Opportunists • 2008 • episode "S1E6" • The Life of Mammals

48:37

In the second episode; India is a subcontinent surrounded by mountains. We explore the little-known Western Ghats at the edge India's south. Here are Monsoon hills covered in lush forests and tea gardens which shelter some of the greatest biodiversity in the world. But far to the north lies the mighty Himalayas - so vast they drive the climate by capturing the monsoon winds and protect India from the northern chill. It's a unique world full of life.

Part 2 • Hidden India • 2016 • Nature

58:01

With a million species at risk of extinction, Sir David Attenborough explores how this crisis of biodiversity has consequences for us all, threatening food and water security, undermining our ability to control our climate and even putting us at greater risk of pandemic diseases. Extinction is now happening up to 100 times faster than the natural evolutionary rate, but the issue is about more than the loss of individual species. Everything in the natural world is connected in networks that support the whole of life on earth, including us, and we are losing many of the benefits that nature provides to us. The loss of insects is threatening the pollination of crops, while the loss of biodiversity in the soil also threatens plants growth. Plants underpin many of the things that we need, and yet one in four is now threatened with extinction. Last year, a UN report identified the key drivers of biodiversity loss, including overfishing, climate change and pollution. But the single biggest driver of biodiversity loss is the destruction of natural habitats. Seventy-five per cent of Earth's land surface (where not covered by ice) has been changed by humans, much of it for agriculture, and as consumers we may unwittingly be contributing towards the loss of species through what we buy in the supermarket. Our destructive relationship with the natural world isn’t just putting the ecosystems that we rely on at risk. Human activities like the trade in animals and the destruction of habitats drive the emergence of diseases. Disease ecologists believe that if we continue on this pathway, this year’s pandemic will not be a one-off event.

2020 • Nature

57:58

A unique celebration of one of Earth's most iconic birds. For the first time, we meet the entire penguin family - all 18 species. This colourful cast of characters may seem familiar, but their incredible diversity won't fail to surprise. New Zealand's lush green forests might not be the first place you would expect to find penguins, but it was here the penguin family first evolved 60 million years ago, and there are now more species living here than anywhere else on earth. One quirky-looking resident is the Snares penguin, which likes nothing more than a spa treatment. In Cape Town, the African penguin has adapted to the modern world, strolling the city streets with all the other commuters. And, against all the odds, one of the smallest members in the family, the Galapagos penguin, has found a way to survive the sweltering heat of the equator. One of the biggest secrets to the penguin success story is their remarkable parenting skills. Adelie penguins perform the longest penguin migration on earth, over 6,000 miles, to find the perfect nesting site. Ninety-nine per cent of them return to the same nests each year, but after a hard winter their stone nests need some serious renovation. Other species are sneakier, stealing their neighbours stones the moment they turn their backs. The fastest penguin on the planet is the gentoo, reaching speeds of 22mph and diving to 200 metres. Short feet that act like rudders and a streamlined body allows them to shoot through the water, while fused muscular wings act like paddles. Penguins are supremely adapted to an aquatic life, spending 75 per cent of their lives in water, but all penguins have to walk at some point, so to get around they have developed the infamous waddle. This bizarre locomotion may look inefficient, but surprisingly it actually works in their favour. Whilst we get 65 per cent of the energy back with each step, penguins can get up to 80 per cent, so the waddle is more efficient that our own walk. Over millions of years, penguins have mastered life on land and in the sea, but we are now changing the planet faster than ever before, and some penguins are struggling to keep up, so technology is being used to locate and observe new colonies from the equator to Antarctica. This is the family penguin as you have never seen them before.

2020 • Nature

58:47

Series following a dramatic expedition searching for tigers hidden in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, featuring explorer Steve Backshall and cameraman Gordon Buchanan.

S1E1 • Lost Land of the Tiger • 2010 • Nature

52:56

From the shelter of our homes, snow looks magical, but it's a harsh reality to many animals. Snow means freezing temperatures, which these animals must endure for many months. Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan meets some of the world's most iconic snow animals across the globe, from the penguins of Antarctica to the bison of Yellowstone and the Arctic fox. Beyond the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, he encounters wolves, lynx, reindeer, polar bears, muskox, and even a woolly bear - the most miraculous, coolest Arctic caterpillar! Buchanan reveals the incredible adaptations and extraordinary strategies these animals use to survive.

2017 • Nature

22:16

Sir David Attenborough uses this episode to investigate two animals who are capable of true virgin birth - the production of offspring without the need for sex.

S2E1 • Natural Curiosities • Nature