The First Frontier • 2023 • episode "S1E2" • Life on Our Planet

Category: Nature | Subtitle:

For billions of years, land on Earth was uninhabitable. But in the seas, predation allowed species to thrive before — and after — two mass extinctions.

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

patreon.com

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through , you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

Life on Our Planet • 2023 • 8 episodes •

The Rules of Life
42:48
The Rules of Life

Evolution. Competition. Mass extinction. Three fundamental rules have driven the rise and fall of life on Earth for over four billion years.

2023 • Nature

The First Frontier
54:14
The First Frontier

For billions of years, land on Earth was uninhabitable. But in the seas, predation allowed species to thrive before — and after — two mass extinctions.

2023 • Nature

Invaders of the Land
56:35
Invaders of the Land

Sprawling moss, towering trees, flying insects, limbed amphibians: Early species vied for domination as the land went from hostile to hospitable.

2023 • Nature

In Cold Blood
55:19
In Cold Blood

After Earth's third mass extinction, mammals' surviving ancestors ruled the supercontinent Pangea. But lizards soon ushered in the age of reptiles.

2023 • Nature

In the Shadow of Giants
50:37
In the Shadow of Giants

The formation of continents with varied environments allowed for an explosion of biodiversity — and turbo-charged the evolution of mighty dinosaurs.

2023 • Nature

Out of the Ashes
53:19
Out of the Ashes

The dinosaurs met their end with a cataclysmic asteroid impact. Rising from the ashes, birds reinvented themselves into a dynasty 10,000 species strong.

2023 • Nature

Inheriting the Earth
52:22
Inheriting the Earth

Emerging from the dinosaurs' shadows, mammals went from underdogs to global power, with game-changing adaptations that would conquer land, air and sea.

2023 • Nature

Age of Ice and Fire
50:20
Age of Ice and Fire

As the Ice Age thawed, humans rose above the rest. But the possibility of a sixth mass extinction now looms: Has our ingenuity caused our downfall?

2023 • Nature

You might also like

Patagonia the Ends of the Earth
55:55
Patagonia the Ends of the Earth

At the far tip of South America, lies a magical realm that seems frozen in time. Known as "the end of the world", this is Patagonia.

S1E5 • Eden Untamed Planet • 2021 • Nature

Vredefort Dome Crater of Life
46:23
Vredefort Dome Crater of Life

Two billion years ago, a giant meteorite crashed into southern Africa's interior plateau, forming a six-mile-deep crater. Today, the site of this cataclysmic event is the Vredefort Dome--a dazzling and rich ecosystem of unique plant and animal life.

S1E2 • Africa's Wild Horizons • 2017 • Nature

Scorpion Night Lights
20:57
Scorpion Night Lights

A look at why a leopard let its dinner escape; an ominous dark mass looming over an Icelandic lake; some scorpions glow in the dark.

S1E16 • Nature's Strangest Mysteries: Solved • 2019 • Nature

The Southern Drylands
46:23
The Southern Drylands

Venture into the heart of Namibia, where some parts of the landscape receive less than an inch of rain each year. Yet, despite its arid nature, the southern drylands exude a desolate beauty thanks in part to the massive sand dunes--the largest in the world--that dominate its Atlantic coastline.

S1E4 • Extreme Africa • 2017 • Nature

From Deserts to Grasslands
51:15
From Deserts to Grasslands

Cameras follow desert elephants seeking sustenance, bison roaming North American grasslands and caterpillars living the good life underground.

S1E5 • Our Planet • 2019 • Nature

The Margins of the Land
56:39
The Margins of the Land

Details coastal environments and the effect of tides, of which the highest can be found in the Bay of Fundy in North America. In places, erosion is causing the land to retreat, while in others — such as the tropics — the expansion of mangroves causes it to advance.

9/12 • The Living Planet • 1984 • Nature