Armoured Giants • 2008 • episode "S1E5" • Life in Cold Blood

48:01

Across the dunes of the Kalahari, a towering, 200-year-old tree extends its branches to the heavens. This camel thorn Acacia is a secret refuge for those in the know. Colonies of sociable weavers use its branches for their oversized nests. Oryx, kudu, and other herbivores feed on her ripened pods, helping soften the seeds for germination. As the rainy season descends, its branches become draped with golden flowers, a magnet for pollinating insects. For many, the Acacia is a 'tree of life.' It's a relationship as old as the Kalahari itself.

S1E1 • Rooted • 2018 • Nature

20:57

Where would you go to find an enchanted underwater forest? How come some Mexican rattlesnakes have lost their rattle? And why does an Indian elephant look like its smoking cigarettes?

S1E18 • Nature's Strangest Mysteries: Solved • 2019 • Nature

53:04

The Namib Desert is one of the oldest of all. It’s also one of the most diverse. With 50-degree temperatures and half a millimetre of rainfall annually, how is this possible?

S1E2 • Eden Untamed Planet • 2021 • Nature

59:09

Today Earth is a human world, home to eight billion people and counting. Humans now have a greater effect in shaping Earth’s surface than many natural processes. In this episode, Chris Packham explores how dramatic twists in Earth’s story enabled humans to go from being part of nature to controlling it, and what we can learn from this epic tale before it’s too late. The story begins 66 million years ago with the catastrophic impact of the asteroid that wiped out the (Non-avian) dinosaurs. From the ashes of the desolation that followed, a new animal family rose to power. This was adaptable and inventive enough to emerge out of the harsh new world – the mammals. It began with a distant ancestor that shared many traits of the much maligned, but evolutionarily brilliant, rat. Due to a series of extreme geological and climatic events, mammals evolved into early primates feasting in the newly formed tropical rainforests, and then to early humans travelling vast distances between forests in places like East Africa’s Rift Valley. Earth’s story is a saga spanning 4.5 billion years, but it’s only in the last 11,000 years - with the rise of farming - that our species has started to dramatically impact our planet and its ecosystems. The human chapter of Earth’s story might end in disaster, but Chris is keen to argue for a different ending, where all of humanity’s achievements to date “…were just our dress rehearsals, because in the very near future our species will need to reach the zenith of its achievements and… all humanity will have to learn to put our Earth first.”

S1E5 • Earth: One Planet, Many Lives • 2023 • Nature

50:08

In the final episode of "Hidden India, the Ganges is central. This mighty river flows through the heart of the nation, from deep in the Himalayas to the widespread delta mangrove forests and behind the wide blue ocean. She carries valuable nutrients, and irrigates the fertile soil of Asia. Moreover, there is in the wilder parts - far beyond the cities - to discover many hidden nature. Hidden beaches are a haven for tens of thousands of young turtles in mysterious swamps houses playful mudskippers and otter families enjoy themselves in the flowing water.

Part 3 • Hidden India • 2008 • Nature

44:37

Deep in the rainforest of Central Africa lies an elephant oasis - a remarkable place that holds the key to the future for forest elephants. Over the last 20 years, Andrea Turkalo has been studying these enigmatic giants, getting to know over 4,000 intimately. She has begun to unravel the secrets of their complex social lives and the meanings of their unique vocalisations. New acoustic research is shedding light on the many mysteries that still surround forest elephant society. Will these endangered elephants finally speak out and tell Andrea what it is they need to survive?

Natural World • 2010 • Nature