Jaguar Den • 2016 • episode "4" • Brazil Untamed

87:12

[3 parts] Steve Backshall explores the world of insects and their close relatives, the arachnids and crustaceans, in order to find out more about their habits and secrets. Ch1. Them and Us Steve Backshall explores the connections and relationships humans have with insects and their close relatives, the arachnids and crustaceans. He begins by revealing how huge armies of driver ants give houses a five-star clean-up in Kenya, while in China, silkworm caterpillars are credited with shaping culture and distribution. He also explains that, despite people's perceptions of these creepy-crawlies, mankind could not live without them. Ch2. Making Worlds Steve Backshall explores the influence that insects and their close relatives, the arachnids and crustaceans, have on the planet's many ecosystems. He reveals how the landscape of South America's grasslands has been created almost solely by one team of bugs - grass-cutter ants - while in east Africa, the savannah would quickly become swamped in dung were it not for the activities of a particular beetle. He also contemplates the idea that without one tiny creature, the blue whale could not exist. Ch3. The Secrets to Their Success Steve Backshall explores why an estimated 10 million species of insects are so abundant, and examines the secrets of their success. In Yellowstone National Park, he reveals how teamwork enables a colony of bees to scare off a hungry bear, and he travels to the Swiss Alps to highlight the relationship between ants, wasps and butterflies.

2013 • Nature

37:00

Much of life on earth is connected by a vast, hidden network that we are only just beginning to understand. Out of sight, between the world of plants and animals, another realm exists - the kingdom of fungi. Passionate biologist and writer Merlin Sheldrake travels the globe, exploring the secret world of fungi. Through dazzling images of fungi under the microscope and all around us in the forest, Merlin unravels the many secrets of these essential organisms. So much more than mushrooms, not only do fungi shape the weather and support life on land, they are also at the cutting edge of medical research and even have the power to break down plastic waste. This film takes us from the ancient Tasmanian Tarkine rainforest to the mystical wilds of China's Yunnan Province, in search of solutions to some of our planet's biggest challenges. Can the answers be found in the wonderful world of fungi?

2023 • Nature

55:35

Five hundred million years ago, our previously eyeless distant ancestral creatures suddenly developed eyes, thereby marking a dramatic leap in evolution. What enabled our ancestors to suddenly evolve with eyes has been a long-unresolved great mystery in the history of our life. Now, scientists are close to cracking the mystery of the amazing story of the birth of our eyes, using cutting-edge DNA research. Travel back to a super realistic prehistoric world recreated by CGI to witness the astonishing story behind the birth of our eyes.

S1E1 • Leaps in Evolution • 2016 • Nature

58:33

In this first episode, he discovers how the Cape vulture has inspired a flying submarine; how a giraffe's neck can stop a jet pilot losing consciousness; how a woodpecker's skull can safely protect a light bulb dropped from space; and how a South American butterfly holds the secret to making any mobile phone waterproof.

S1E1 • Richard Hammond's Miracles of Nature • 2012 • Nature

58:54

Sophie is joined in the theatre by chirping crickets, hissing cockroaches and groaning deer to reveal the very different ways that animals have adapted their bodies to send audible messages that are vital to their species. She also explores how and why the human voice evolved to become the most versatile sound producer in the natural world. She demonstrates what sound actually is and how it travels. Unpacking the power behind sound, she uses it to shatter glass and reveal how the human body can resonate in a way that amplifies our voices to send our messages further. She also explores how different species use very different frequencies to communicate and why humans can only hear a fraction of these animal messages. Finally, she investigates why we all have unique vocal prints, and how computers are learning to recognise these.

S1E1 • Royal Institution Christmas Lectures: The Language of Life • 2017 • Nature

15:35

British bees are under threat from an invasive species, the Asian Hornet.

2024 • Nature