The Frozen World • 1984 • episode "2/12" • The Living Planet

Category: Nature

Describes the inhospitable habitats of snow and ice. Mount Rainier in America is an example of such a place: there is no vegetation, therefore no herbivores and thus no carnivores. However, beneath its frosty surface, algae grow and some insects, such as ladybirds visit the slopes. Africa’s mountains are permanently snow-covered, and beneath peaks such as Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, there are communities of plants and animals.

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The Living Planet • 1984 • 12 episodes •

The Building of the Earth

The Building of the Earth

Visits the world's deepest valley: the Kali Gandaki river in the Himalayas. Its temperatures range from those of the tropics in its lower reaches to that of the poles higher up. It therefore shows how creatures become adapted to living in certain environments.

1984 • Nature

The Frozen World

The Frozen World

Describes the inhospitable habitats of snow and ice. Mount Rainier in America is an example of such a place: there is no vegetation, therefore no herbivores and thus no carnivores. However, beneath its frosty surface, algae grow and some insects, such as ladybirds visit the slopes. Africa’s mountains are permanently snow-covered, and beneath peaks such as Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, there are communities of plants and animals.

1984 • Nature

The Northern Forests

The Northern Forests

Begins in northern Norway, 500 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. Here, there is only just enough light for the pine trees to survive, but it is extremely cold during the winter. Pine cone seeds provide one of the few foods available at this time of year, and large herbivores such as the moose must also rely on their fat reserves.

1984 • Nature

Jungle

Ascends a kapok in the South American tropical rainforest to observe "the greatest proliferation of life that you can find anywhere on the surface of the Earth. There are two main causes for this: warmth and wetness. As this climate is constant, there are no seasons, so trees vary greatly in their flowering cycles.

1984 • Nature

Seas of Grass

Explores the grasses which are present all over the world. Grass sustains huge numbers of creatures the world over, particularly in the African grasslands, where huge numbers of savannah animals have made their homes.

1984 • Nature

The Baking Deserts

The Baking Deserts

Starts in the Sahara, where the highest land temperatures have been recorded. Rock paintings depict creatures such as giraffes and antelopes, suggesting that at one point there was enough vegetation to support them.

1984 • Nature

The Sky Above

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.

1984 • Nature

Sweet Fresh Water

Sweet Fresh Water

Attenborough describes the course the Amazon, starting high up in the Andes of Peru, whose streams flow into the great river. Young rivers are by nature vigorous and dangerous: they flow fast and form rapids, thick with mud and sediment.

1984 • Nature

The Margins of the Land

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.

1984 • Nature

Worlds Apart

Investigates remote islands and their inhabitants. Some islands are tips of volcanoes; others are coral atolls. Those that colonise them transform into new species with comparative speed.

1984 • Nature

The Open Ocean

Attenborough goes underwater to observe the ocean's life forms and comment on them at first hand.

1984 • Nature

New Worlds

Surveys those environments that have been created by and for humans.

1984 • Nature

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Teenage Pride

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Weed

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Wild Scandinavia

Wild Scandinavia

Discover a land of hauntingly beautiful coasts, magical forests, and volcanic and arctic extremes - and the lynx, orcas, puffins and wolves who call this frozen kingdom home. Chapter 1: Life on the Edge Wild and unpredictable, the Scandinavian coast is a place of haunting beauty and dangerous extremes - a journey from storm-swept islands crowded with seal pups to 3,000ft deep fjords where sea eagles fly and base jumpers parachute from the edge. In the far north, tropical currents and Arctic seas collide, creating riches - billions of herring tracked by orcas and humpback whales - while providing a home to thousands of seabirds, including the feisty puffin. Chapter 2: Heartlands Great forests form the heart of Scandinavia, stretching towards the Arctic and cutting through with a labyrinth of waterways. Incredible creatures like lynxes, wolves, bears and reindeer must survive the ever-changing seasons - from the chilling grip of winter to the warm riches of summer. Here, all life is deeply interconnected through surprising and ancient partnerships, creating a balance that has evolved over millennia. Chapter 3: Ice and Fire Scandinavia's northern extremes have been shaped by ice and fire, but it's the sun that reigns over these frozen kingdoms. Here, musk oxen, polar bears and arctic foxes must endure the long, dark polar night, but in spring, the sun's return ignites a dramatic transformation in the landscape and heralds the return of thousands of migrant visitors. Under the midnight sun, the north bursts into a sleepless rush of life and opportunity, a race against time to raise a family, but for some, it's the summer heat which brings the greatest dangers before the first frost and winter's welcome return.

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Spinners and Weavers

Spinners and Weavers

We'll find out how nature is incredibly inventive and has produced two unique mechanisms of natural construction that have fascinated scientists for centuries; weaving in birds and silk.

S2E8 • Natural Curiosities • Nature

Great Lakes Untamed

Great Lakes Untamed

At the heart of the US-Canada border sit The Great Lakes - the world's largest freshwater ecosystem, containing as much as one fifth of the planet's supply. Chapter 1: Source to Sea The water's journey from source to sea spans half a continent - 2,000 miles - and takes more than three centuries to complete. This first of three documentaries charts the feature and its surrounding flora and fauna, showing how beavers, wolves, loons, moose help shape this incredibly vast watershed. Chapter 2: The Big Freeze s winter descends on The Great Lakes, life must contend with the return of the ice that carved this immense watershed thousands of year ago. A polar vortex paralyses fish and ducks and attracts hundreds of bald eagles. Wolves hunt deer trapped by ice, but are manipulated by ravens. Chapter 3: Marvels and Mysteries The spring thaw in America's Great Lakes creates ice tsunamis. Photosynthetic salamanders, fishing wolves, deep-diving moose, baby rattlesnakes and colourful fish hunting mid-air all illustrate unique adaptations to to the warmer, brighter season.

2022 • Nature