Chris Packham, Liz Bonnin and Steve Backshall explore our oceans and its wildlife, to find out how marine life is coping in the face of increasing environmental pressure.
The penultimate instalment investigates the primates, whose defining characteristics are forward-facing eyes for judging distance, and gripping hands with which to grasp branches, manipulate food and groom one another. The programme begins in Madagascar, home to the lemurs, of which there are some 20 different types. Two examples are the sifaka, which is a specialised jumper, and the indri, which has a well-developed voice. Away from Madagascar, the only lemur relatives to have survived are nocturnal, such as the bushbaby, the potto and the loris. The others were supplanted by the monkeys and a primitive species that still exists is the smallest, the marmoset. However, Attenborough selects the squirrel monkey as being typical of the group. Howler monkeys demonstrate why they are so named their chorus is said to the loudest of any mammal and their prehensile tails illustrate their agility.
12/13 • Life on Earth • 1979 • Nature
As the first animal to be domesticated, pigeons have a story to tell. A drama filled, steeped-in-history, amazing story. Although they’ve faded into the background of city life, pigeons have made an incredible contribution to human history. For centuries, we relied on them for everything from food, to vital communications, to entertainment to modern day brain science. They deserve more respect! The ones you see on city streets today are the descendants of domestic birds. Their gritty urban lives are spent trying to evade all manner of perils…and… stay one step ahead of starvation, a constant threat. To survive where they’re not wanted, pigeons rely on a combination of charity from a few and their own incredible smarts…. In a series of fascinating experiments and carefully placed cameras, we take you inside their perilous world; in the air, on the street and in the nest. One of the first things to notice is just how incredibly smart they are.
The Nature of Things • 2014 • Nature
James May treks into the wilderness to learn about Darwin's theory of natural selection.
S2E3 • James May's Things You Need to Know • 2012 • Nature
Thanks to new technologies combining genetics, ethology, geology and even particle physics, paleontologists can now recreate the missing branches of the tree of life. Because of this, it has been discovered that prehistoric mammals were more varied and numerous than previously thought.
3/3 • Ancient Earth: Series 2 • 2018 • Nature
Cameras follow desert elephants seeking sustenance, bison roaming North American grasslands and caterpillars living the good life underground.
5/8 • Our Planet • 2019 • Nature
Meet the fauna of the rivers of Europe, including the world's only underwater spider, European river otter and the golden jackal of the Danube Delta.
2/5 • Wildest Europe • 2016 • Nature
