predator that ruled the ocean at the time of the dinosaurs was found in a crumbling cliff face. It’s an Ichthyosaur, a fish lizard. Older than dinosaurs, these fearsome predators had the very best characteristics of reptiles and mammals in one formidable package. They could regulate their own body temperature, had astonishingly acute eyesight, and combined speed, sensitive “prey-detecting” organs and an impressive set of teeth to hunt successfully. Sir David Attenborough hosts this detective story, from the challenging onsite extraction of the fossils to the 3D reconstruction of the creature. He looks at evidence from animals across the world to try and piece together how this “sea dragon” lived.
The relationship between man and his noble steed is almost as old as civilization itself, allowing our species to explore, conquer and flourish side by side with the horse. Nature traces this revolutionizing partnership with anthropologist Niobe Thompson, who treks around the world in search of the moment when man first climbed into the saddle and explains how the relationship between humans and horses has evolved in today’s modern world. Discover the habits of these majestic animals and their unique biological makeup, which made them a perfect fit for our ancestors. Ride along with the world’s last nomadic tribes, who view the horse not just as an animal, but a means of survival. Witness the return of horses to the wild as mankind preserves the hardest-working animal partners we’ve ever had. Locations in this two-part series include Mongolia, Montana, Kentucky, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Siberia, and Sable Island, Nova Scotia.
Discover how humans have partnered with the horse throughout the centuries, creating more than 350 breeds found all around the world.
Experience the natural world through the eyes of the Vikings, when nature meets history in a journey showcasing the wildlife of the North Atlantic. Combining blue-chip natural history filmmaking and dramatic recreations, Nature travels from Norway to Newfoundland, just as the seafaring warriors did in 1,000 A.D., to get a glimpse of the Vikings’ world in the Americas hundreds of years before Columbus. Experience the deep history and cultural respect the Vikings had with the land and sea: from the killer whales of the North Sea to the puffins and otters of the Scottish coast to the volcanic mounts of Iceland and the frozen tundra of Greenland. Go back to the age where Vikings ruled the northern seas; when their only compass was the birds in the sky and the whales pushing through the icy waters. Ewan McGregor narrates.
Volcanoes are the portal to the earth’s fiery magma heart; one might imagine that life above ground would avoid living nearby. But a surprising number of animals survive and thrive alongside them. Right now, in any 24-hour period, some 30 volcanoes are erupting on our planet. This film will uncover the varied activity – both human and natural – that occurs on the slopes of active volcanoes. All life on Earth owes itself to their existence. Volcanos create the land we live on, emit gas that forms the air we breathe, spew minerals from the center of the Earth and make homes for spectacular natural history – they are the source of life.
The egg is perhaps nature’s most perfect life support system. These remarkable structures nurture new life; protecting it from the outside world at the same time as allowing it to breathe. They are strong enough to withstand the full weight of an incubating parent and weak enough for a hatchling to break free. But how is an egg made? Why are they the shape they are? And perhaps most importantly, why lay an egg at all? Step by step as the egg hatches, host David Attenborough reveals the wonder behind these incredible miracles of nature.
Broadcast over three consecutive days from iconic locations across North America – varied ecosystems ranging from the Rockies to the Everglades, from inner-city parks to remote wilderness preserves - this special live event celebrates spring as a time of renewed energy and awakening in the natural world.
Breeding and the greening of the landscape are tied to another major spectacle of spring: the mass movements of animals as they take advantage of spring’s bounty. Meet the scientists who track the journeys of animals such as butterflies, birds, bison and bats over vast distances, from winter refuge to spring nesting grounds.
Learn how plants and animals depend on each other to survive. See first-hand how climate change can break those connections, altering the timing of weather and plant growth, and disrupting the delicate relationships between plants and pollinators such as moths, bees and butterflies.
The octopus is the closest we may get to meeting an alien. They evolved from a common cousin more than 500 million years ago, but are also intelligent creatures with proven problem-solving abilities. So what happens when you invite an eight-legged alien into your living room? This documentary follows marine biologist David Scheel as he tracks his evolving relationship with his own octopus.
Academy Award-winning Passion Pictures and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios present one of the most important, but untold, science stories of our time—a tale with profound implications for the fate of life on our planet. Beginning in the 1960s, a small band of young scientists headed out into the wilderness, driven by an insatiable curiosity about how nature works. Immersed in some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth—from the majestic Serengeti to the Amazon jungle; from the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools—they discovered a single set of rules that govern all life. Now in the twilight of their eminent careers, these five unsung heroes of modern ecology—Bob Paine, Jim Estes, Mary Power, Tony Sinclair, and John Terborgh—share the stories of their adventures, and how their pioneering work flipped our view of nature on its head. Across the globe, they discovered that among the millions of species on our planet, some are far more important than others. They called these species “keystones” because they hold communities of plants and animals together, just like a keystone holds a stone arch in place. When keystones are removed, ecosystems unravel and collapse—a phenomenon no one had imagined or understood until their revolutionary discoveries. But with new knowledge also comes new hope, and these same visionaries reveal the remarkable resilience of nature—and how the rules they discovered can be used to restore the natural world, from American lakes to war-ravaged African parks.
In Ecuador’s Amazon basin lies a special patch of jungle that is a living, breathing, green metropolis of life. It is an untouched, secluded wilderness teeming with biodiversity, only accessible by boat. Follow a team of naturalists and filmmakers on a mission to capture the intimate behaviors of the wildlife who dwell here by installing a network of more than 50 remotely operated cameras and mini-cams, from the dark rainforest floor right up to a tangled canopy 300 feet in the air. By filming 24/7 for an entire month, the camera crew captures the lives of exotic creatures and discovers the incredible tricks these animals use to survive in the extreme jungle climate. From agile pygmy marmosets and boisterous howler monkeys, to solitary pumas and mesmerizing leaf-cutter ants, meet a cast of remarkable animal characters carving out a living in this tropical world.
Paradise presents the landscape and wildlife of the Upper Okavango River. A lioness severely injured by a buffalo is left for dead by her pride. Now handicapped, she has to survive in the swamp alone, hunting to feed her little cubs.
Limbo presents the landscape and wildlife of the "Middle World," the delta of the Okavango River. A hyena and a warthog family share neighboring dens, helping each other by keeping an eye on threatening predators such as lions and leopards.
Inferno presents the landscape and wildlife of the Lower Okavango River. The landscape is baked dry by the scorching sun, and large herds of zebra and wildebeest migrate to the dry plains in search of precious salt that these animals need.
Discover the ingenious strategies that nature’s biggest beasts employ to conquer their environments, from the Komodo dragon with a deadly bite to the tallest giraffe to the bird-eating Armored ground cricket. These are their epic survival stories.
Follow the adventures of bears across the globe, from grizzlies to pandas to sloth bears, as they draw on their brains, brawn and unique adaptations to survive. Find out what it really takes to be a bear in today’s ever-changing world.
A filmmaker investigates his traumatic encounter with a 30-ton humpback whale that breached and almost landed on him while he was kayaking. What he discovers raises far bigger questions about humans’ relationship with whales and their future.
Go beneath the surface and meet Africa’s river giants, the hippos. Discover an unexpected side of these aquatic mammals that can’t even swim as hippos protect their families, face their enemies and suffer in a drought. Narrated by David Attenborough.
Florida is home to beaches, coral reefs, pine forests and the famous Everglades wetland, but a growing human population and abandoned exotic pets like pythons are threatening this wild paradise. Can Florida’s ecosystems continue to weather the storm?
Discover the truth about the infamous weasel, often associated with unsavory behavior. Do these critters deserve their bad reputation? Follow the adventures of a first-time weasel mom, fearless honey badger and a tiny orphan weasel
In the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean, Cuba is an island teeming with exotic biodiversity: from coral reefs pulsating with life to five-foot-long Cuban rock iguanas. As international relations thaw, what will become of this wildlife sanctuary?
There are more than 100 domestic and wild kinds of rabbits and hares, from snowshoe hares to Flemish giants. Despite their remarkable ability to reproduce, many wild rabbits are in danger of being eradicated.
The spy creatures investigate the wildlife that thrives in the tropics. They infiltrate a hippo pod, a nursery of red flying foxes, a gorilla sanctuary and the secret world of pygmy forest elephants.
Travel to the Northern Hemisphere, where the spy creatures learn how animals move, feed and fight. A spy hummingbird films millions of butterflies, and a spy squirrel winds up in a battle. A spy beaver observes other beavers building dams.
Explore the islands of the South Pacific with creatures like the spy koala, who captures breeding behavior in Australia, or the spy crab, who joins an army of red crabs on their march to the sea to deposit their eggs.
From penguin chicks to elephant seals and wolf cubs to polar bears, the spy creatures meet and observe the hardiest and most charismatic animals in the Arctic and Antarctic circles.
Unlock the mysteries of wild pandas whose counterparts in captivity are known for their gentle image. Journey through the steep Qinling Mountains with filmmakers, scientists and rangers to witness pandas’ startling courtship and aggressive behaviors.
Meet the people rescuing and caring for the animal survivors of Australia’s devastating bushfires. Iconic species like koalas, kangaroos and wombats face a series of hurdles to recover from their trauma.
Monkey see, monkey do. From baboons facing down leopards, to lemurs exploiting a jungle pharmacy or rhesus macaques charming their way to an easy life, discover the survival strategies used by primates, often in the most unexpected places.
Family is everything for primates. They have the most complex social lives of any animal group on the planet. Meet devoted monkeys’ uncles, playmate apes and tender troops.
More than half of the world’s primates are under threat. Meet the scientists making groundbreaking discoveries to safeguard their future.
Get an intimate look at the wildlife of Lapland, a region in northern Finland, the fabled home of Santa Claus and actual home of reindeer, great gray owls, wolverines, eagles, wolves, musk oxen, brown bears and more.
In Europe’s highest mountain range, discover how Eurasian lynx, griffon vultures, ibex, marmots and more face extreme seasonal fluctuations, from volatile thunderstorms and landslides of summer to avalanches and frozen temperatures of winter. In Part One of the miniseries "The Alps", enjoy the Alps in spring and summertime as newborn animals grow up to face the coming brutal winter.
In the second and final part of NATURE's miniseries "The Alps," experience the hostile and bitter cold ecosystems of the Alps, shaped by snow blizzards and avalanches.
Travel to the ice mountains of Chile to discover the secrets of the puma, the area’s biggest and most elusive predator. Discover how this mountain lion survives and follow the dramatic fate of a puma mother and her cubs.
Roam the Wild West frontier land of the Rio Grande’s Big Bend alongside its iconic animals, including black bears, rattlesnakes and scorpions.
A confident and powerful leopardess called Olimba rules over an exceptionally large area along Zambia’s Luangwa River. She is a formidable hunter, a courageous ruler and a devoted mother. She has just given birth to two tiny cubs, and as she faces the challenging task of motherhood, it is a constant battle to hunt successfully, to defend her prime territory and to protect her cubs against enemies.
Under the waves and tropical sun, each of Hawaii’s volcanic islands host a unique ocean landscape teeming with biodiversity, but one predator reigns supreme – the shark.
An ecologist tracks the lesser long-nosed bat’s epic migration across Mexico, braving hurricanes, snakes and seas of cockroaches, in order to save the species and the tequila plants they pollinate.
Wildlife cameraman Martin Dohrn films more than 60 species of bees in all shapes and sizes in Bristol, England, during the COVID-19 2020 lockdown.
Cameraman Jacob Steinberg captures the struggles, failures, and triumphs of an osprey family over the course of five years.
Witness the creation of one of Africa's greatest wildlife meeting places and the site of extraordinary drama: the waterhole. From mighty elephants to tiny termites, an entire community of creatures call the waterhole their home.
From early spring to late summer, follow new animal mothers through the trials of raising a family in the Rocky Mountains. Cranes migrate north to give birth, a bison mother protects her lambs from threats and young mountain goats learn to climb.
Young animals face new challenges as winter envelopes the Rocky Mountains, and spring means the end of childhood. A grizzly mom prepares her cubs for hibernation, a mountain lion raises her kittens and a bison calf must learn to survive the snow.
Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan leads a team using state-of-the-art cameras, offering a fresh look at the lives of some of the animals in our oceans such as sharks, elephant seals, turtles and gannets.
Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan fronts the team helping scientists investigate the lives of some of Australia’s most iconic animals. Koalas, fruit bats and kangaroos take the cameras into their secret worlds.
A celebration of one of Earth's most iconic and beloved birds, featuring footage of all 17 species of penguins for the first time, from New Zealand, Cape Town, the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica.
New filming technology brings the story of South Africa's annual sardine run vividly to life like never before. Between May and July each year, the sardine run sees billions of sardines spawning and traveling up the coast, providing a feast for an array of marine predators.
Following the popularity of Equus: Story of the Horse, Nature turns its cameras to the uniquely American horse breeds that helped shape our nation, such as the Mustang, Appaloosa, Morgan and Quarter Horse.
Follow the life of an old hippo, a king of its kind, and discover the true character of one of Earth’s largest land mammals.
Following the planet's longest land-animal migration on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in the northeastern corner of Alaska.
Discover the wildlife and landscapes of Portugal, shaped by its history as a global trading hub. From forest to coast, witness the majesty of the country’s wild horses, storks, monk seals, flamingos and more.
It is one of nature's most spectacular events - the million strong wildebeest migration across the heart of East Africa culminating in the dramatic moment they must cross the Mara River. See how this iconic wildlife event is a major moment in the life cycle for every predator, prey and scavenger involved.
Journey from Canada’s Arctic to the boreal forest and discover how polar bears, coastal wolves, lynx and more survive in the North. Timing and seizing opportunity can mean the difference between life and death in this wild and rugged outpost.
Get an intimate look at what makes woodpeckers so special. Explore their unique abilities and intimate stories from around the world.
Dive deep into South Texas to meet one of America’s most endangered cats: the ocelot. With about 120 known ocelots remaining, the future of the U.S. ocelot population relies on ranchers, scientists and government agencies working together.
Immerse yourself in Scotland’s wild highland landscape and meet its long-lived forest keeper, a magnificent Scots pine tree. As one of its longest living species, this ancient tree has witnessed the nation’s history across 500 years.
Take a deep breath and experience the complex world of ocean waters. Get a never-before-seen look at how life underwater co-exists in a marriage of necessity.
Meet the many species of canids, the family of wild dogs. They are the most widespread carnivores on the planet.
How do wild dogs survive and thrive in the wild? Discover the secrets to their success, from black-backed jackals that leap skywards to catch prey to agile gray foxes that climb high into the trees.
Join scientists and researchers across the globe as they go to extraordinary lengths to understand wild dogs. See the groundbreaking discoveries that are crucial to saving this incredible animal family, such as the vets treating captive African wild dogs suffering from “broken heart syndrome.”
Discover how tiny Hummingbirds influence their many flowering kingdoms and their ripple effects on macaws, quetzals, monkeys, tapirs, and coatis. Set in the exotic landscapes of Costa Rica.
Niagara Falls is a geological wonder, one of the most famous waterfalls in the world and an epic sight for tourists who have been visiting the attraction for 200 years. The area around Niagara Falls is home to a wide variety of wildlife, including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Joe Pontecorvo showcases this iconic North American natural resource over the course of a year.
In 2013, a fisherman in Guatemala, who is struggling to feed his family, is forced further offshore in a search for food. In an act of desperation, he guns his small boat straight out to sea and into dangerous waters. With no land in sight, the sun blazing, the fisherman cuts his engine and peers over the side of his boat. His expression transforms to utter disbelief. He is sitting atop a coral reef, five times the size of Manhattan and teeming with life, that no one knew existed. It is like a window back in time when Caribbean corals were thriving. The discovery is part of an even bigger story, marking an exciting new chapter in understanding corals, the fish that need them and the battle to save coral reefs all over the world.
David Attenborough presents seven of the most remarkable animal songs found in nature and explores the significance of these songs in the lives of their species.
Witness the story of Pete Walsh, a Tasmanian man who befriends a platypus he names Zoom. With the help of experts, Pete learns more about the platypus’s secret world in a mission to protect them from the dangers of urban development.
Spy creatures reveal an ocean full of startling ways of thinking, including large-brained whales, smart octopi, diving monkeys, creative fish and other intelligent animals.
Spy creatures explore animal emotions and the deep feelings we share. With surfing dolphins, kissing manatees and sensitive cuttlefish, witness the emotional rollercoaster of life in the sea.
Spy creatures uncover surprising undersea relationships as sharks befriend fish, whales play with dolphins, and lobsters do the conga in seas where even spider crabs have friends.
Spy creatures showcase the challenges of ocean life. From a baby whale in danger and marine iguanas battling storms, to a mantis shrimp’s knockout punch, the spies are never far from trouble.
In Canada, a walnut-sized turtle ventures through a forest of giants, dodging huge trucks along the highway. The newly hatched turtle is in search of the lake where she will spend the next 50 years of her life. In South Africa, a young bushbaby is expelled by his family and must journey into the unknown to find a new home. He is drawn toward the lights of the human world in the city of Pretoria.
In Taiwan, a Formosan pangolin travels through a land of giants to find a mate in a protected forest. The lonely male encounters dangerous and strange characters along the way, from a cobra to a Formosan moon bear. In Brazil’s Atlantic Forest, a family of golden-headed lion tamarins, searching for food, journey to a land of plenty and face an ocelot and a monkey-eating harpy eagle in their path.
In Madagascar’s Kirindy Forest, a matchstick-sized chameleon goes on an epic journey through high trees and ground floors to find a mate and lay eggs before it’s too late. A water vole in the Scottish Highlands swims a lake, climbs a waterfall and scales a mountain also to find a suitor and a place to raise her pups.
Gabon’s Loango National Park is home to a group of western lowland gorillas that have become accustomed to biologists who have studied them for almost 20 years. This documentary presents an intimate look at a silverback and his family, and features a newborn baby gorilla, brave researchers, forest elephants, buffalos and the last remaining wild coastline in the African tropics.
Shorebirds fly thousands of miles each year along ancient and largely unknown migratory routes called Flyways. Species travel from feeding grounds in the southern hemisphere to breeding grounds in the Arctic regions and back again, flying up to nine days non-stop without food or water. But their populations are crashing. Follow a conservation movement of bird-loving experts and citizen scientists as they mobilize to the challenge of understanding and saving shorebirds.
Sir David Attenborough unearths a once in a lifetime discovery: the fossil of a giant Pliosaur, the largest Jurassic predator ever known. Follow a team of forensic experts on a perilous expedition to excavate the skull, uncover the predatory secrets lying deep inside the fossil, and unlock clues about the life of this giant sea beast.
For years, Patrick Dykstra has traveled the globe following and diving with whales, learning how whales see, hear and perceive other creatures in the water. In Dominica, Patrick has a life changing experience – a close encounter with a sperm whale he names “Delores.” Witness Patrick and the whale attempt to communicate with each other in extraordinary footage.
From giant eagles to miniature falconets, meet the many species of raptors. Explore how they survive winters, learn to hunt, and undergo migrations. Their superpowers of flight, sight, hearing, and smell give them dominance over the skies.
See the extreme ways in which raptors conquer the toughest habitats on Earth. From snowy owls in the high Arctic to honey buzzards raiding hornet nests in Taiwan, raptors can hunt prey in any climate.
The most famous bear in the Tetons attempts to raise four cubs. But she makes increasingly unexpected and consequential choices to protect her family, Grizzly 399 stands as a symbol of the clash between humans and the wild.
Ukrainian YouTuber Anton Ptushkin documents the work that Ukrainian citizens have done to rescue and care for the pets and zoo animals abandoned during the war. Before the invasion in February 2022, Ukraine had the second-highest population of pets per capita in the world. In the face of violence, pets and their owners became symbols of resistance, heroes and frontline volunteers. See how a national tragedy transformed into a global story of incredible devotion and love.
Ireland is renowned worldwide for its lush green landscapes and wild Atlantic coast, but one of its greatest natural treasures is a desert of grey stones called the Burren, which is home to some of Ireland’s most enchanting wildlife. Featuring striking wildlife sequences set in this fantastical otherworld, the documentary follows its lead character, the elusive but charming pine marten, as her story takes us on a delightful journey through this incredible habitat and the lives of its wild birds and animals.
Join Lisa Dabek and her team with Woodland Park Zoo’s Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program as they journey into the remote cloud forests of Papua New Guinea. Meet one of the most elusive creatures you will ever see in the wild – the Matschie’s tree kangaroo. See how the local people are helping to protect this rare marsupial and its forest home.
Biologist Jack Hogg has been studying a herd of wild bighorn sheep on Montana’s National Bison Range for more than 35 years. When Jack’s herd gets infected with a deadly form of pneumonia, he goes in search of answers.
In the frigid Indian Himalayas, people manage to eke out a living alongside one of Asia’s most elusive cats: the snow leopard. Today there may be as few as 4,000 of these great cats remaining in the wild, and with the snow leopards‘ prey in decline, encounters between herders and the cat are on the rise. Explore this fragile relationship through the eyes of Tashi, a local goat herder, and learn how his village has partnered with the Snow Leopard Trust to find ways to both live with and save one of the rarest cats on Earth.
Sit back, relax, and experience the animals, landscapes, and awe of Yellowstone National Park in winter.
A five-year retrospective includes clips from The Flight of the Condor, Leopard: A Darkness in the Grass, Kingdom of the Ice Bear, Cats, The Gooneys of Midway, and Yellowstone in Winter, with animals hunting, courting, rearing young and adapting to their environment.
New York Harbor was a haven of incredible underwater biodiversity—until centuries of pollution turned it into a cesspool. Today, an alliance of architects, restaurateurs, scientists, and high school students is working to restore the harbor and protect the city from climate change. At the heart of the effort is a tiny creature with an outsized talent for cleanup: the extraordinary oyster.
The surprise return of beavers to the British countryside brings benefits and controversy for humans and wildlife alike. The work of these famously busy rodents increases local biodiversity, reduces storm-induced flooding, and restores wilderness to a highly manicured landscape. It also injects some chaos into the lives of the beavers’ human neighbors. Can the British beavers regain their former glory as powerful ecosystem engineers, or is their new home too domesticated to return to the wild?
One of the most inspiring conservation stories in American history is playing out on, of all places, a live-fire training ground at Ft. Bragg Army base in North Carolina. There, an improbable alliance is giving a special bird—the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW)—a new lease on life. After a clash between U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Army revealed that low grade forest fires sparked by artillery and tracers inadvertently created excellent woodpecker habitat, the two sides joined forces to monitor and protect the birds on the base. Landowners on nearby properties are joining the effort—putting aside mutual suspicions and using fire to save the RCW and ignite a passion for wildlife.
Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, yet its wild spaces are also among the most threatened. In 2008, the country became the first nation in the world to enshrine the “rights of nature” in its constitution—granting wild species their own legal rights to exist. Today, conservationists are putting that powerful tool to the test as they battle to save the country’s biodiversity.
Ten years after the largest dam removal in history—on the Elwha River, in Washington State—scientists are chronicling an inspiring story of ecological rebirth. Recovering salmon populations are transferring critical nutrients from the ocean into the forests along the Elwha’s banks, enriching the entire ecosystem. The Elwha’s revival is encouraging advocates to push for the removal of many larger dams in the region, and in the rest of the world.
Decades of war and unsustainable agriculture have stripped almost half the trees from the rainforest atop Mozambique’s Mount Gorongosa. The devastation threatens the watershed that sustains life in nearby communities and in Gorongosa National Park. Now, park experts and local farmers are uniting to plant a new shade-loving cash crop—coffee—that will help restore the forest and ensure a more prosperous future for humans and wildlife alike.
The axolotl—an amphibian with incredible regenerative abilities—is ubiquitous in pet stores, science labs and pop culture, yet almost extinct in the wild. Now, scientists and farmers in Mexico City are using ancient Aztec farming techniques to secure the creature’s future. Meanwhile, another team is partnering with salamander-breeding, cough syrup-making Dominican nuns to save a closely-related species—the achoque.
Dogs are often thought of as humans’ best friends. But in Australia, they’re also being enlisted to save other species. Canine conservationists—and their sensitive noses—are helping researchers locate dwindling populations of elusive koalas as their habitats get fragmented by urbanization and devastated by wildfires. Dogs are also helping scientists track down—and take out—invasive foxes that have been devastating native sea turtle populations.
