Surrounded by Blue • 2021 • episode "S1E2" • Greece: The Wild Side

64:26

Britain's best-loved broadcaster brings his favourite extinct creatures back to life in David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive. In this ground-breaking film, Sir David takes us on a journey through the world-famous Natural History Museum in London in a captivating tale of discovery, adventure, and magic, where state-of-the-art CGI, science, and research combine to bring the museum's now long-extinct inhabitants to life to discover how these animals once roamed the planet. As the doors are locked and night falls, Attenborough stays behind and meets some of the most fascinating extinct creatures which come alive in front of his eyes; dinosaurs, ice age beasts, and giant reptiles. The film fulfils a lifelong dream of the nation's favourite naturalist, who said: "I have been coming to the Natural History Museum since I was a boy. It's one of the great places to come to learn about natural history. In this film we have the technology to bring back to life some of the most romantic and extraordinary extinct creatures that can be conceived; some are relatively recent animals like the dodo, others older like the dinosaurs, and some we only know through fossil evidence. Using our current scientific knowledge, this film brings these creatures alive, allowing me to look at some of the biggest questions surrounding them."

2013 • Nature

59:00

Chris discovers the cleverest animal travellers and how they find their way, from deer with mental maps, blue whales planning routes, and dung beetles navigating by the stars.

S1E6 • Chris Packham's Animal Einsteins • 2021 • Nature

48:04

The members of the Nsefu pride take a huge risk: they're leaving their home turf, and crossing the Luangwa River in search of prey. Navigating croc-infested waters is a challenge, especially for the pride's yearling, dubbed the Misfit. It's a foolhardy gamble, but hunger has forced their hand. If they're to succeed, they'll need the Misfit to come of age-their very survival depends on it.

Great Parks of Africa • 2018 • Nature

56:14

Starts in NASA's gravity research aircraft to illustrate the effect of weightlessness. There are surprisingly many plants whose seeds are, in effect, lighter than air.

7/12 • The Living Planet • 1984 • Nature

58:40

Life and Death explores the impact of Darwin’s ideas on our understanding of the meaning of extinction and the interconnections between all life on earth and the environment. Darwin learned many lessons from the giant fossils of extinct animals he found in Argentina and Chile. He eventually revealed to us the unpalatable truth that the logical conclusion to evolution is not perfection but extinction. The extinction of one species creates an environmental niche for new species to fill. Darwin’s theory also gives us vital knowledge we can use to help prolong the existence of our species by respecting the interconnections between all elements of the natural world and the environment. It’s a story in which Darwin’s ideas are taken up with great enthusiasm by his followers throughout the 20th century. But humanity misses one opportunity after another to acknowledge and reduce its destructive impact on the planet. As a result we have set in motion the sixth mass extinction of life on earth. And we are running out of time to do something about it by preserving ecological "hotspots" like certain rainforests which are some of the most productive cradles of evolution. This programme is a warning, but also a celebration, of the knowledge Charles Darwin gave us in his theory of evolution. It confirms that Darwin’s theory continues to inform our understanding of ourselves, our planet and the intricate interconnections between all life on earth.

S1E3 • Darwin's Dangerous Idea • 2009 • Nature

46:24

African penguins were once the most numerous sea bird on the continent--until their population was decimated by human activity. Visit a rare colony at South Africa's Boulders Beach and see how these master divers and ocean hunters are staging a remarkable revival.

S1E3 • Waterworld Africa • 2017 • Nature