A look at how without volcanoes, there would be no life on Earth. Although destructive, magma from the planet’s molten core builds land, and mineral-rich ash from eruptions fertilises the surface.
Pumas are also known by the names of cougar or mountain lion. However, these cats are only distantly related to lions. They're much more closely related to cheetahs. And while pumas are often found in mountains, they're just as at home in the lowlands, dense forests, or deserts.
3/7 • The Secret Lives of Big Cats • 2019 • Nature
In the grasslands, animals endure freezes, fires, floods, and droughts; bull elephants clash in mating battles; cheetahs and gazelles engage in a predator-and-prey dance in the Kenyan savanna; bison battle a blizzard while being pursued by wolves.
3/6 • Hostile Planet • 2019 • Nature
There is no greater test for life than winter, as temperatures plummet to 70 below and winds reach 200kph. Darkness and ice extend across the polar regions and only a few remarkable survivors gamble on remaining. We join a female polar bear trekking into the Arctic mountains to give birth as the first blizzards arrive. Out on the frozen ocean, the entire world's population of spectacled eider ducks brave the winter in a giant ice hole kept open by ferocious currents. Arctic forests transform into a wonderland of frost and snow - the scene of a desperate and bloody battle between wolf and bison, but also where a remarkable alliance between raven and wolverine is made. Beneath the snow lies a magical world of winter survivors. Here tiny voles dodge the clutches of the great grey owl, but cannot escape the ultimate under-show predator - the least weasel. Midwinter and a male polar bear wanders alone across the dark, empty icescape. Below the snow, polar bear cubs begin life in an icy den while fantastical auroras light the night skies above. In Antarctica, we join male emperor penguins in their darkest hour, battling to protect precious eggs from fierce polar storms. Weddell seals escape to a hidden world of jewel-coloured corals and alien-looking creatures but frozen devastation follows as sinister ice stalactites reach down with deadly effect.
5/7 • Frozen Planet • 2011 • Nature
Mike and his team confront an armour-plated catfish, discover a 45-metre hole in the riverbed and come face to face with an anaconda.
S1E3 • Amazon Abyss • 2005 • Nature
Life-and-death duels are fought daily in the wild: an orchid turns out to be a predator, killer whales ambush sea lions and chimps pursue colobus monkeys.
4/12 • Trials of Life • 1990 • Nature
There's a whole world, and more than one spectrum of sensations that animals are aware of, which surpass humans. There's a kind of "sixth sense" that some animals have, which still defies explanation. Call it extra-sensory perception animal abilities we can't entirely explain.
S1E6 • Animal Super Senses • 2020 • Nature
