Dragon Island • 2016

56:09

Social insects (ants, bees, wasps and termites) are incredibly successful. By some estimates the weight of ants equals that of humanity and that of termites equals terrestrial vertebrates.

S1E3 • Planet Insect • 2022 • Nature

58:40

Life and Death explores the impact of Darwin’s ideas on our understanding of the meaning of extinction and the interconnections between all life on earth and the environment. Darwin learned many lessons from the giant fossils of extinct animals he found in Argentina and Chile. He eventually revealed to us the unpalatable truth that the logical conclusion to evolution is not perfection but extinction. The extinction of one species creates an environmental niche for new species to fill. Darwin’s theory also gives us vital knowledge we can use to help prolong the existence of our species by respecting the interconnections between all elements of the natural world and the environment. It’s a story in which Darwin’s ideas are taken up with great enthusiasm by his followers throughout the 20th century. But humanity misses one opportunity after another to acknowledge and reduce its destructive impact on the planet. As a result we have set in motion the sixth mass extinction of life on earth. And we are running out of time to do something about it by preserving ecological "hotspots" like certain rainforests which are some of the most productive cradles of evolution. This programme is a warning, but also a celebration, of the knowledge Charles Darwin gave us in his theory of evolution. It confirms that Darwin’s theory continues to inform our understanding of ourselves, our planet and the intricate interconnections between all life on earth.

S1E3 • Darwin's Dangerous Idea • 2009 • Nature

42:11

Patagonia's ancient woodlands are a magical home to creatures found nowhere else on Earth. This journey explores the forests that time forgot, revealing hidden treasures, while meeting scientists and Indigenous people working to protect them.

S1E5 • Patagonia: Life on the Edge of the World • 2022 • Nature

57:44

Liz meets the animal rebels who will stop at nothing to survive. From cockatoos vandalising houses in Sydney, to crabs who hold nemones hostage to protect themselves, it seems there are no lengths these animals won't go to. Liz sets out to see these animals in action, revealing the science behind their extreme behaviours. She meets the sloth whose disgusting hygiene habits may help hide it from predators, the stone martens who cause millions of pounds' worth of damage to cars to protect their territories and the chimpanzees who use bullying tactics to get to the top. As Liz discovers, when life in the wild gets tough, this outrageous behaviour could just be the key to survival.

S1E3 • Animals Behaving Badly • 2018 • Nature

58:05

The wildlife of Antarctica, from king penguins that must evade leopard seals to feed at sea to albatrosses responding to diminishing number of females in their population, as well as rare footage of the Antarctic blue whale, the largest animal to have ever lived. As the programme ventures into the heart of the continent, surprising footage reveals one of the most volcanic regions on Earth, with unexpected sand dunes hidden in a rare ice-free valley.

S1E4 • Frozen Planet II narrated by Sir David Attenborough • 2022 • Nature

58:28

Sir David Attenborough joins an archaeological dig uncovering Britain’s biggest mammoth discovery in almost 20 years. In 2017, in a gravel quarry near Swindon, two amateur fossil hunters found an extraordinary cache of Ice Age mammoth remains and a stone hand-axe made by a Neanderthal. Professor Ben Garrod joins the team at DigVentures during the excavation as they try to discover why the mammoths were here and how they died. Could the Neanderthals have killed these Ice Age giants?

2021 • Nature