Land of the Cave-Bear • 2013 • episode "S1E2" • Ice Age Giants

48:39

Examine the fragile interdependence that exists between forests' wide variety of residents, including bald eagles, hunting dogs and Siberian tigers.

S1E8 • Our Planet • 2019 • Nature

151:44

The ultimate guide to invertebrates, with key biological themes to show a wide range of species. Chapter 1: The Bug Buffet Bugs are the base of the food chain, food for just about everything else, but to start the process, they too must eat. Just like the bigger animals of the plains, there are grazers, scavengers, and predators that hunt them, termites growing fungi, and bees making their own honey. Chapter 2: Breeding Rutting deer and flirting love birds might be what we think of with animal courtship, but even bugs need to breed, and they face all the same challenges of winning a mate and raising their young. Some display, some caress, others fight. There are even insects that care for their young. Chapter 3: Army Few creatures have complex levels of regimented society as social insects. Bees, termites, ants, and wasps can form armies to help them build elaborate homes, defend their territories, grow their own food, raise their young and hunt their prey.

2021 • Nature

53:32

Watch as birds solve puzzles and challenge our basic notions of intelligence. Call somebody a “bird brain,” and you’re not delivering them a compliment. But as NOVA shows, birds turn out to have advanced problem-solving skills that we usually assume are unique to humans. Watch astonishing tests of avian aptitude: parrots that can plan for the future, jackdaws that can “read” human faces, and crows that can solve multi-step puzzles with tools like pebbles, sticks, and hooks. Could these just be clever tricks based on instinct or triggered by subtle cues from their human handlers? To rule out any doubts, NOVA puts feathered Einsteins through their paces and reveals skills that even three- or four-year-old children have a hard time mastering—such as putting off one reward now to get a bigger one later. From this revolution in thinking about our feathered friends, the conclusion seems irresistible that bird brains see the world in ways that aren’t so different from our own.

NOVA PBS • 2021 • Nature

54:27

This episode details the relationship between flowers and insects. There are some one million classified species of insect, and two or three times as many that are yet to be labelled. Around 300 million years ago, plants began to enlist insects to help with their reproduction, and they did so with flowers. Although the magnolia, for instance, contains male and female cells, pollination from another plant is preferable as it ensures greater variation and thus evolution. Flowers advertise themselves by either scent or display. Some evolved to produce sweet-smelling nectar and in turn, several insects developed their mouth parts into feeding tubes in order to reach it.

4/13 • Life on Earth • 1979 • Nature

62:02

Sylvia Earle, marine biologist and author, discusses the need to preserve and protect the amazing global eco-system of the oceans.

S1E9 • Curiosity Retreats: 2015 Lectures • 2015 • Nature

44:58

A look at wildlife in hostile environments, including glow-worms, condors, thorny devils, emperor penguins and polar bears. High in the mountains, deep underground, out in the deserts and at each of our vast frozen poles, animals have had to develop extraordinary resilience to survive. There are many challenges faced by animals living in extreme environments. Superbly adapted to these inhospitable habitats, their fortitude and resilience.

S1E6 • World's Greatest Animal Encounters • 2020 • Nature