Social Climbers • 2008 • episode "S1E9" • The Life of Mammals

58:30

Sri Lanka, the tropical island lying off the southern coast of India, is home to its own special elephants. A subspecies of the Asian elephant, they have their own unique characteristics. In this programme, award-winning wildlife cameraman Martyn Colbeck of Echo of the Elephants fame travels to Sri Lanka to try and get to know them. Martyn has planned his arrival to coincide with the start of the monsoon, hoping it will be the best time to find and follow a newborn calf. By drawing on local knowledge, Martyn begins to unravel the complex social world of Sri Lanka's elephants - he witnesses a fight over a calf, a battle between two bulls in musk and, at an elephant sanctuary, befriends an orphaned elephant who sadly lost a leg to a snare and is facing an uncertain future.

Natural World • 2013 • Nature

48:01

In the misty and lush tropical forest surrounding South Africa's Soutpansberg Mountains, a 600-year-old outeniqua yellowwood tree reigns supreme. It's 115 feet tall, and a source of food and shelter for an array of plants and animals. Crowned eagles construct massive nests in her fold, and Samango monkeys take refuge in her branches. As if it wasn't unique enough, this ancient, endangered tree has no flowers, instead reproducing through male and female cones-a marvel of the natural world, and a true South African treasure.

S1E3 • Rooted • 2018 • Nature

59:00

David Attenborough reviews the scientific discoveries that have transformed our view of life on earth during his lifetime. How and where did life first begin? How do continents move? How do animals communicate? And why do they behave the way they do? Sir Attenborough shares his memories of the scientists and the breakthroughs that helped shape his own career. He also recalls some of his most memorable attempts to bring new science to a television audience - by standing in the shadow of an erupting volcano as lumps of hot lava crashed around him, by being charged by a group of armed New Guinean tribesmen and the extraordinary sight of chimps hunting monkeys, captured on camera for the first time by Attenborough and his team.

S1E2 • Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild • 2012 • Nature

58:58

Eagles are the most powerful birds in the sky, capable of tackling enormous prey, spotting food at vast distances and soaring for miles on the wing. Armed with cutting-edge filming technology, this documentary examines the science behind such extraordinary abilities. Featuring dramatic stories and some remarkable experiments, the film follows the story of a family of bald eagles in Iowa as two chicks face the challenges of life in the wild. Plus, bird specialist Lloyd Buck puts his trained golden eagle Tilly's skills to the test.

Natural World • 2020 • Nature

58:00

It's time to close another chapter in the lives of the animals of the Serengeti, the end of an extraordinary year for them all. But first, all around is a blackened smoking wasteland, the aftermath of the huge fire. Which of the families made it out alive and who is still missing? Torrential rain brings hope and the land is reborn into a green paradise as water quenches the scorched earth. Mirroring the changes in the landscape, the cycle of death and rebirth comes to the fore as the Serengeti's elders prepare their young for adulthood and a life on their own. Lioness Kali is alive, but one of her three cubs is missing. Kike the cheetah returns and must train her grown-up cubs to survive on their own. The short, lush grasslands make the perfect training grounds for her lessons of survival. She teaches them to stalk, chase and trip their prey. A giraffe, grieving over the unexplained death of her calf, interrupts the cubs' training regime. Leader of the wild dogs Jasari is also showing his pups how to survive on their own, but when he teaches them to fight off hyenas, they too are interrupted by the grieving giraffe. In the flooded river, elephant matriarch Nalla's baby struggles in the torrents. Bakari returns when a huge fight with a rival baboon troop threatens his family, and he shows his bravery once more. Kali has yet more surprises in store which bring hope for her and her pride's future. Kike has to leave her cubs and hope that they are ready for independence. With the death of an old male elephant, all the families come together and old rivalries end in a remarkable truce. With a new regime in place among the baboons, the harmony of nature is restored and for now, the future is bright for the families of the Serengeti.

S1E6 • Serengeti • 2019 • Nature

53:28

Peanut, Hero and Tarzan are three cheeky monkeys. They live on the paradise Indonesian island of Sulawesi with the rest of their gang of crested black macaques. These very special primates are found nowhere else in the world. Twenty-five years ago, wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson visited Sulawesi for the first time and now he's returned. Fascinated by the monkeys, Colin hopes to reveal their sometimes violent, often playful and, just like our own, highly political world. What he discovers leads him on a much bigger journey than he was ever expecting.

Natural World • 2013 • Nature