Incredible Eye Adaptations • 2017 • episode "S1E4" • Mysteries of Evolution

58:17

For the animals in the polar regions, autumn means dramatic battles and epic journeys. Time is running out - the Arctic Ocean is freezing over and the sea ice is advancing at 2.5 miles per day around Antarctica. Polar bears gather in large numbers on the Arctic coast as they wait for the return of the ice. Soon, tempers fray and violent sparring contests break out. Meanwhile 2,000 beluga whales head for one special estuary, a gigantic 'whale spa' where they will thrash their snow-white bodies against the gravel and exfoliate. Inland, the tundra undergoes a dramatic transformation from green to fiery red. Here, musk ox males slam head-first into each other with the force of a 30mph car crash as they struggle to defend their harems. Frisky young caribou males play a game of 'grandma's footsteps' as they try to steal the boss's female. Down in Antarctica, Adelie penguin chicks huddle together in creches. When a parent returns from fishing, it leads its twins on a comical steeplechase - sadly there's only enough for one, so the winner gets the meal. Two months later and the chicks are fully feathered apart from downy Mohican hairdos - they're ready to take their first swim - reluctantly though, as it seems penguins are not born with a love of water! And with good reason - a leopard seal explodes from the sea and pulls one from an ice floe, a hunting manoeuvre that has never been filmed before. As winter approaches and everyone has left, the giant emperor penguin arrives and makes an epic trek inland to breed. The mothers soon return to the sea leaving the fathers to hold the eggs and endure the coldest winter on earth.

S1E4 • Frozen Planet • 2011 • Nature

173:59

A dramatic trilogy of programmes featuring the epic struggles of the animals of the North.

2021 • Nature

48:33

The ocean's influence dominates the world's weather systems and supports an enormous range of life. This first episode demonstrates the sheer scale, power and complexity of the "Blue Planet".

S1E1 • Blue Planet I • 2001 • Nature

58:00

David Attenborough introduces the wildlife of Asia's mountains, from elephants living in high altitude tea plantations, to gathering of swifts in Thailand's mountainous caves. In Pakistan, markhor fight for mates atop towering cliffs, and in Nepal, the forested foothills of the Himalayas provide hiding places for one of Asia's shyest mammals, the red panda.

S1E2 • Asia • 2024 • Nature

29:16

This episode discusses the human exploration of Antarctica, in particular the mission led by Captain Robert Falcon Scott, whose team died on the way back from the South Pole. It shows the scientific work in the modern human bases in Antarctica, especially Mawson Base and its observation of Adelie Penguins (partially through tracking devices).

Life in the Freezer • 2003 • Nature

44:02

Dive into the long year of the Alaskan brown bear through the Earth's seasonal cycle amid the frigid winter months and into the warmth of summer.

S1E3 • Our Universe • 2022 • Nature