A look at the many and varied ways in which animals procreate in order to ensure that their genes are passed on to the next generation.
For animals, there is no greater challenge than surviving the vulnerable first years of life. This episode demonstrates that nature's solutions are as varied as those in human society.
1990 • Nature
The search for food in the animal world. With leaves defended by poisons and seeds clad in thorns, animals fight back in very innovative ways.
1990 • Nature
Life-and-death duels are fought daily in the wild: an orchid turns out to be a predator, killer whales ambush sea lions and chimps pursue colobus monkeys.
1990 • Nature
How animals ranging from albatrosses to ants can navigate themselves over long distances.
1990 • Nature
How all animal architects aim to keep both the elements and intruders at bay through features that include defensive moats.
1990 • Nature
Examining some of the weird relationships that develop between species, from birds that relieve clients of hangers-on to hermit crabs that enlist stinging anemones to repel octopuses.
1990 • Nature
From vampire bats to baboons, Sir David Attenborough investigates the importance of recognising friends and respecting the power of rivals throughout the animal kingdom.
1990 • Nature
From the love songs of fish to the flashes of millions of tiny beetles, Sir David Attenborough examines methods of communication used by animals.
1990 • Nature
A look at the many and varied ways in which animals procreate in order to ensure that their genes are passed on to the next generation.
1990 • Nature
The inside of a termite mound proved especially challenging for Attenborough: it was so cramped that he could only face in one direction. He therefore had to slowly crawl backwards out of shot when performing re-takes.
1990 • Nature
[6 parts merged into one] Featuring groundbreaking new science, experiments and leading scientists from a variety of disciplines, the series unravels the natural history of the body's largest organ. Skin is an incredible, multi-function organ that science is still learning so much about. It has adapted to allow animals to conquer virtually every habitat on the planet.
2019 • Nature
The myth that birds only sing for pleasure is destroyed as birdsongs become known as ways of communication.
S1E6 • The Life of Birds • 1998 • Nature
Details coastal environments and the effect of tides, of which the highest can be found in the Bay of Fundy in North America. In places, erosion is causing the land to retreat, while in others — such as the tropics — the expansion of mangroves causes it to advance.
9/12 • The Living Planet • 1984 • Nature
First transmitted in 1965. David Attenborough continues his journey along the Zambezi River. This episode begins at Victoria Falls, the largest waterfall in the world. At the foot of the falls, with its moist climate, a wealth of plants and animals can be found, such as hyraxes. To coax the hyraxes out of hiding, David Attenborough illustrates why taking a dog whistle with you while on an African adventure is a very good idea indeed. Other highlights encountered on the way include an estivating lungfish and a herd of elephants washing and dust bathing at a water hole.Further along his journey David Attenborough explores a Portuguese fortress at Tete, believed to have been built over 400 years ago, and assesses the impact of the then newly constructed Kariba Dam, one of the largest dams in the world, on the displaced Tonga people and surrounding countryside.
Left to their own devices, birds have reached almost all ends of the Earth - still, humans can do many things to help their feathered friends.
S1E10 • The Life of Birds • 1998 • Nature
Professor Richard Fortey investigates the remains of ancient volcanic lake in Germany where stunningly well-preserved fossils of early mammals, giant insects and even perhaps our oldest known ancestor have been found. Among the amazing finds are bats as advanced and sophisticated as anything living today, more than 50-million-years-later; dog-sized 'Dawn' horses, the ancestor of the modern horse; and giant ants as large as a hummingbird.
3/3 • Fossil Wonderlands: Nature's Hidden Treasures • 2014 • Nature