Nature (1982)
← Back to main
Susan Fleming — Producer
Episodes 511
Why Bees Are Important
Scientists and bee experts discuss the crucial role that honeybees, a "keystone species," play in our economy and ecosystems, as well as bees' fascinating social organization and what we can do to reverse the decline of nature's pollinators.
Read MoreThe Flight of the Condor: Ice, Wind, and Fire
Following the path of the condor, whose ten-foot wingspan enables it to soar effortlessly over the peaks of the Andes mountains, this film starts at the storm beaten rocks of Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America and journeys north to the highest peak in the Americas - Aconcagua. Along the way, we see exotic animals and birds such as the penguin, hummingbird, sea otter, guanaco, ostrich-like rhea, and puma.
Read MoreThe Flight of the Condor: Ocean, Desert, and Thin Air
While the cold waters of the Pacific Coast of South America are among the richest in the world, the shore is the driest desert in the world. Yet it is not at all devoid of life. Lizards snatch morsels from the waves, and seagulls fly 40 miles into the desert to nest. The condor searches for carrion and vampire bats feed on the blood of sleeping sea lions. This is a beautiful portrait of a giant land.
Read MoreThe Flight of the Condor: Down the Amazon
The third part of the series is a spectacular visual trip down the fabled river. From the snow-clad summit of the volcano Cotopaxi and others comes the greatest river in the world as melting ice creates a torrent that drops three miles in its first short distance. The river is fed by magnificent waterfalls and is channeled through gorges out into the tropical rain forest where there are more species of birds than anywhere.
Read MoreAmate: The Great Fig Tree
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Kopje: A Rock for All Seasons
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
On the Edge of Paradise
Examines the fragile ecology of the Caribbean area in a unique and vivid look at the forces affecting this area's ecological balance, such as hurricanes, volcanoes, the continuing evolution of different wildlife and man's influence. International agreements and commissions created to protect the Caribbean area are also covered.
Read MoreForest in the Clouds
Surveying Costa Rica's Monte Verde preserve, which contains some 200 varieties of trees, including 300-ft. oaks. Animal life includes deadly scorpions; army ants; and plumed quetzals, sacred bird of the Maya civilization.
Read MoreThe Discovery of Animal Behavior: Natural Mysteries
The first of the series takes us back to the 13th Century to explore medieval superstitions of ancient "naturalists." Frederick II of Hohenstaufen had a passion for falconry that resulted in his immense illustrated book De Arte Venandi Cum Artibus (On the Art of Hunting With Birds.) Series host is Dr. Donald Johanson, noted paleoanthropologist and director of the Institute of Human Origins in Berkeley, California.
Read MoreThe Discovery of Animal Behavior: In Praise of God
Theologians and clerics in the 17th and 18th centuries were among the first to study animal behavior. John Ray began in the 1600's to catalog "the work of the Creation," starting with plants and later including birds. Sir Francis Willoughby continued this work. Rev. Gilbert White studied bird songs, Charlie LeRoy experimented with wolves and deer, and Charles Waterton wrote about jungle animals.
Read MoreThe Discovery of Animal Behavior: Search for the Mind
In 1848, Charles Darwin began the quest to understand the mysteries of the animal mind. Following Darwin's achievement - suggesting a plausible process for evolution: natural selection - Lewis Henry Morgan discovered evidence of cogitation in beavers. George Romanes experimented with fish, cats, and dogs, Douglas Spalding with newborn chicks, all finding apparent mental activity. Meanwhile Jacques Loeb attempted to prove animals "mindless."
Read MoreThe Discovery of Animal Behavior: A Question of Learning
First there is a re-creation of Ivan Pavlov's experiments which led to the discovery of the "conditioned reflex." Then we see the investigation by Otto Pfungst of "Kluge Hans" (Clever Hans) a horse whose apparent knowledge of arithmetic was actually response to subtle signals from his trainer. We also see dramatizations of Thomdike's experiments with chicks, Watson's with terns, and B. F. Skinner's famed work at Harvard in the thirties.
Read MoreThe Discovery of Animal Behavior: Signs and Signals
Continuing with the exploration of animal communication we see recreations of Karl von Frisch unraveling the language of honey bees. Julian Huxley, who discovered a possible language in the ritual movements of great-crested grebes, Konrad Lorenz who recorded the visual language of geese, and Niko Tinbergen, who studied the habits of hunting wasps and together with Esther Cullen recorded the relationship of temperament in birds to their habitat.
Read MoreThe Discovery of Animal Behavior: Living Together
Scientists have long attempted to discover why animals rarely live alone. Animal society seems to be based on despotic rule by the strongest, tempered by the powerful attractive forces of sex. Portrayals of Thorlief Schjelderup-Ebbe, Solly Zuckerman, Clarence Ray Carpenter, Frank Fraser Darling, William Hamilton, and Amotz Zahavi, show the contributions of each of these men towards understanding the puzzle.
Read MoreForest in the Sea
The vast areas of kelp growing on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean provide a vital food source for countless creatures.
Read MoreFungi: The Rotten World About Us
As an agent of decay, fungi performs a function essential to life on earth.
Read MoreAcacia: Tree of Thorns
A great variety of wildlife species live in and around the thorny acacia trees on the African plains.
Read MoreOn the Tracks of the Wild Otter
Wildlife photographer Hugh Miles finds an opportunity to film a female otter on one of the remote Shetland islands.
Read MoreSecret Weapons
Insects such as the beetle, firefly and moth make use of their natural chemicals as weapons against their enemies.
Read MoreVoices in the Forest
The time-honored and ritualistic relationship of the highland peoples of Papua, New Guinea, to the birds of paradise is examined.
Read MoreBig Business in Bees
Examined is the giant industry of bee cultivation in the U.S. and its relation to the billions of dollars annually at stake in the alfalfa crop.
Read MoreJet Set Wildlife
An examination of the effects of alien plants and animals on Florida’s resident wildlife, agriculture, commerce and health.
Read MoreThe Masterbuilders
An examination of the nest-building habits of birds in various parts of the world.
Read MorePlight of the Bumblebee
The life cycle of the bumblebee is compared to that of humans in order to explain the “energy crisis” confronting the insects.
Read MoreThe Missing Monsoon
The will of wildlife to survive is documented by photographers Stanley Breedon and Belinda Wright at the Keola Deo National Park in India during one of the droughts that occurs every 20 to 30 years when the monsoons do not come.
Read MoreResurrection at Truk Lagoon
An exploration of the sunken Japanese war machinery destroyed by the Allies during World War II in the South Pacific, which provides an environment for underwater plant and animal life.
Read MoreKrakatoa: The Day that Shook the World
An examination of the Indonesian volcanic island Krakatoa, focusing on the global effects of the disastrous 1883 eruption that was heard 3,000 miles away and killed 36,000 people.
Read MoreTreasures of the Gulf
How the war between Iran and Iraq is threatening the fragile ecology of the Persian Gulf.
Read MoreSexual Encounters of the Floral Kind
How various species of plant life lure insects and animals to effect the pollination process.
Read MoreFragments of Eden
Explores the varieties of plant and animal life found in the Seychelles, a 90-island archipelago in the Indian Ocean, described in 1609 as “an earthly paradise”.
Read MoreThe Face of the Deep
Examines the variety of plants and animals living in the Sargasso Sea, a gigantic floating bed of seaweed near Bermuda.
Read MoreYellowstone in Winter
Natural history photographer Wolfgang Bayer documents a winter spent in Yellowstone National Park.
Read MoreWinter Days
Describes how wildlife copes with the challenge of cold weather by storing food building layers of fat, hibernating or merely fleeing for a warmer climate
Read MoreKilimanjaro
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Danube Delta
An examination of the Danube delta on the Black Sea where industrialization threatens the areas wildlife.
Read MoreTumbler in the Sky
Examines the breeding and nesting cycles of Africa’s Bateleur eagles.
Read MoreKinabalu: Summit of Borneo
A look at the unusual plant and animal life on Kinabalu, Borneo's highest mountain.
Read MoreBirds of Paradox
A survey of the birds that cannot fly, some of which have evolved highly efficient means of travel on land and water.
Read MoreLost World of the Medusa
An exploration of life forms, flourishing in the tropical islands of Palau, including schools of jellyfish.
Read MoreKitum - The Elephant Cave
African elephants are observed on a risky trek to a cave that provides salts and minerals necessary to their diets.
Read MoreRhino on the Run
A study of the history and plight of the rhinoceros, one of the most seriously endangered species on earth.
Read MoreThrough Animal Eyes
The use of new camera lenses and special video techniques makes it possible for viewers to see the world as animals and insects observe it.
Read MoreMan's Best Friend
This profile of the world's most popular household pet, the dog, examines a special, centuries old relationship.
Read MoreNamaqualand: Diary of a Desert Garden
An exploration of a windy semi-desert in southwest Africa notable for its beautiful flowers.
Read MoreAnd Then the Rains Came
Torrential rains flood Kenya’s Tsavo Plain triggering a cycle of animal and plant regeneration that flowers in the short period before the next drought.
Read MoreBattle of the Leaves
How plants and their leaves adapt to different climates, predatory animals and man.
Read MoreThe Ganges Gharial
A five-year chronicle of India’s endangered gharial crocodile.
Read MoreOne Man’s Island
The year-long sojourn of artist and naturalist Keith Brockie on Scotland's Isle of May is captured on film.
Read MoreSelva Verde: The Green Jungle
An exploration of the ecosystem of Central America's rain forest.
Read MoreThe Plant Hunters
An exploration of the scientific research into the nutritional, medicinal and economic value of plants.
Read MoreKalahari: Wilderness Without Water
An examination of the diverse plants and animals that have adapted to the harsh environment of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa.
Read MoreEmas: High Plains of Brazil
A visit to Brazil's national park Emas, home to a unique collection of rare and unusual wildlife.
Read MoreThe Feathered Swarm
The huge mating flocks of the East African quelea, feared by farmers almost as much as they fear locusts.
Read MoreKingdom of the Ice Bear: The Frozen Ocean
A look at sea creatures of the Arctic including planktonic animals, small crustaceans, seals, belugas, tucked narwhals and polar bears.
Read MoreKingdom of the Ice Bear: Land of Beyond
After the nine-month Arctic winter, lemmings, hares, foxes and caribous become active to raise their young.
Read MoreKingdom of the Ice Bear: The Final Challenge
A study of man’s relationship with the Arctic and its wildlife.
Read MoreSaguaro: Sentinel of the Desert
Wolfgang Bayer focuses on the native giant saguaro cactus of the southwestern United States.
Read MoreDeath Trap
The sophisticated trapping mechanism of the main group of carnivorous plants.
Read MoreAspen: Dancer on the Wind
A look at the trembling aspen, a widely distributed poplar found in more regions of North America than any other tree.
Read MoreSecrets of an African Jungle
The fragile ecosystem of the great African rainforest of Korup in Cameroon.
Read MoreBirdwatch from Florida
Chronicling a weeklong series of bird-watching activities at sites that include the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades, Tampa Bay Island and Port Orange.
Read MoreThe Gooneys of Midway
Wildlife cinematographer Wolfgang Bayer focuses on the Laysan Albatross of the Hawaiian Islands.
Read MoreWhere Eagles Fly
A five year study of the golden eagle, Britain's largest bird of prey, in the Scottish highlands.
Read MoreThe Skyhunters
An examination of the vultures of Africa's Serengeti plain and the rainforests of South America.
Read MoreAlyeska: The Great Land
Examines how the plants and animals of Alaska’s Alyeska wilderness have adapted to the regions harsh climate.
Read MoreBaja Lagoon
An examination of the plants and animals that make their home in a shallow lagoon found on the Western coast of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
Read MoreGalapagos: How They Got There
This exploration of the Galapagos Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean West of Ecuador, examines theories explaining the arrival of wildlife to the archipelago.
Read MoreGalapagos: Cold on the Equator
Marine iguanas, cormorants, green turtles, sea lions, and sperm whales are among the animals that thrive in the cold waters surrounding the equatorially located Galapagos Islands.
Read MoreGalapagos: The Ocean Travelers
A look at the Galapagos Islands’ many birds, include the waved albatross, blue-footed booby, frigate bird and the ground finch; also, man’s relationship with the islands’ changing environment.
Read MorePantanal: Prairie of the Great Waters
A look at how the Pantanal's wildlife species cope with the annual cycle of flood and drought which transforms the marshy prairie from a dry savannah into the world's largest freshwater wetland – a 36,000 square-mile area that encompasses Southwestern Brazil and parts of Bolivia and Paraguay.
Read MoreLeopard: A Darkness in the Grass
The activities of an elusive female leopard are traced over a two-day period on the hot plains of Africa.
Read MoreThe Elephant Challenge
A look at the survival of the African elephants, as ivory and foraging land became more valuable.
Read MoreIchkeul: Between the Desert and the Deep Blue Sea
A freshwater lake in Tunisia that turns salty every summer.
Read MoreIn the Shadow of Fujisan: See No Evil
The Japanese take efforts to save an indigenous monkey.
Read MoreIn the Shadow of Fujisan: Bird of Happiness
A look at the crane, Japanese symbol of longevity, true love and happiness.
Read MoreIn the Shadow of Fujisan: Long Live the Turtle
Hunters and egg poachers threaten the existence of the giant loggerhead turtle.
Read MoreAmerica's Wild Horses
Following the wild mustangs of America’s West.
Read MoreHoly Land: A Wilderness Like Eden
An exploration of the Rift Valley that sweeps North from Kenya to Turkey, where prophets said their god first planted a garden.
Read MoreHoly Land: Sweet Water, Bitter Sea
The unusual life in the salty Dead Sea, where the desert plunges 1,200 feet below sea level.
Read MoreThe Forgotten Garden
What happens when a finely maintained garden is abandoned.
Read MoreLords of Hokkaido
A year on a Japanese island following a family of red foxes.
Read MoreDesigned for Living
The tunnelers, thatchers, weavers, dam builders, sculptors, potters and spinners of the animal kingdom.
Read MoreMasked Monkeys
Echoing hoots and trills, bandit masks, feathered tufts and orange noses distinguish African forest monkeys called quenons.
Read MoreThe Flowing Oasis
Wildlife flourishes in Nevada's desert landscape because of one narrow river covering less than 1% of the land.
Read MoreAmazonia: A Burning Question
Attempts to protect the unique animals and plants of Brazil threatened by development of the Amazon jungle.
Read MoreSpirits of the Forest
The lemur, an agile nocturnal primate of Madagascar, so-named because of its secretive habits and haunting cries.
Read MorePerspectives of Paradise
The process of wildlife filmmaking as chronicled by a crew during their three-year study of the Galapagos Islands.
Read MoreA Season in the Sun
The tremendous difference in animal lifestyle and in landscape during East Africa's dry season and its wet season.
Read MoreThe Legend of the Lightning Bird
The hammerhead stork, believed by East African tribesmen to have the power to call lightning from the sky.
Read MoreThe Volcano Watchers
Scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft seek to uncover the mystery of volcanoes by studying them on location as they erupt.
Read MoreLand of the Kiwi
Unusual wildlife inhabitants, beautiful terrain and natural wonders grace the Pacific islands comprising New Zealand.
Read MoreCosta Rica: Paradise Reclaimed
U.S. scientist Dan Janzen uses innovative conservation plans to create a national park amid a tropical forest.
Read MoreIn-Flight Movie: Birds of the Sun God
Close-up film captures birds in-flight; tiny hummingbirds draw nectar while hovering above flowers.
Read MoreHawaii: Islands of the Fire Goddess
A Hawaiian island evolves from underwater volcano to snow-capped mountain and finally to coral atoll.
Read MoreOkavango, Jewel of the Kalahari: The Search for the Jewel
The first of a three-part survey of "Okavango: Jewel of the Kalahari" describes how earthquakes diverted the Okavango River into Botswana's Kalahari Desert. Observed: elephants, zebras, buffaloes, vultures, ostriches, bush babies and bat-eared foxes.
Read MoreOkavango, Jewel of the Kalahari: The Living Jewel
Creatures of the air, trees and water brave the five-month floods through the Okavango delta. Part 2 of "Okavango: Jewel of the Kalahari," observes African skimmers, lily trotters, baboons, dwarf mouth-breeders, tiger fish and catfishlike squeakers.
Read MoreOkavango, Jewel of the Kalahari: A New Challenge
People of Botswana must balance wildlife protection with preservation of their precious water source.
Read MoreGreat Moments with Nature's Filmmakers
A five-year retrospective includes clips from The Flight of the Condor, Leopard: A Darkness in the Grass, Kingdom of the Ice Bear, Cats, The Gooneys of Midway, and Yellowstone in Winter, with animals hunting, courting, rearing young and adapting to their environment.
Read MoreElephant: Lord of the Jungle
The Asian elephant is shown to be a creature of both great strength and intelligence.
Read MoreMiracle of the Scarlet Salmon
After two years in the Pacific, the sockeye salmon battles rapids returning to its birthplace to spawn.
Read MoreCowboys, Caimans and Capybaras
Ranchers and scientists practice conservationism in Venezuelan and Colombian grasslands to protect native animals.
Read MoreTom's River: Reflections of a River Keeper
Naturalist Tom Williams studies England's Avon River and the fish and fowl it supports.
Read MoreThe Elephant Challenge
A growing African population threatens elephant survival by farming its foraging land and hunting the beast for ivory.
Read MoreThe Coral Triangle
An exploration of the coral reefs of the Malay Triangle made up of the Philippines, Malaysia and New Guinea.
Read MoreBonebreakers' Mountain
An exploration of the Spanish Pyrenees mountains and the bearded "bonebreaker" vulture that lives in this harsh environment.
Read MoreExtremadura: Spain's Forgotten Forest
Explores Spain's Extremadura, an oak forest and wilderness plain, home to griffin vultures, imperial eagles, genets and other animals native to Africa.
Read MorePeacock's War
Former Vietnam medic Doug Peacock lives as a firewatcher and conservationist in Montana's Glacier National Park.
Read MoreNature of Australia: a Portrait of the Island Continent: A Separate Creation
Examines marsupials and others animals which have evolved because of Australia's isolation from the rest of the world.
Read MoreNature of Australia: a Portrait of the Island Continent: Seas Under Capricorn
Two distinct marine worlds meet in the waters that encircle Australia. In its long voyage into isolation following its breakaway from Gondwana, 45 million years ago, the island continent came to span both tropical and temperate seas. Today its shores are ringed by the most diverse assemblies of marine life on earth. This program recounts the making of this unique Australia down under, from the storm tossed kelp forests of the cool south, to the magic splendours of the Great Barrier Reef. The program begins its story where Australia was born, in the southern latitudes of the Antarctic seas. Antarctica is the last remnant of Gondwana - it froze over after the other continents broke away, but its cool rich waters still generate a wealth of nutrients which, carried by the deep currents, sustain Australia's marine life.
Read MoreNature of Australia: a Portrait of the Island Continent: the Making of the Bush
A koala up a gumtree is the classic image of the Australian bush. How that odd partnership evolved is one of the strands woven into this episode of Nature Of Australia. The program tells the story of how the island continent's wooded margins came to be dominated by one unique type of tree growing in a great variety of forms - the eucalypt. The nursery for nearly all life in Australia is the rainforest, of which only a few patches remain today - th last remnants of vast, dense forests that covered Australia when it first broke away from the ancestral super-continent of Gondwana, and voyaged north into isolation. From among its proliferation of plants emerged the eucalypts, the characteristic gum trees - and from among the forest animals arose a great and varied company of marsupials, adapting to every kind of environment that evolved in response to Australia's changing, drying climate.
Read MoreNature of Australia: a Portrait of the Island Continent: the Sunburnt Country
Australia's arid interior is often called the dead heart. In fact, it teems with life, supported by a hidden network of buried rivers recharged by rare but heavy rains. This episode tells the story of this surprising desert - formed when the climatic change overtook and dried out central Australia. What was once a land of vast lakes and broad rivers turned into a parched region of glittering stone and burning sand, interwoven with swathes of hardy woodland and plains of desert grass. A great variety of plants and animals has adapted to life in the arid centre, with its swings between the brief good condition that follow the unpredictable rains, and then long periods of drought. It's the land of the lizards - from giant goannas that sniff out snakes hiding under the sand, to the tiny, delicate Lake Eyre dragons who've made the desolate saltpans their domain.
Read MoreNature of Australia: a Portrait of the Island Continent: the Land of Flood and Fire
Australia's northward drift slowed down when it collided with Asia about 15 million years ago - in the upheavals, chains of islands were thrust up and eventually they became the stepping stones for an invasion that would change the face of Australia. With the arrival of the first humans - at least 50,000 and possibly as long as 120,000 year ago - a new force entered the continent to shape the fortunes of its plants and animals. The first landfall was on the far north coast of Australia, a rich and tropical region ruled by the annual monsoonal rains. This program tells the story of Australia's top end, where the first Aboriginal people arrived, settled, and perfected the use of fire as a means to manage the landscape.
Read MoreNature of Australia: A Portrait of the Island Continent: End of Isolation
Modern Australians want to recapture the Aborigines ability to live harmoniously with indigenous plants and animals.
Read MoreNight Hunters
The different types of owls and the characteristics which make them ideal birds of prey.
Read MoreBeyond Timbuktu
Wildlife artist Bruce Pearson sketches the various bird species found in the arid lands of Western Africa's Mali, through which the River Niger flows.
Read MoreUnder the Emerald Sea
Explores the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Vancouver, B.C.
Read MoreWild Waterfalls
Explores the variety of local environments found around waterfalls in Africa, South and North America.
Read MoreMeerkats United / The Bee-Team
Profiles of the Kalahari Desert's gray meerkat or mongoose, and a Kenyan colony of bee-eater birds.
Read MoreMozu the Snow Monkey
Chronicling the life of "Mozu the Snow Monkey," a macaque with deformed limbs that's survived harsh winters in Japan's highlands to raise seven offspring. The complex social structure among the primates is documented.
Read MoreThe Everglades: Rain Machine
Examines the role computers play in managing the Everglades and whether this vital freshwater marsh will survive the effects of diking, draining and development.
Read MoreIslands in the Sky
Unique animals and plants flourish atop mist-shrouded Venezuelan plateaus thousands of feet above the surrounding jungle.
Read MoreRulers of the Wind
Scientists study birds of prey, creatures historically admired and hated, as indicators of environmental damage.
Read MoreKariba: the Lake that Made a Dent
Wildlife flourishes around the manmade lake conservationists denounced 30 years ago at its creation.
Read MoreThe Great Rift: Footprints in the Valley
The area's evolutionary roots opens this look at the African valley.
Read MoreThe Great Rift: Out of the Ashes
The wildlife that lives on the Great Rift's ash plains.
Read MoreThe Great Rift: Breaking the Continent
Examines the Red Sea, the island of Madagascar and East Africa.
Read MoreUnder the Ice
Soft coral, sponges, tubeworms, anemones and giant cod adapt to life in Antarctica's subzero waters.
Read MoreLand of Dragons
Profiles the wildlife living within the British crown colony of Hong Kong
Read MoreThe Great Wood of Caledon
An exploration of the Caledonian forest in Scotland, Britain's largest remaining area of ancient woodland.
Read MoreForest of Fear
A look at the maneating tigers of the Sundarbans delta in India.
Read MoreGran Paradiso
Resource management in Italy's alpine Gran Paradiso National Park has consequences beyond the parks boundaries.
Read MoreCranes of the Grey Wind
Scientists study sandhill cranes on Nebraskan plains, Alaskan and Siberian coasts and in the Northwest Territories.
Read MoreKing Solomon's Mountains
The forests and waters of Ethiopia's Bale Mountains, may one day renew the country's depleted landscape.
Read MoreHunters of the Sky
A look at how Europe's birds of prey have adapted.
Read MoreA Wolf in the Fold
The relationship between working sheepdogs and flocks of sheep. Selective breeding yields a sheepdog with outstanding abilities to tend the creature other canines prey upon.
Read MoreThe Colorado
Tracing the course of the Colorado River.
Read MoreThe Emerald Isle
Thousands of years of human settlement provide the backdrop by which to discover the wildlife of Ireland.
Read MoreGiant Otters
The fur trade continues to threaten the South American otter with extinction, despite its status as an endangered species.
Read MoreThe Haida Gwai: Islands of the People
Profiles the Haida Indians who live on British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Island.
Read MorePresque Isle: Land in Motion
An exploration of the environmental impact of man's attempts to halt the erosion of Presque Isle beaches.
Read MoreYellowstone on Fire
The effect of the 1988 fire on the ecosystem of Yellowstone National Park.
Read MoreSeasons in the Sea
Sharks, rays, squids and blue whales live in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast.
Read MoreMonkeys on the Edge
Three species of monkeys, the muriqui, the golden lion tamarin and the buffy-headed marmoset struggle for survival in Brazil's coastal Atlantic Forest.
Read MoreScandinavia: Land of the Midnight Sun
A look at how Norway and Sweden are affected by eight months of winter.
Read MoreScandinavia: Fresh Waters, Salt Seas
A look at the Swedish archipelago and Norway's fjords.
Read MoreThe Sisterhood
Africa's spotted hyena is a matriarch dominated, efficient predator.
Read MoreSupersense: Sight and Sound
Sight and sound are experienced through animal eyes and ears.
Read MoreSupersense: Super Scents and Beyond
Enhanced olfactory sensitivity; unique animal senses.
Read MoreSupersense: Making Sense
Internal clocks guide life rhythms of eating, sleeping, mating, hibernation, birth and death.
Read MoreMonkey Island
This program travels to the island of Cayo Santiago off Puerto Rico to study the behavioral patterns of a colony of feral Rhesus Macaques.
Read MoreGrizzly Country
Rangers at Denali National Park in Alaska train hikers for planned encounters with grizzlies; Alaskan grizzly bears are seen salmon fishing at Brooks Falls.
Read MoreThe Wild Shores of Patagonia
Penguins, maras, guanacos, sea lions and killer whales highlight this portrait of Patagonia.
Read MoreThe Gulf: Portrait of the War Zone
In light of the Persian Gulf War and the recent oil spills, PBS airs an update of the 1984 episode of Nature, Treasures of the Gulf, that focused on the effects of the Iran-Iraq war on the fragile ecology of the Persian Gulf.
Read MoreOne Man's Kenya
The beauty of the African plains and the effects of tourism on the area.
Read MoreThe Elephants of Tsavo: Love and Betrayal
Filmmaker Simon Trevor, a former game warden, records the decimation of African elephants.
Read MoreGrand Teton Wilderness
The natural and human history of the Grand Tetons and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Read MoreYear of the Jackal
Life within a close-knit golden jackal family on the plains of Lemuta in Africa.
Read MoreBlack Bear of the North
Biologist Lynn Rogers follows the black bear out of hibernation and into the Minnesota woods.
Read MoreWild Dogs of Africa
The relationship within a wild dog pack on Africa's Serengeti Plains.
Read MoreMarathon Bird
A profile of the albatross examines its traits and habitats, as well as the mysteries and myths surrounding it.
Read MoreThe Cat That Came in From the Cold
A polecat winters at a working farm in Wales, along with scavenging foxes, rats and birds.
Read MoreCrown of the Continent: Waterton/Glacier National Park
Grizzlies, wolves and cougars roam Montana's rugged, pristine Glacier National Park.
Read MoreFrom the Heart of the World: the Elder Brothers' Warning
This program features the Kogi tribe who live in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Columbia. They are pre-Columbian peoples, and consider themselves as the elder brothers of humankind. They insist that it is the modern world, the younger brothers, who are destroying the harmony of life on earth.
Read MoreVietnam: a Country, Not a War
Vietnam's wildlife is reappearing after the great losses suffered during the war.
Read MoreKali the Lion
Simon King films a lioness and her pride during winter on Africa's Serengeti plain.
Read MoreMadagascar: Island of Ghosts
A look at the environmental crisis on Madagascar and new conservation efforts being made.
Read MoreLand of the Eagle: the Great Encounter
This first episode in the miniseries explores the European discovery and settlement of the New World. Two views are presented, that of the colonists struggles to survive in their new and unfamiliar setting, as well as the Native Americans success within the same environment.
Read MoreLand of the Eagle: Confronting the Wilderness
A look at the colonization of Canada and the fur trade.
Read MoreLand of the Eagle: Conquering Swamps
A focus on the prospect of gold in the new world, and the Spanish exploration of Florida in search of that alluring metal.
Read MoreLand of the Eagle: Across the Seas of Grass
An exploration of the Great Plains of North American from the Lewis and Clark expedition through to the present day.
Read MoreLand of the Eagle: Into the Shining Mountains
A focus on the Rocky Mountains and Yellowstone National Park.
Read MoreLand of the Eagle: Living on the Edge
A look at life in the Sonoran Desert.
Read MoreLand of the Eagle: the First and Last Frontier
Exploring the people and wildlife of Alaska.
Read MoreLand of the Eagle: Searching for Paradise
This last episode in the miniseries looks at the landscape and wildlife of California.
Read MoreGreat Moments with Nature's Filmmakers
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Horse Tigers
This program follows a herd of zebras along their yearly migration route through the African plains.
Read MoreArctic Wanderers
Follows the yearly migration of the caribou of Alaska and the Yukon Territory in an effort to find suitable birthing grounds, all will trying to avoid wolves and other predators.
Read MoreLadakh: Kingdom in the Clouds
India's remote Ladakh region in the Himalaya Mountains, home to the snow leopard and other rare wildlife.
Read MoreTiwai: Island of the Apes
Chimpanzees and other primates survive on Tiwai, an Upper Guinea island where witchcraft and taboos still exist.
Read MoreA Celebration of Birds with Roger Tory Peterson
Roger Tory Peterson's fight to save America's birds and their habitats.
Read MoreElephant Seals: Those Magnificent Diving Machines
The life cycle of a female northern elephant seal is documented.
Read MoreDolphins: Close Encounters
Explores the lives of dolphins all around the world, and the scientists who are trying to communicate with them.
Read MoreLast Stand of the Giants
Loggers and conservationists have conflicting plans for ancient forests of redwoods, Douglas firs, hemlocks and Sitka spruce trees along the Northern Pacific rim.
Read MoreRealms of the Russian Bear: Green Jewel of the Caspian
This miniseries starts off by exploring the abundance of wildlife around the Volga Delta in Russia’s Astrakhan region.
Read MoreRealms of the Russian Bear: the Arctic Frontier
An exploration of the wildlife of the Russian Arctic, and in particular Wrangle Island, featuring polar bears, musk oxen, Ross’s Gulls, reindeer, foxes, walruses, and the Red-breasted Goose.
Read MoreRealms of the Russian Bear: the Red Deserts
A focus on the wildlife of the Central Asian deserts.
Read MoreRealms of the Russian Bear: the Celestial Mountains
Between China and Central Asia is the Tian Shan mountain range, home to Marco Polo sheep, white-clawed bears, snow leopards, yaks, and the ibex.
Read MoreRealms of the Russian Bear: Siberia, the Frozen Forest
A look at the wildlife in the huge Siberia forest reveals bears, elk, wolves, and musk deer among many other creatures in this frozen expanse.
Read MoreRealms of the Russian Bear: Born of Fire
This last program in the miniseries explores Kamchatka Peninsula where the Russian Arctic meets Southeast Asia. Home to perhaps the highest concentration of volcanoes in the world, this remote region is teeming with life both on land and in the sea, from the Amur Tiger to the Giant Pacific Octopus.
Read MoreShadows in a Desert Sea
Fish, bats, birds, whales, giant squids, sharks, dolphins, sea lions and more flourish in and around the Sea of Cortez.
Read MoreThe Tree of Music
The African Blackwood is prized the world over for its wood in the making of musical instruments. Nature takes you on a journey through the history of this “tree of music” and into modern day efforts in Tanzania to save this ever dwindling resource.
Read MoreSlaves to the Queen
Get right inside the hives of bees and wasps to see the inner workings of these complex societies.
Read MoreIce Fox: Struggle for Survival
A look at two separate families of arctic foxes. One living in the frozen, barren tundra of northern Russia, the other living in the slightly more comfortable surroundings of the Norwegian coastline.
Read MoreCheetahs in the Land of Lions
A study of cheetah behavior follows a mother and her cubs on the Serengeti plains.
Read MoreGorilla: King of the Congo
A gorilla orphanage and a proposed forest reserve may save the lowland gorilla.
Read MoreAmerican Trickster
As its numbers increase and its natural range diminishes, the coyote moves into populated regions like Los Angeles.
Read MoreHebrides: the Secret Islands
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Echo of the Elephants
In Kenya’s Amboseli National Park is a family of elephants led by its matriarch Echo. Elephant expert Cynthia Moss, takes us up-close and inside the lives of these magnificent animals.
Read MoreThe Ghosts of Ruby
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
The Bandit and the Builder
Raccoon and beaver lifestyles in the Canadian wilderness.
Read MoreSpirit of the Sound
Exploration of Puget Sound's ecosystem.
Read MoreIn the Company of Wolves with Timothy Dalton
Timothy Dalton searches for wolf habitats in North America to learn more about the animal
Read MoreTreasure of the Andes
The history of llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos in South America.
Read MoreEchoes from the Ice
The two-hundred-foot walls of ice in Glacier Bay overwhelm the senses, but they also surround the most beautiful sights Alaska has to offer — the Northern Lights, the roaming grizzly bears, and the humpback whales. The glacier itself is also creating new life — it has retreated some 70 miles up the bay, wiping the ecological slate clean, allowing new plants and animals to start again from scratch.
Read MoreThe Nature of Sex: the Primal Instinct
This program looks at the varied ways in which life reproduces. Whether a species has one sex, two sexes, both at once or none at all, the urge to procreate is there.
Read MoreThe Nature of Sex: a Time and a Place
Explores the various influences on mating and courtship, from the sun, the moon and the change of seasons, to the specific behaviors within species.
Read MoreThe Nature of Sex: The Sex Contract
Explores the selection process among different species for choosing a mate, whether it’s for life or just for the day.
Read MoreThe Nature of Sex: Sex and the Human Animal
An investigation into the origins of human sexuality and sexual roles.
Read MoreThe Nature of Sex: a Miracle in the Making
A look at the reproduction process from conception to birth of a wide variety of animals.
Read MoreThe Nature of Sex: Young Ones
A look at the parental process of all sorts of earth’s creatures.
Read MoreNature's Great African Moments
"Nature's Great African Moments" features clips from episodes focusing on the continent and its abundant wildlife. Included: wildebeests, zebras, lions, giraffes and flamingos.
Read MoreAnima Mundi: Before It's Too Late
"Anima Mundi" offers images of the natural world set to music; "Before It's Too Late" examines zoos' efforts to preserve endangered species. Included: attempts to restore near-extinct mammals to mainland Australia.
Read MorePhantom of the Forest
A study of the goshawk, a bird of prey that has been restored to the Scottish woodlands after being pushed to the brink of extinction. Included: the goshawk's courtship ritual; how chicks learn to fly.
Read MoreSea Otter Story: Warm Hearts & Cold Water
"A Sea Otter Story---Warm Hearts & Cold Water" examines a California aquarium's efforts to raise an otter and teach it necessary survival skills. Also: the impact of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill on Alaskan otters.
Read MoreToadskin Spell
"Toadskin Spell" examines frogs and toads and how the qualities of their skin help them survive extreme climates. Included: toad-derived poisons, medicines and hallucinogens.
Read MoreIn the Lion's Den with Anthony Hopkins
Following Anthony Hopkins to Tanzania to study lions. Included: an encounter with Masai warriors; the lioness's role in the hunt; footage of zebras and wildebeests.
Read MorePandas of the Sleeping Dragon
This installment of PBS's multi-award winning Nature series delves into the life and history of the highly endangered giant panda. Nature: Pandas of the Sleeping Dragon studies the habits and habitats of the giant panda throughout China's Sleeping Dragon Mountains.
Read MoreWarts and All
"Warts and All" follows three generations of a wart-hog family over the course of a year. Observed: attacks by hyenas, leopards and flamingos; how wart-hog males fend for themselves from an early age.
Read MoreNomads of the Wind: The Faraway Heaven
The first programme in a five part series that combines wildlife footage with drama and documentary in exploring the fundamental relationship between man and nature across the Pacific Ocean. Explores the islands of Tahiti and Marquesas, which were settled some 2000 years ago by Polynesian seafarers.
Read MoreNomads of the Wind: Crossroads of the Pacific
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Nomads of the Wind: Burning Their Boats
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Nomads of the Wind: Distant Horizons
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Nomads of the Wind: The Pierced Sky
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Creatures in Crime
Following the work of forensic experts who use plants, insects and animals to help solve police cases. Included: how seeds on a blanket placed a rape suspect at a crime scene; how fly eggs helped police identify a serial killer.
Read MoreTigers with Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins travels through Sumatra, India and Nepal to learn about wild tigers.
Read MoreGhost Bear
Following a rare ghost bear, a black bear with all-white fur, as it hones survival skills on an island off the western coast of Canada. Included: salmon migration; preparations for hibernation; black gray wolves; killer whales.
Read MoreBorn to Run
Following a herd of Thomson's gazelles, a species that uses swift, “life-saving legs” to survive attacks by predators on Africa's Serengeti Plains. Included: their flight from cheetahs (their “greatest enemy”), jackals and hyenas; how “Tommies” travel in herds.
Read MoreNew Guinea: Island Invaders
"New Guinea: Island Invaders" explores the island, located north of Australia in the East Indies. Examined: the land bridge which enabled animals from Australia to cross over to New Guinea. Also: the marine crocodile
Read MoreNew Guinea: Other Worlds
"New Guinea: Other Worlds" explores the island's remote interior, home to the bird of paradise, which natives believe to have spiritual powers. Also: how gold prospectors came to the interior and were surprised to encounter people exclusively using stone-age tools.
Read MoreJaguar: Year of the Cat
"Jaguar: Year of the Cat" follows the predator in its native rain forests of Belize. Included: a pair stalk turtles, peccaries and armadillos; scenes of the habits of their animal neighbors, including toucans and ocelots.
Read MoreIncredible Suckers
NATURE takes you into the depths of the ocean to discover the most remarkable life still undiscovered on our planet that will certainly be found in the sea.
Read MoreMonkey in the Mirror
Considering the similarities between simian and human intelligence. Included: a chimpanzee demonstrating a sense of self, as he recognizes his own reflection; how certain chimps can use tools; a chimp species that has recreational sex.
Read MoreThe World of Penguins
Travel to "The World of Penguins” to discover the great variety of these aquatic birds.
Read MoreCastaways of Sulawesi
Exploring the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, formed when Asia and Australia separated, which combines elements of both continents. Included: crested black macaques; a reticulated python; the babirusa ("pig-deer"); red-knobbed hornbills; fruit bats.
Read MoreHunters of the Sea Wind
Following the "Hunters of the Sea Wind," predators that stalk a Pacific current for the thousands of fish it carries. Included: dolphins; yellowfin tuna; blue marlins; lantern fish; and sailfish. Also: tuna fishermen releasing dolphins from their nets.
Read MoreParrots: Look Who's Talking
A look at parrots, birds with a playful nature and remarkable mimicry skills that have endeared them to pet owners worldwide. Included: the largest parrot species, the hyacinth macaw; scarlet macaws, white cockatoos and monk parakeets.
Read MoreAlien Empire: Hardware & Replicators
"Alien Empire," a three-part exploration of the world of insects, begins with survival methods used by many species. Included: how exoskeletons provide protection and can be used offensively; unusual reproductive habits of mayflies and wasps.
Read MoreAlien Empire: Battlezone & Metropolis
Part 2 of "Alien Empire" delves into the violence and communal living that are at the core of insect life. Included: cockroach and butterfly eating techniques; highly effective termite killers called "assassin bugs."
Read MoreAlien Empire: Voyagers and War of the Worlds
"Alien Empire" concludes with a look at how insects have spread and how humans have tried to combat that expansion. Included: crickets that have adapted to climatic extremes; the threat posed by gypsy-moth caterpillars.
Read MoreJane Goodall's Wild Chimpanzees
Jane Goodall introduces a program that charts a "sweeping family saga" as it plays out among chimps in Tanzania's Gombe National Park. Observed: how the younger offspring try to capture their mother's attention.
Read MoreVictims of Venom
A look at snakes, sea creatures and plants that employ venom, either as a defense mechanism or as a way to disable prey. Included: king and Siamese cobras; scorpions; rattlesnakes; and the Australian blue-ringed octopus.
Read MoreCall of Kakadu
Exploring the wildlife and terrain in the wilderness of Australia's Kakadu National Park, where years are divided between droughts and monsoons. Included: Gouldian finches, sulphur-crested cockatoos, magpie geese, dingoes and wallabies
Read MoreMonsoon
Tracing the monsoon season when India receives most of its rain. Included: how the rains avert droughts on most of the subcontinent, but also cause massive flooding. Observed: gharial crocodiles; weaverbirds; Indian elephants; one-horned rhinos; langurs.
Read MoreSperm Whales: the Real Moby Dick
In the NATURE program SPERM WHALES: THE REAL MOBY DICK, the efforts of Jonathan Gordon and other researchers to study the whales' physicality, modes of communication, and social interactions contribute to our understanding of the underwater world.
Read MoreThe Crater Lions
Charting the declining fortunes of a pride of "Crater Lions" that lives in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater. Included: lion attacks on buffaloes; a young cub's encounter with jackals; efforts to repopulate the pride; wildebeests, elephants
Read MoreMask of the Mandrill
Delving into the mysteries of the colorful monkeys called mandrills, as a troupe of the creatures are followed through the West African rainforests. Included: the travails of a lead male fighting off a rival; the females' role as group leaders; hammerhead bats and river martins.
Read MoreThe Joy of Pigs
Exploring pigs, described by host George Page as “the world's most cosmopolitan characters,” with a focus on their adaptability to a variety of environments. Included: pigs as pets; hunters stalking a “bearded” pig in Borneo.
Read MoreEcho of the Elephants: The Next Generation
Following a family of elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park. Included: the family's matriarch giving birth, rescuing her kidnapped daughter and chasing away hyenas. Also: male and female mating rituals.
Read MoreWolves and Buffalo: The Last Frontier
Observing wild buffaloes and gray wolves in the Canadian wilderness. Jeff and Sue Turner spent two years filming the ritual battles between these ancient adversaries in Wood Buffalo National Park, where the drama unfolds in the subarctic winter.
Read MoreThe Elephant Men
Profiling the mahouts of southern India, who are skilled in the art of training wild elephants. Included: a journey north to stop herds of marauding elephants that are destroying villagers' crops and taking lives.
Read MoreA Lemur's Tale
Deep in the thorn forests of Madagascar live troops of ring-tailed lemurs, the most beautiful and most social of Madagascar’s extraordinary primates. Our story follows five baby lemurs as they try to make their way in the world. In an intimate portrait never before filmed, we learn of their high times, their sufferings, and the special bonds that hold their unique society together.
Read MoreExtraordinary Dogs
Tales of canine loyalty to humans, including segments illustrating how dogs detect people buried by avalanches, enhance the lives of prison inmates and offer "therapy" for seriously ill youngsters. Also: the use of dogs to assist people with disabilities; dog scouts and couriers.
Read MoreBower Bird Blues
Profiling the bowerbird, an ingenious "architect" of the Australian rain forest that builds elaborate bowers of sticks to attract a female. Footage also includes the spiny echidna, which feasts on termite mounds; a bright blue crayfish; and carnivorous dingoes.
Read MoreSpirits of the Jaguar: The Forging of a New World
The four-part "Spirits of the Jaguar" explores the human and natural histories of Central America and the Caribbean. Part 1 focuses on the region's animal and plant life, and its volcanic origins some 150 million years ago. Included: iguanas; crocodiles; fossilized tree sap that offers a record of ancient island life.
Read MoreSpirits of the Jaguar: The Forests of Maya
Part 2 of "Spirits of the Jaguar" explores the "Forests of the Maya," where 1200 years ago an extraordinary civilization emerged in the Central American jungles. Included: Mayan ruins; exotic animals like the jaguar that permeated Mayan folklore; underground rivers and caves.
Read MoreSpirits of the Jaguar: Hunters of the Caribbean Sea
Part 3 of “Spirits of the Jaguar” recounts the evolution of the Taino civilization. The Taino were the first inhabitants of the Caribbean some 2000 years ago, and their way of life was destroyed with the arrival of European explorers. The hour examines marine life that provided food for the Amerindians.
Read MoreSpirits of the Jaguar: The World of Aztecs
"Spirits of the Jaguar" concludes with the story of the Aztec empire, which in the 1500s stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific in what is now Mexico. Footage includes scenes of hawks that once inspired Aztec myths, and ruins of pyramids and temples.
Read MoreToothwalkers: Giants of the Arctic Ice
TOOTHWALKERS presents extremely rare under-the-ice footage that reveals a complex and potentially dangerous side to this huge and often mysterious mammal.
Read MoreGrand Canyon
An unforgettable view. To see the Grand Canyon for the first time is an experience few people will forget. The canyon vista — with its incomprehensible size, deep color, and rich display of rock layers — is unmatched by any natural display on Earth. But while the rock formations may seem arid and lifeless, the Grand Canyon is home to an astounding variety of creatures. In its mile-deep plunge, the Grand Canyon’s terrain ranges from conifer forest to desert, with river niches in between.
Read MoreAnimal Attractions: Amazing Tales from the San Diego Zoo
The birth of a baby gorilla, the flight to freedom of a California condor, and a panda's attempt at seduction are among the stories from the San Diego Zoo. Included: a black rhino's birth; the construction of a polar-bear habitat; preparing zoo meals.
Read MoreThe Elephants of Africa
Studying elephants' ability to adapt to varied environments. Included: researchers probe the myth of the pygmy elephant of the rain forest, and follow forest elephants that live in small family units in central Africa.
Read MoreOrangutans: Just Hangin' On
Examining efforts to save orangutans from extinction at a rehabilitation center in Borneo, where the apes are later released into the wild. Also: footage of an orangutan birth; a study in which apes learn communication with humans.
Read MoreYellowstone Otters
Exploring otters as they frolic at Yellowstone Lake, a powerhouse of geothermal activity, where the warmth beneath the rocks sustains life, even in winter. Also seen: bald eagles performing an airborne bonding ritual.
Read MoreGremlins: Faces in the Forest
Filmmakers explore a region of the Brazilian rain forest to find three species of marmoset, the smallest monkey in the world. There, they find a fourth species previously known only to the Satare Maues Indians, who believe marmosets are reincarnations of their own children.
Read MoreLife at the Edge of the Sea
Exploring aquatic life along the Pacific coast of British Columbia, where colorful undersea creatures live in the pounding surf. Included: a palm tree-shaped sea anemone seen doing a sensual “dance.”
Read MoreSecret Garden
"The Secret Garden" probes the "suburban jungle" of bugs, slugs, birds, snakes and wildlife that inhabit backyard gardens. Included: mating snails that "touch each other with shameless abandon"; a beetle with a taste for tadpoles; weeds that vie for space and light.
Read MoreForces of the Wild: In the Beginning
Part 1 of "Forces of the Wild," a five-part miniseries, explores the birth of the planet Earth, from the formation of the atmosphere and water to the miracle of life. Also: volcanoes and lava forms in Hawaii, and undersea volcanic zones near Iceland.
Read MoreForces of the Wild: Perpetual Motion
Part 2 of "Forces of the Wild" examines wind and water, two forces that shape the Earth and are each "a recipe for paradise---and for disaster." Footage includes tropical rain forests and deserts, including Death Valley (Cal.).
Read MoreForces of the Wild: Heavenly Partners
"Forces of the Wild" Part 3 documents the influence of the sun and the moon on life. Included: the prehistoric Stonehenge megaliths; gravity's effects on the moon and the earth; myths surrounding the seasons.
Read MoreForces of the Wild: Living Dangerously
Part 4 of "Forces of the Wild" offers a grim warning against mankind's efforts to change elemental forces that shape the planet and transform nature to suit the modern world. Included: the effects of pollution and the weather pattern known as El Niño.
Read MoreForces of the Wild: Playing with Fire
"Forces of the Wild" concludes with a look at the work of photographers who shot stunning images of Hawaii's Kilauea eruptions, and of geese migration. Also: interviews with pilots and scientists of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution.
Read MoreEagles
Extraordinary footage of eagles illustrates species of fish eagles and forest eagles, including Southeast Asian white-bellied eagles, seen in daredevil aerial combat and diving for deadly sea snakes; the golden eagle, a “flying masterpiece”; the classic bald eagle.
Read MoreThe Wild Side of New York
Exploring a man-made jungle teeming with life---wildlife, that is---amid a forest of skyscrapers in New York City. Included: red-tailed hawks; nesting parrots at Brooklyn College; and subway rats, raccoons and cockroaches.
Read MoreGreat White Bear
The polar bear rules the north. To the hardy native people who settled the harsh lands of the Arctic, the powerful hunter with the ghostly white coat is known as the “lonely roamer.” But most of us know the huge mammal as the polar bear. And the story of how the world’s largest land predator prospers in one of Earth’s harshest environments is the subject of the NATURE program Great White Bear.
Read MoreThe Secret World of Sharks and Rays
NATURE lifts part of the veil of mystery shrouding some fascinating — and often fearsome — creatures in The Secret World of Sharks and Rays.
Sharks and their biological cousins, the rays, are among the highest-profile denizens of the deep, thanks to the popularity of books and films that have cast them in leading roles — as antagonist, not protagonist.
Read MoreAmerican Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation
The NATURE program American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation tells the sad story of how the buffalo nation was destroyed nearly a century ago by greed and uncontrolled hunting — and how a few visionaries are working today to rebuild the once-great bison herds. It offers a remarkable portrait of America’s last significant wild bison herd, made up of a few thousand animals living within Montana’s Yellowstone National Park. And it highlights the efforts of Native American leaders dedicated to bringing back the animal that once gave life to their tribes. “Buffalo have to be there for our culture to exist,” says Fred DuBray, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe who appears in American Buffalo. “As we bring our herds back to health, we will also bring our people back to health.”
Read MoreIndia, Land of the Tiger: Tiger's Domain
"India: Land of the Tiger" begins a six-part journey, led by wildlife expert Valmik Thapar, through the land of Kipling's "Jungle Book." "The Tiger's Domain" opens the series, and tracks tigers, Asiatic lions, monkeys, jackals, sloth bears and cobras. Also: a ceremonial snake festival.
Read MoreIndia, Land of the Tiger: Sacred Waters
Part 2 of "India: Land of the Tiger" follows the sacred waters of the Ganges River, whose grasslands are home to rhino, wild buffalo, elephants, tigers and a cacophony of birds. Also explored: the mangrove-rich Sunderbans Delta, where the tiger is worshipped as a god.
Read MoreIndia, Land of the Tiger: Unknown Seas
Part 3 of "India: Land of the Tiger" explores the vast expanses of unknown seas, from the Arabian Sea to the Bay of Bengal. Included: elephants swimming from island to island; whale sharks; coral reefs; convict fish; and the voracious Bombay duck.
Read MoreIndia, Land of the Tiger: Desert Kingdom
Part 4 of "India: Land of the Tiger" travels to the harsh northwest "Desert Kingdom," home to stately black bucks, Indian gazelles, wild ass, lynx-like caracal, monkeys that live among the people, and vultures that feed on carcasses of dead livestock.
Read MoreIndia, Land of the Tiger: Mountains of Gods
Part 5 of "India: Land of the Tiger" journeys to the inhospitable peaks of the Himalayas. These icy citadels are "Mountains of the Gods" that support a rich variety of life, such as snow leopards, blue sheep, brown bears, red pandas and flamboyant pheasants.
Read MoreIndia, Land of the Tiger: Monsoon Forests
"India: Land of the Tiger" concludes with a journey into the subcontinent's lush "Monsoon Forests" for a look at their inhabitants: rare tigers and elephants, primates such as the hoolock gibbon, the milgiri langur, the lion-tailed macaque, giant hornbills.
Read MoreJohn Denver: Let This Be a Voice
NATURE's John Denver: Let This Be A Voice explores the American West with the late singer and conservationist.
Read MoreSerengeti Stories
"Serengeti Stories: The Work of Hugo van Lawick" follows the famed wildlife filmmaker and includes clips of his masterpiece, "People of the Forest," about chimpanzees and their social relationships. Also: clips of "Wild Dogs of Africa" (1972), a heroic story of survival.
Read MoreIceland: Fire and Ice
"Iceland: Fire and Ice" is a "wonderland of eternal opposites," where glaciers sit on top of volcanoes. In this land of ice there are no trees, but it is home to Arctic foxes, a large bird population and twice as many sheep as people. Included: footage of ice caves.
Read MoreWalking with Giants: The Grizzlies of Siberia
Once the home of a notorious Soviet prison camp, the isolated peninsula of Kamchatka remains a haven for one of Earth's last giants, the grizzly bear.
Read MoreExtraordinary Cats
Cats command our attention and our devotion. These fascinating creatures have been perplexing people for thousands of years.
Read MoreThe Seedy Side of Plants
How does such a seemingly passive life form accomplish the complex task of reproduction?
Read MoreA Conversation with Koko
Profiling the 28-year-old lowland gorilla Koko, who communicates by sign language with her mentor, Francine Patterson. Koko, who understands English, has “a good sense of humor,” says Patterson, and “a strong sense of self.” She's also seen painting and watching TV, and playing with male gorillas Michael and Ndume at Patterson's Gorilla Foundation in Northern California.
Read MoreAntarctica: The End of the Earth: Katabatic
Documentary that explores Antarctica's weather phenomena, its rugged and adaptable wildlife and the powerful dynamics of its ever-changing icecap. Part 1 discusses the effects of the katabatic -- the relentless wind that sweeps over the Antarctic landscape, often at speeds of more than 100 mile per hour, re-sculpting the topography of the continent and affecting the climate of the entire southern hemisphere.
Read MoreAntarctica: The End of the Earth: Iceberg
Part 2 investigates the icebergs, million-ton islands of ice that have broken free of glacial cliffs to become floating platforms of life. Despite the harshness of the environment, diverse eco-systems thrive. The principal wildlife includes crabeater seals and leopard seals, Adelie and emperor penguins, Minke whales, krill, snow petrals and algae.
Read MoreHorses
Though their glory days may be in the past, these hoofed creatures continue to enthrall us, as the NATURE program HORSES demonstrates in sparkling detail. From the steppes of Mongolia, where children race at breakneck speeds perched on stallions ten times their size, to the fields of Georgia, where people confined to wheelchairs find new freedom in the saddle, HORSES highlights the many roles played by this multi-talented beast of burden. There are also rare glimpses of the world’s most endangered horse, and an inside look at the art of the horse whisperers, the trainers who through their gentle touch can transform a wild bucking bronco into a stately show horse.
Read MoreSled Dogs: An Alaskan Epic
Ironically, the powerful, dedicated canines profiled in Sled Dogs: An Alaskan Epic are little more than mutts. They are mixed-breed huskies that have endurance.
Read MoreWisdom of the Wild
Human lives have been influenced by animals in matters that reach far beyond the food chain. In surprising ways, animals help teach, heal, and strengthen people -- in body, mind, and spirit.
Read MoreInside the Animal Mind Part One: Are Animals Intelligent?
Birds may have a reputation for being less than geniuses, but researchers are discovering that some are remarkably smart.
Some birds have the capacity to recognize, count, or name different objects.
Ravens, for instance, have the ability to solve difficult puzzles, such as untangling a knotted string to free up a tasty treat or figuring out how to steal fish by hauling in an angler’s untended line. And, as shown in the first part of NATURE’s Inside the Animal Mind, crows on the remote Pacific island of New Caledonia have learned a skill that people once thought only primates could master: the use of tools. The birds use long, specially chosen twigs to spear the plump grubs that hide deep beneath the bark of rotting logs.
Read MoreHumpback Whales
Spanning the Pacific from the inlets of the Alaskan coast to the Polynesian Islands and the shores of Antarctica, Humpback Whales presents a multi-faceted portrait of this fascinating mammal. This program follows the humpbacks closely and uncovers revealing details that add to the growing knowledge of these creatures.
Read MoreInside the Animal Mind Part Two: Do Animals Have Emotions?
Happiness, sadness, anger, fear, love, hate — emotions play a pivotal role in our lives. But do they loom large in an animal’s world as well? Part Two of NATURE’s Inside the Animal Mind explores that question in fascinating detail.
Read MoreInside the Animal Mind Part Three: Animal Consciousness
As you read this, you are probably aware of reading this. Indeed, you can also imagine yourself reading this — a sort of picture within a picture in your mind’s eye. But do animals share this kind of consciousness?
That is the question asked by Part Three of NATURE’s Inside the Animal Mind. The program ponders just what consciousness is — and which animals might share this trait with people.
Read MoreCheetahs in a Hot Spot
Cheetahs in a Hot Spot takes viewers to Namibia, one of the world’s richest cheetah habitats, for a remarkable look at these graceful hunters. It follows six gangly young cheetahs as they come of age in the desert wilderness of Etosha National Park, where they learn the essential hunting and social skills that will enable them to rear families of their own. But the documentary also captures the sobering challenges that other cheetahs face on nearby livestock ranches, where farmers routinely trap and kill the cats to reduce attacks on their herds. And the NATURE special profiles the courageous work of cheetah rescuer Lise Hanssen, who is creating alternatives to the deadly rivalry between rancher and predator.
Read MoreShowdown at Grizzly River
NATURE’s Showdown at Grizzly River tells the story of one bold little bear’s coming of age at the falls. It follows an 18-month old cub named Toughie as she spends her last few months with her mother, learning to pluck salmon from the fierce current, eat nutritious marsh grasses and, most importantly, how to behave around other bears. Besides tangling with cubs her own size, Toughie also learns how to deal with the towering adult males that threaten her young life, but may one day father her own cubs.
Read MoreJackals of the African Crater
Jackals of the African Crater documents the dramatic, and sometimes heartrending, stories of these jackal families. One pair of black-backed parents struggles to feed its pups in the midst of a dry season, only to lose their nearly grown offspring to a hungry golden jackal.
Read MoreAnimal Attractions: Amazing Tales from the San Diego Zoo
NATURE takes you an a whirlwind tour of the animal kingdom as we explore the World-Famous San Diego Zoo and Animal Park.
Every animal has a story…and so does the staff at the San Diego Zoo. NATURE’s presentation of Animal Attractions: Amazing Tales from the San Diego Zoo invites you to look through the eyes of those who work behind the scenes, making sure every animal is properly cared and provided for.
Read MoreObsession with Orchids
No flowering plant has captured the attention of humans, or stirred their passions, in quite the way that orchids have.
Read MoreEarth Navigators
NATURE follows the world's most dauntless creatures in their epic migrations in "Earth Navigators."
Read MoreThe Body Changers
Many animals have a special ability to transform themselves, for the sake of survival, reproduction, or both.
Read MoreSprings Eternal: Florida's Fountain of Youth
According to legend, Spanish explorers believed that a fountain of eternal youth bubbled up to the surface somewhere in the place we know today as Florida. In a poetic way, they were right.
Read MoreThe Nature of Sex
From the sea horse that mates in an hypnotic underwater ballet to the rodent who copulates until he literally drops dead, THE NATURE OF SEX spans the globe to illustrate how an astonishing diversity of life forms find their mates and conceive, raise, and protect their offspring.
Read MoreWild Horses of Mongolia with Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts, one of the most famous and beautiful American actresses of today, lives among the nomads of Mongolia and discovers their relationship with the horse.
Read MoreThe Octopus Show
A new age of ocean exploration is lifting the veil of mystery shrouding a creature of legend -- the octopus.
Read MoreExtraordinary Birds
Discover amazing birds -- from hummingbirds and peregrine falcons to parrots and barn owls -- on NATURE's "Extraordinary Birds."
Read MoreThe Urban Elephant
The enigmatic subjects of NATURE: The Urban Elephant, Asian elephants are losing territory to the inevitable process of deforestation. Industrialization all over Asia has hurt the mahouts, or elephant drivers, so that the trained elephants and their riders are being driven into major cities such as Bangkok to earn a meager living receiving donations and food from curious tourists.
Read MoreIntimate Enemies: Lions and Buffalo
Life on the savannah of southern Tanzania is a study in contrast between rainy and dry seasons. When water is abundant, the wildebeest at the rivers provide food for the lion population, while the buffalo graze contentedly on the succulent grasses in the hills. The two great adversaries -- lion and buffalo -- can keep their distance.
Read MorePolar Bear Invasion
Each October, the remote Canadian town of Churchill in Manitoba plays host to some very unusual guests. More than a thousand hungry polar bears gather there to await the refreezing of Hudson Bay and then move out on the ice in pursuit of their traditional winter diet of seal. The world's largest land carnivore, polar bears can be very dangerous for humans as well as sea creatures -- but for tiny Churchill, they also are a tourist-dollar bonanza.
Read MoreTriumph of Life: The Four Billion Year War
THE FOUR BILLION YEAR WAR explains how both conflict and cooperation have helped shape the species that today populate our world. And it profiles the winners and losers in this epic evolutionary contest — from the massive dinosaurs who disappeared long ago to the humble bacteria that have survived for billions of years virtually unchanged.
Read MoreTriumph of Life: The Mating Game
Gene Swapping Variety is indeed the spice of life. That is the message of THE MATING GAME, Part 2 of NATURE’s six-part TRIUMPH OF LIFE series. It takes a passionate look at the evolution of sex, which allows a species to pass its genes along from generation to generation.
Read MoreTriumph of Life: The Eternal Arms Race
For billions of years, life on Earth has been engaged in its own ETERNAL ARMS RACE, the subject of Part 3 of NATURE’s TRIUMPH OF LIFE. As predators became better hunters, their prey also evolved better defenses.
Read MoreTriumph of Life: Winning Teams
Life may be a contest in which only the fittest individuals survive, but cooperation has also played a key role in evolution. WINNING TEAMS takes a close look at the alliances that animals have forged — with others of their own kind and very different organisms — in a bid to stay alive. In fact, teamwork occurs everywhere, from flocks of birds and herds of wildebeest to colonies of ants and termites.
Read MoreTriumph of Life: Brain Power
Hearts, eyes, flippers and wings — evolution has forged many remarkable body structures. But none is more amazing than the brain, that bundle of nerve cells that allows us to sense our surroundings, sort out information, and make decisions. Indeed, the great importance of BRAIN POWER to evolution is the subject of this week’s installment of NATURE’s TRIUMPH OF LIFE series.
Read MoreTriumph of Life: The Survivors
This sixth installment focuses on the mass extinctions that have occurred over time. Though attention is paid to the factors that probably led to the demise of the dinosaurs, far more time is devoted to examining a wide variety of land and sea creatures that are continuing to fight off extinction. Climate changes, the birth of more highly evolved life forms, and changes in ocean currents are just a few of the factors that can play a major role in determining which species will prevail. Scientists and historians share their thoughts about which of today's species are most likely to remain triumphant over the coming millennia.
Read MoreBaby Tales
Who can resist the magnetic allure of a baby? The presence of little ones of any species invariably generates instant attention and concern from onlookers. In fact, it seems that both humans and animals are hard-wired to find youngsters adorable. The practical and essential reasons why the very young have an ability to play on our heart strings are explored in Baby Tales.
Read MoreThe Panda Baby
The birth and survival of a panda cub signals hope for the world's most cherished endangered animals, in NATURE's The Panda Baby.
Read MoreGolden Seals of the Skeleton Coast
The saga of one South African fur seal's adventures and adversities as he matures into a massive bull is captured on GOLDEN SEALS OF THE SKELETON COAST. The saga starts with the male pup's birth along the barren, windswept Skeleton Coast in West Africa. By the time he takes his first breaths, he's already facing danger -- in the form of jackals invading the seal colony.
Read MoreAustralia's Little Assassins
When animals are the subject, most people associate Australia with lovable koalas and leaping kangaroos. But an even more distinctive aspect of Australian wildlife is its abundance of animals -- from snakes and spiders to a host of marine life forms and at least one mammal -- that use venom to defend themselves, attack prey, and in some cases help digest food.
Read MoreAfrica: Savanna Homecoming
Just like the mighty herds of wildebeest, the people who make their homes on Africa's great Serengeti plains are constantly on the move. This episode focuses on two women searching for their spiritual identity. Alice Wangui, a Nairobi hair salon owner, takes a trip to her native Kikuyu village so that her child will be born with a sense of community. On the savanna proper, Flora Salonik lives in an isolated farming hamlet, and struggles with the decision of whether or not to return to her own roots: the bustling metropolis of Arusha, Tanzania.
Read MoreAfrica: Desert Odyssey
For centuries, the Tuareg people have braved the brutal Sahara to trade in salt, a precious cargo once worth its weight in gold. In this episode of AFRICA, Adam Ilius,salt production a young boy of nine, crosses hundreds of miles of desolate and dangerous desert on his first trans-Saharan salt caravan.
After months of traveling, will Adam make it to Bilma, Niger to sell the caravan's salt for necessary food and clothing? Or will the shifting sands of the desert spell disaster for this tenacious group?
Read MoreAfrica: Voices of the Forest
Deep in the central African rainforest, a struggle for survival rages. This episode takes a close look at how booming overseas markets for rainforest trees threaten the existence of two groups of Africans. Cameroon's Baka people, a traditional rainforest group, have lived in harmony with the forest for centuries, but now the sound of electric saws deafens the daily music of birds and monkeys.
monkey, video link In Accra, the capital of Ghana, Annan Cedi, a coffin maker, needs these precious rainforest woods to construct fantasy coffins for international clients. Will the Baka be able to protect their ancient way of life and with it, an invaluable eco-system? And will Annan be able to maintain his business?
Read MoreAfrica: Mountains of Faith
Isolated by mountains, Ethiopia is a center of spirituality. Here, faith is a driving force in the lives of many. This episode explores the depths of Ethiopia's religious beliefs. In the holy highland town of Lalibela, young Kibkab Wodemariam studies each day in hopes of becoming a priest. In the hills above Lalibela, Abba Defar labors at bringing to life his vision of a cathedral hewn from mountain rock. Will Kibkab Wodemariam be rewarded for his studies with the honor of participating in the annual procession for the holy day of Timkat? And will Abba Defar ever complete his mammoth symbol of faith in the Ethiopian highlands?
Read MoreAfrica: Love in the Sahel
In the Sahel, the semi-arid border between the Sahara and the savanna, people mark the passage of time with ceremony and tradition. As the hot sun beats down on the Niger River delta, the annual Fulani cattle drive is underway.
Young Errou Sisse must leave his girlfriend and travel hundreds of miles across parched earth with his family's cattle in search of adequate grazing land. As he travels through the desolate landscape, he and his fellow herders must survive on milk, and what little they can trade in the widely scattered villages of the Sahel. Meanwhile, another young man is hoping to mark an important passage of his own. In a cliffside Dogon village in Mali, Atime Dogolo Saye awaits the sacred dama ceremony to honor the spirits of the dead. Without participating in the dama, Atime will forever remain a boy, denied the right to raise a family of his own. Will these two young men be successful in their journeys? And will they find love when they reach journey's end.
Read MoreAfrica: Restless Waters
Water is the lifeblood of Africa. It can create famine or fortune. In this episode, two families are hoping for fortune. Charles Tinkewimeru has been working the waters of Uganda's Lake Victoria for several years, building a good business selling fresh fish and dried minnows. But catches are steadily declining and Charles must come up with a new trade. Meanwhile, further inland in Uganda, the Ngwatima family has planted its annual rice crop. But the rains are late this year. A good crop depends on water, and now the Ngwatima must battle the elements in the hope of keeping their crop alive until relief comes from the skies. Will water bring fortune to these families, or will the shifting clouds spell disaster?
Read MoreAfrica: Leopards of Zanzibar
Surrounded by gleaming aquamarine waters and fine white sand, Zanzibar looks like a tropical paradise. But life here is not easy. No one knows that better than Issa Simai, who spends his days, spear in hand, in the warm Indian Ocean trying to catch enough octopus or lobster to make a living.
Issa is also a member of The Leopards, Zanzibar's most successful soccer team. This season, they have won their way to a playoff on the mainland, Tanzania, in Dar es Salaam. But before the Leopards even reach the field, they face a daunting obstacle: paying for the trip. Will the Leopards make enough to hire a boat to the mainland? And even more challenging, will they ace the playoff and return home to the cheers of their Zanzibar fans?
Read MoreAfrica: Southern Treasures
The site of a large geological deposit of mineral wealth, South Africa has prospered from a history of mining, with the lion's share of riches going to white workers and owners. South Africa's system of apartheid has since been abolished, and blacks are claiming more of the skilled jobs in the gold mines. In the last episode of the series, two women attempt to reach their goals of better job opportunities. Africa, Pt. 8: Southern Treasures looks at Xoliswa Vanda and Putswa Tekane as they try to work in an industry that may be on the decline.
Read MoreCloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies
Filmed in the mountains of Montana, this poignant, engrossing chronicle focuses on an extraordinary stallion, whose life has been recorded since his birth in the wild in 1995 by Emmy-winning filmmaker Ginger Kathrens.
Read MoreDogs: the Early Years
An incisive look at the breeding, behavior, and training of humankind's best friend, including useful pointers on how to avoid mistakes when selecting a puppy.
Read MoreAnimals Behaving Badly
The escalating battle for space on this planet between people and wild animals has grown increasingly one-sided, as humanity asserts its domination. But a few intrepid species are successfully challenging, harassing, and even exploiting us on our own turf.
Read MoreRavens
Long recognized as one of the most intelligent birds, the raven also has a less than savory image as a scavenger that does not discriminate between humans and animals. NATURE’s Ravens explores how these all-black creatures acquired their dual and contradictory images — as birds of both life and death.
Read MoreCondition Black
On January 28, 1998, a monster weather system slammed into Oahu’s north shore. The Coast Guard called a Condition Black — all access to the water denied. It was every surfer’s dream and nightmare combined, playing and replaying on a seemingly endless loop, as colossal waves up to 40 feet high surged over the beaches of Oahu in a monstrous, unstoppable procession. The stunning footage, some recorded on IMAX film, the stories of the surfers, and the storm itself form the breathtaking core of Condition Black.
Read MoreThe White Elephants of Thailand with Meg Ryan
Journey with Meg Ryan to the jungles of Thailand in search of the white elephant, a rare creature coveted by royalty -- and threatened by extinction.
Read MoreSong of the Earth with David Attenborough
From the Caribbean, the documentary hopscotches to various points on the globe to show viewers a diverse array of animals that make music.
Read MoreBig Red Roos
They box and wrestle, kick with authority, and cover large patches of ground with powerful leaps. In fact, the red kangaroos of Australia’s Outback are among the finest athletes of the animal world. And that’s just as well, since the Outback presents one of the most challenging environments on the planet.
Read MoreThe Polar Bears of Churchill with Ewan McGregor
Follow Ewan Mcgregor as he travels to a remote Canadian outpost on Hudson Bay, where he investigates the annual invasion of hungry polar bears.
Read MoreTall Blondes
Lynn Sherr, the award-winning correspondent for ABC TV’s 20/20 newsmagazine, went to Africa for the first time in 1973 and fell in love — with giraffes. “They were a dazzling, unexpected revelation: gawky, graceful anomalies; cool, gentle giants dressed in golden, stained-glass coats. And when they ran, they seemed to float. I was hooked.” Journey to Kenya and South Africa, and to an American zoo that is the giraffe breeding capital of the Western Hemisphere, for a revealing look at this powerful, captivating creature when Ms. Sherr hosts Tall Blondes.
Read MoreHorse and Rider
“Bet Yer Blue Boons” is one of the most agile and intelligent cutting horses in the world, a true champion.
“Rio,” a spectacular polo pony, is a gifted athlete able to sprint at 30 miles per hour, then stop suddenly and turn on a dime.
“Chamont” has the natural talent and physique of a great dressage horse, but also at times a timorous personality that puts a question mark on his future success.
Each of these remarkable animals shares an astonishing trait: the ability to implicitly trust, and perform complex tasks in tandem with, a human partner working toward a common goal. This teaming of horse and rider is arguably the most sophisticated and intriguing example of human-animal cooperation. NATURE explores and illuminates this absorbing phenomenon in Horse and Rider.
Read MoreDive to the Abyss
Dive to the Abyss showcases a group of marine biologists as they explore three different underwater environments.
Read MoreBloody Suckers
A filmmaker goes in search of the scary and fascinating creatures that feed on blood in NATURE's BLOODY SUCKERS.
Read MoreTrail of the Cougar
Hunted almost to extinction over the past three centuries, cougars are making a comeback today, with some 30,000 living in the wilds of North and South America. But still they face uncertain prospects, as human encroachment continues to shrink their natural habitats. Doggedly tracking these magnificent animals, once known as the “king cat,” filmmaker Ron Shade provides an incisive look at their prospects for survival in Trail of the Cougar.
Read MoreUnder Antarctic Ice
On the surface, it's the bleakest of lands, with ferocious winds, flightless birds, and enough ice to flood half the planet's population if it were to melt. But below that frozen mass, a fantastic environment of indescribable beauty teems with life. NATURE takes viewers into the world that is "Under Antarctic Ice."
Read MoreThe Reptiles: Alligators and Crocodiles
A four-part series on “The Reptiles” begins with “Alligators and Crocodiles.” Included: their sensory systems and intelligence; courtship and mating signals; importance to ecosystems; their evolving relationship with humans; and their roles in the food chain that vary with their locations, including Australia; India; Florida; and Venezuela. Howard McGillin narrates.
Read MoreThe Reptiles: Snakes
A look at snakes. Included: their evolution and movement; how venom works; hunting methods and prey's defenses; venom collectors and experiences with bites; snake charmers; close-ups of mouths and fangs; and the largest, the Anaconda, found in Venezuela. Howard McGillin narrates.
Read MoreThe Reptiles: Turtles and Tortoises
Observing turtles and tortoises, the shelled animals that have been on Earth more than 200 million years. Included: problems they face in the modern world. Howard McGillin narrates.
Read MoreThe Reptiles: Lizards
Focusing on several of the over 4000 types of lizards, including the Komodo dragon; sea-feeding marine iguanas; chameleons; venemous gila monsters; and geckos, who defy gravity by walking upside down. Also: a visit with Henry Lizard Lover, a photographer who lives with 37 lizards whom he treats like humans.
Read MoreLost World of the Holy Land
Animals are a formidable presence in the Bible, which makes reference to more than a hundred species, some metaphorically and others literally. But many of those creatures are gone from the Holy Land today, or on the verge of extinction there.
Read MoreLeopards of Yala
For more than a century, Yala National Park in Sri Lanka has been one of Asia’s most celebrated wildlife preserves, a lush windswept tropical forest rich in rare aquatic birds and abundant with ferocious predators, such as crocodiles and sloth bears. But only in very recent years has Yala’s big cat distinction been brought to light: It contains one of the world’s largest concentrations of leopards. NATURE takes viewers deep into the jungle habitat of these elusive animals, in Leopards of Yala.
Read MoreA Mystery in Alaska
The Steller’s sea lions that populate the Alaskan coastline are powerful, playful, and sometimes rowdy creatures who bump and jostle each other on land but acquire a sublime gracefulness in the water. They are also the subject of a strange and tragic mystery: Steller’s sea lions are rapidly disappearing from one of the last great wildlife strongholds of the world, and no one knows why.
Read MoreWar Wrecks in the Coral Seas
Thousands of tons of war wreckage sank into the fabled lagoons of the South Pacific islands during the naval and air battles of World War II. But instead of devastating the region’s underwater ecology, the detritus of human conflict turned into artificial reefs, upon which fantastic mini-ecosystems took shape. NATURE gives viewers a new perspective on wildlife in the South Pacific when its cameras board the WAR WRECKS OF THE CORAL SEAS.
Read MoreHippo Beach
A chronicle of hippopotamus life along the banks of Zambia's Luangwa River includes footage of males fighting over territory; females protecting their young; the hippo's importance to river ecology; and societal rituals involving the head male of the pod. Mark Hamill narrates.
Read MoreKalahari: The Great Thirstland
Animal life in the Kalahari Desert, where rainy and dry seasons direct the inhabitants, including zebras; wildebeests; elephants; finches; bullfrogs; and flamingos, whose chicks must walk nearly 100 miles when fertile feeding areas dry up. Christopher Plummer narrates.
Read MoreKalahari: The Flooded Desert
Detailing the ecosystem of the Kalahari Desert as the Okavango River overflows, transforming a saltpan in to an oasis. Included: fish eagles in aerial combat for airspace over best fishing areas; the sitatunga antelope with ski-like hoofs. Christopher Plummer narrates.
Read MoreWhite Shark/Red Triangle
Each year, in the late summer, a region known as the Red Triangle bustles with marine mammal activity. Lying between San Francisco and Monterey, the Red Triangle includes beaches where elephant seals go to molt, and offshore sites where great whites feed on unwary prey. When not prowling the Red Triangle, great white sharks search the kelp forest for sea lions, or roam the open ocean. Their migration is predictable. Each year they turn up at the same place at the same time, occasionally crossing paths with humans who still swim and surf in these dangerous waters.
Read MoreCloud's Legacy: The Wild Stallion Returns
In 1995, while filming wild horses in the mountains of Montana, Ginger Kathrens discovered a striking, almost pure white colt just hours after his birth.
Read MoreShadow Over the Sun: A Story of Eagles
Wilderness is elusive in Britain, but in the Highlands of Scotland, the sacred dance between predator and prey is still played out against a rugged and unforgiving landscape. Gliding above this wild land is Britain's most magnificent predator -- the golden eagle.
Read MoreDiamonds
This episode of Nature, narrated by Stockard Channing, provides us with a fascinating look into the many steps of evaluating a diamond and preparing it for public sale. Miners dredge the earth, dealers fret over valuation exams to probe the minutest details of the stones, and finally the would-be owners gasp in awe. Diamonds are their own glorious world. Get a look at how they go from mining to necklace--with plenty of human drama along the way. You may never look at jewelry the same way again.
Read MoreThe Real Macaw
Everyone loves macaws. Playful, intelligent, beautiful, they are the stars of parrot parks and zoos, and the cherished pets of devoted owners around the world. All of which makes them prime targets for poachers, who can make enormous profits from illegal sales of the birds. Thousands are smuggled from the wild each year, and many die in the process.
In the forests of South America, several species of macaw are severely endangered. But there is hope on the horizon. Dr. Charlie Munn, a wealthy American who is also a leading ornithologist and world expert on parrots, has begun a campaign to promote eco-tourism as a means of saving the birds. Employing former poachers as conservationists, and providing locals with the means to start and maintain a trade in tourism instead of smuggling, he’s betting that instead of buying birds, their fans will pay to see them in the wild.
Read MoreHoly Cow
About 8,000 years ago, the relationship between cows and man began with the revolutionary advent of domestication in Mesopotamia, the Indus River Valley, and Africa. Discover how cows have altered human life, human biology, and the geography of the world.
Read MoreFlight School
To help ensure the survival of endangered whooping cranes, Operation Migration maintains an artificial breeding program that prepares chicks for adulthood.
Read MoreLand of the Falling Lakes
“Land of the Falling Lakes” looks at Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park, an ancient forest of stunning beauty and waterways continuously evolving from limestone formations. Included: the brown bear, one of which intrudes on a wolf pack's meal of wild boar; and the olm, a subterranean creature without eyes which navigates and hunts via bioelectrical senses.
Read MoreChasing Big Cats
The big cats of Africa have always been favored subjects of wildlife filmmakers. But as little as 15 years ago, no one had captured the unforgettable image of a leopard in its ghostly nocturnal stalk. Viewers had never seen intimate portrayals of the sleek and elusive serval, or witnessed the nighttime romps of the beautiful black-eared caracal.
The team of Owen Newman and Amanda Barrett filled those gaps with a series of spectacular breakthrough films in the 1990s. Among the first to apply infrared light and night vision goggles to wildlife studies, they combined technology with intrepid determination and a strong dose of luck, illuminating the cats we hardly knew, and giving us fresh insights into those we only thought we knew, such as lions and cheetahs.
Read MoreShark Mountain
Rarely seen aspects of shark behavior highlight this extraordinary view of undersea life, including an organized feeding frenzy with other predators that help herd their prey; night hunting in packs; and their violent courtship ritual. Also: the red-lipped batfish, which “walks” on the ocean floor via modified fins.
Read MoreThe Good, the Bad and the Grizzly
Yellowstone's restored grizzly-bear population and its conflicts with humans are examined, with food the force driving the bears, which have been protected as endangered species for 30 years. That's now challenged by lawmakers, while ecological changes threaten bears' food sources. Chris Cooper narrates.
Read MoreViolent Hawaii
“Violent Hawaii” offers a panorama of nature in action, including volcanoes; humpback whales; tsunamis; and big-wave surfers and the lifeguards who rescue them at a beach nicknamed “Jaws.” James Naughton narrates.
Read MoreSilent Roar: Searching for the Snow Leopard
Most big cats do their best to remain hidden from human eyes, but none are quite as adept at this as the snow leopard. These cats lead largely solitary lives, populating the Himalayas at altitudes that offer only about half the oxygen to which humans are accustomed. So when wildlife filmmakers Hugh Miles and Mitchell Kelly set out to film this animal they knew they were in for a challenge.
Read MoreCuba: Wild Island of the Caribbean
“Cuba: Wild Island of the Caribbean” explores the country's diverse animal life, much of it found nowhere else. Included: the Cuban crocodile, which can leap as high as seven feet.
Read MoreFrom Orphan to King
Orphaned orangutans, their parents killed for their value as 'exotic' animals, face a struggle to survive in the jungles of Borneo. The researchers of Camp Leakey rescue the young and try to help the species hang on.
Read MoreSnowflake: the White Gorilla
For nearly 40 years an albino gorilla named Snowflake was adored by people around the world. NATURE’s Snowflake: The White Gorilla tells the story of this remarkable animal, from his loving upbringing by humans to his eventual death from skin cancer in 2003. It also tracks the revolutionary changes in our understanding of how best to care for gorillas that have taken place during Snowflake’s lifetime.
Read MoreThe Venom Cure
Scientists have discovered that natural poisons and venoms contain chemicals that can be used to create drugs for treating everything from chronic pain to cancer.
Read MoreDeep Jungle: New Frontiers
The first of three “Deep Jungle” shows, with high-tech innovations capturing views of rain-forest life big and small. Included: the elusive Sumatran tiger; flying lizards and snakes in Borneo; a bird that moonwalks as part of its courtship ritual; a moth that feeds with a 12-inch tongue. John Hannah narrates.
Read MoreDeep Jungle: Monsters of the Forrest
In the Amazon — the world’s largest rainforest — trees fight to the death for water and sunlight. Giant spiders as big as dinner plates take shelter in underground lairs. Buzzing bees and scurrying mammals help hold together an amazing web of life that centers on the Brazil nut tree. One of the world’s largest rivers carries floodwaters that turn forests into massive lakes.
Read MoreDeep Jungle: The Beast Within
What jungles reveal about humanity, through studies of primates and ruins of ancient civilizations in Guatemala and Cambodia, and why those cultures collapsed. Cameras capture monkeys using tools to open nuts, and chimps are seen in a coordinated hunt for one of their own.
Read MoreThe Dolphin Defender
Nearly three decades ago, filmmaker Hardy Jones became fascinated by wild dolphins. Even though many said it couldn’t be done, he set out to film these sleek sea mammals in the open ocean. Along the way, he became closely involved with his subjects and came to appreciate dolphins as highly intelligent creatures worthy of careful protection.
Eventually, Jones turned his camera into a tool for conservation. He filmed dramatic dolphin hunts, and the documentary footage made headlines and sparked international protests. Jones also discovered the effects of chemical pollution on dolphins and orcas, the largest species of dolphin. He came to realize that threats to these marine mammals were threats to the ocean itself, and to us all.
Read MoreKillers in Eden
On the southeast coast of Australia, the town of Eden nestles along the shores of Twofold Bay. It was once a center of Australia’s thriving whaling industry, in part because it lies along the migration path of baleen whales swimming northward from the Antarctic. But residents say Eden’s whalers got some unusual help — from orcas, or killer whales, that patrolled offshore.
Read MoreCan Animals Predict Disaster?
In interviews with scientists and eyewitnesses, NATURE probes the evidence that some animals may have senses that allow them to predict impending natural disasters long before we can.
Read MoreKatrina's Animal Rescue
Rescue missions to save animals in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Included: a dog that spent days on a rooftop is saved; four dolphins that were washed out to sea from the Marine Life Oceanarium in Gulfport, Miss., are rescued by a NOAA crew. Also: the evacuation of 19 penguins, two sea otters, a sea turtle and sea dragons from the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas in New Orleans.
Read MoreEncountering Sea Monsters
Underwater cameraman Bob Cranston explores the remarkable world of marine creatures called cephalopods, which include squids, cuttlefish, octopi, and nautili.
Read MoreLife in Death Valley
Anthony LaPaglia narrates this look at life in one of the world's most inhospitable places, Death Valley. Included: Devil's Hole pupfish, which live in waters deep beneath the desert's surface and whose numbers are dwindling; kangaroo rats; black-tailed jackrabbits; and bighorn sheep, which have a nine-stage digestive system that enables them to eat even the harshest of desert plants; and the desert tortoise, which eats enough food for a year---and mates---during just two weeks each spring.
Read MoreOceans in Glass: Behind the Scenes of the Monterey Bay Aquarium
For more than 20 years, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has entertained, educated, and fascinated its nearly 2 million annual visitors with pioneering displays of realistic undersea environments. Now NATURE gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at one of the world’s leading centers for marine research and conservation — a marvel of engineering and biology that, literally, captures Oceans in Glass.
Read MoreTrue Adventures of the Ultimate Spider Hunter
Join spider expert Martin Nicholas, a mild-mannered water treatment engineer by day, as he tours the world in search of some of the most amazing arachnids.
Read MoreAnimals Behaving Worse
"Animals Behaving Worse," the sequel to "Animals Behaving Badly," explores the clever and often amusing ways in which animals must behave in order to survive the increasing presence of humans.
Read MoreMurder in the Troop
A troop of chacma baboons in Zimbabwe is taken over by and forced to adjust to a new male "king." A pair of twins, along with every other young baboon in the troop, is in danger because the king must kill the females' offspring before he can mate with them.
Read MoreThe Queen of Trees
Patricia Clarkson narrates this look at the relationship between the sycamore fig tree and the tiny fig wasp, which is so small it could fly through the eye of a needle. The trees, which flourish in Kenya, produce fruit that provides nourishment to more wildlife than any other tree in Africa, but without the pollination the wasp provides, that might not occur. The documentary also examines other creatures that make the trees their homes, including gray hornbills (one of Africa's largest birds).
Read MoreThe Vanishing Lions
Africa's lion population appears to be declining at an alarming rate. NATURE's THE VANISHING LIONS searches for explanations and solutions to the troubling trend. Across Africa, the King of Beasts is in trouble. In the late 20th century, wildlife preserves were created to curtail safari hunting, but the African lion population continues to decline. Their numbers have dwindled from 100,000 in the early 1990s to no more than 30,000 and as few as 16,000 today. What could be endangering the King of Beasts?
Read MoreCrime Scene Creatures
They are among the most reliable witnesses to a crime — expert in their testimony and bulletproof in their account. Yet they never utter a single word. They are the animals, plants, and insects that are being recruited by a special breed of forensic scientists to solve the most seemingly impenetrable of crimes.
Read MoreChimpanzees: an Unnatural History
In 1959, the United States Air Force captured dozens of baby chimpanzees in Africa, transporting them to Alamogordo, New Mexico where they and their offspring were enlisted into in the space program.
NATURE's "Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History" explores the lives of these chimpanzees who were forced to endure a grueling life as the ultimate human stand-ins.
Read MorePenguins of the Antarctic
Brave the extreme conditions of Earth's southernmost continent for a close-up look at the varied penguins of the Antarctic.
Read MoreChristmas in Yellowstone
NATURE presents a breathtaking look at wintertime deep within Yellowstone, America's first national park.
Read MoreThe Best of 'Nature': 25 Years
Lynn Sherr hosts a collection of clips highlighting memorable moments from the program's first 25 years. Also: a tribute to the series' creator and host George Page, who died in 2006. Included: hatchling sea turtles on a Caribbean beach; barnacle goslings in the Arctic; a wildebeest defending her calf from wild dogs on the Serengeti; crocodiles attacking gazelles; chimpanzees saved from medical testing; a reunion of two elephants after 25 years apart.
Read MoreRhinoceros
With NATURE’S Rhinoceros, wildlife filmmaker Nigel Marven brings you face-to-face with the world’s five species of rhino, each struggling, with varying degrees of success, for their continued survival. For some rhinos, the future may rely on breeding programs, such as at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens, where Sumatran rhinoceros Emi is now nearing the end of her third successful pregnancy, having already given birth to Andalas and Suci, the only two Sumatran rhinos ever to be born in captivity.
Read MoreUnforgettable Elephants
The longest chain of mountains on the planet lies along the western edge of South America like an immense dragon - its tail falling into the freezing Antarctic Ocean, its head breathing fire 5,000 miles north. The Andes, home to the highest points outside the Himalayas, are remarkable not only for their volcanoes and their jagged peaks, the spines of the dragon's back; the niches they shelter are a world of extremes and hidden secrets. NATURE journeys the length of the Andes, passing through deserts and cloud forests, across glaciers and fjords, encountering the amazing creatures that call these habitats home: penguins and hummingbirds, pumas and flamingos, a deer only 12 inches tall, a tree-dwelling bear and much more.
Read MoreSupersize Crocs
More than 15 years ago, Martyn Colbeck began to document the lives of African elephants. He has grown close to elephant matriarch, Echo, and her close-knit family.
Read MoreRaptor Force
Conservationist Rom Whitaker searches for the last of the supersize crocodiles among the titans of the croc world: Nile crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles, and gharials.
Read MoreAndes: The Dragon’s Back
With glaciers marking its tip, active volcanoes running along its spine, snow-capped peaks rising high above its range, both wet and dry tropical rainforests within its interior, and desert, lowland savanna and alpine tundra in between, the Andes is an extraordinary world of diverse terrain, extreme temperatures and multifarious wildlife.
Read MoreVoyage of the Lonely Turtle
Along her 9,000-mile voyage to nest, our loggerhead tour guide encounters hammerhead sharks, deep ocean tempests, and fishing nets.
Read MoreDogs That Changed The World: The Rise of the Dog
Exploring how the domestication of dogs might have taken place, including the theory of biologist Raymond Coppinger that it was the animals themselves — and human trash — that inspired the transformation. The genetic analysis of Peter Savolainen of the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden has placed the origins of domesticated dogs — and those of the first dog — in East Asia.
Read MoreDogs That Changed The World: Dogs by Design
This episode details the explosion of the basic working dog types into the roughly 400 breeds known today; explores concerns about today’s competitive breeding and its effect on dogs’ health and well-being; and outlines dogs’ potential role in medical care for human beings.
Read MoreSuperpride
The Serengeti, in northern Tanzania, teems with big predators. But none compare to the lion. The Serengeti sustains one of the biggest lion populations in Africa: approximately 3,500 lions in 300 prides. But this pride, residing in the central Serengeti, is an exception. 22 lions in all: they are a Super Pride. Few lion prides reach Super Pride status. This phenomenon requires the right conditions. Plentiful prey and strong pride males are key to its success. But keeping cubs alive to maturity is the Super Pride's ultimate goal. Sometimes the greatest threats to a lion cub's life come from other lions…
Read MoreFerrets: The Pursuit of Excellence
Ohio's annual Ferret Buckeye Bash is the largest and most popular ferret show in the country. Hundreds of top breeders, seasoned experts and ferret enthusiasts pamper and parade their pets in a quest for prizes and prestige. Though these mischievous and often quirky creatures are unlikely show animals, the competition is intense. Tension is high but the tiny competitors don't understand all the fuss; they're too busy creating mayhem!
Read MoreMighty Moose
Follow two moose families as they negotiate the perils of wild and suburban Alaska. With encounters with predators and man a constant danger, life for a young moose is a daily battle for survival. A colossus of size, power and majesty, with an armoury unmatched on Earth, 'Mighty Moose' explores the hidden life of an icon of the Northern wilderness. In a savage landscape, the moose confronts daunting foes... and struggles against more insidious threats. And when it ventures out of the wilderness, it finds the obstacles of the human world both bewildering and deadly. Moose must increasingly share the forests, waterways, and now, sprawling urban centres with humans. As moose-human encounters increase, hungry moose invade backyards, parks and pools. Sometimes, encounters can be deadly - for moose and humans. Roadway collisions are at record highs, and rising fatalities drive car companies to develop and test moose-proof designs.
Read MoreSilence of the Bees
The Season 26 opener probes colony collapse disorder---the dramatic loss of honeybees in North America and Europe. The honeybee is responsible (via pollination) for one of every three bites of food people eat. Included: long-term ramifications; possible causes.
Read MoreIn the Valley of the Wolves
Discover the epic history of the Druids, one of more than a dozen gray wolf packs now occupying the 2.2 million acres of Yellowstone National Park.
Read MoreThe Cheetah Orphans
Documentarian Simon King raises two orphaned cheetah cubs in Kenya's Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. He's seen bottle-feeding them and---to prepare them for the wild--- teaching the pair to hunt. King narrates.
Read MoreThe Beauty of Ugly
Nature's ugliest creatures are spotlighted, including the dung beetle, elephant-seal bull, ghost-faced bat, Indian stork, naked mole rat, needle-toothed viperfish, proboscis monkey, star-nosed mole, tapeworm, vulture and warthog. Included: how their looks and attributes contribute to their survival.
Read MoreThe Desert Lions
Dr. Philip Stander, a Namibian carnivore expert, investigates the resurgent lion population in the Namib Desert. Included: the uniqueness of the big cats; and their biggest challenge---residents who see them as threats to livestock.
Read MoreParrots in the Land of Oz
An exploration of Australia's diverse parrot population, including the fig parrot, the golden-shouldered parrot and the palm cockatoo. The overview examines their mating rituals and fight for survival, and details the damage the birds can do to farmers' crops.
Read MoreCrash: a Tale of Two Species
The link between the horseshoe crab, which has remained the same for some 350 million years, and the red-knot shorebird, is explored. The horseshoe crab's spawning grounds, the Delaware Bay, are an important feeding ground for the red knots on their way from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic. Included: how biologists connected a drop in the red-knot population to a similar decrease in the crabs. Also: how horseshoe-crab blood is used to test human medicines.
Read MoreArctic Bears
An examination of what the future may hold for polar bears, which evolved from grizzlies during the last ice age, due to the dramatic changes in their Arctic habitat. The documentary also details how grizzlies are expanding their territory northward, encroaching upon the polar bears' domain. Included: a polar bear giving birth; grizzly and polar-bear mothers teaching their cubs to hunt.
Read MoreWhat Females Want and Males Will Do (1)
In the animal world females often call the shots. But their decisions may be surprising. In an effort to understand the mating game, NATURE follows biologist Chadden Hunter, PhD, through the Simien Mountains of northern Ethiopia, as he observes a troop of geladas, close cousins of baboons. He found that in gelada society females make all the decisions about mating, even though males are twice their size. The males are evaluated on everything from body heat to baby sitting skills. And once selected, no male gelada can ever rest on his laurels. Another male is always auditioning for his job.
You’ll also see female barn swallows that choose a male by the color of his chest and encounter a robotic sage grouse that is helping researchers learn about this species’ elaborate courtship displays.
Read MoreWhat Females Want and Males Will Do (2)
Apparently, there is nothing a male will not do for the right to mate with a female — dance, sing, fight, change body colors, illuminate, even agree to be eaten alive. There is often a surplus of males, and they are instinctively driven to compete in order to pass their genes to the next generation. But it takes two to tango. Now, scientists are learning to what extremes males will go in order to find that dance partner.
Read MoreThe Gorilla King
A fascinating profile of a 33-year-old silverback named Titus, the leader of a gorilla clan in the mountainous region between Rwanda and Congo who faces a challenge for supremacy from his second-in-command, Kuryama. Archival footage and the observations of researchers fill in his backstory, including how, as a young adult, he engaged in secret liaisons with females behind the back of pack leader Beetsme, then led a rare bloodless coup against Beetsme.
Read MoreSuperfish
Marine biologist-filmmaker Rick Rosenthal documents billfish (marlins, sailfish and swordfish), whose numbers have dwindled over the past 50 years from overfishing. Included: off Mexico's Contoy Island, he finds thousands of sailfish feasting on sardines; and along Australia's Great Barrier Reef, he swims with a "grander" (a marlin over 1000 pounds).
Read MorePrince of the Alps
From the moment he is born, a red deer calf faces a life-long struggle to survive in his new home — the mountain wilderness of the Austrian Alps. NATURE reveals a breathtaking view into the world of a red deer calf as he struggles to survive in Prince of the Alps.
Read MoreWhite Falcon, White Wolf
On a remote Arctic island, a breeding pair of gyrfalcons and a pack of Arctic wolves struggle to raise their young as nine months of snow and ice melt away.
Read MoreClever Monkeys
Just how smart are monkeys? Their curiosity leads them to try new things, but it’s their culture that teaches them much of what they know.
Read MoreAmerican Eagle
Following their protection as an endangered species, bald eagles have come roaring back. But even in the best of times, life in the wild is a surprisingly tough struggle.
Read MoreThe Wolf That Changed America
In 1893, a bounty hunter named Ernest Thompson Seton journeyed to the untamed canyons of New Mexico on a mission to kill a dangerous outlaw: a wolf named Lobo.
Read MoreThe Dragon Chronicles
Follow Rom Whitaker as he journeys around the world, reimagining the lines between fact and fantasy, in search of the fabled dragons' contemporary counterparts.
Read MoreIs That Skunk?
We find them in the evening digging through our garbage, hiding under our houses, or walking through our yards, streets, and parks. Skunks seem perfectly adapted to life around us. But we are less comfortable around them, for fear of their potent spray. As we expand our urban areas, many skunks find themselves increasingly unwelcome neighbors. It seems everyone has their own skunk story. But what do we really know about these infamous black and white creatures?
Read MoreDrakensberg: Barrier of Spears
In South Africa's Drakensberg Mountains, one animal’s perseverance makes it the ultimate survivor: the eland, the largest member of the antelope family.
Read MoreWhy We Love Cats and Dogs
Some people are cat people, some are dog people. But regardless of which camp they fall into, most people are simply crazy about their pets. The connections people form with their cats and dogs are often the longest, strongest relationships in their lives. They are our soul mates, our best friends, sometimes even our surrogate children. What makes these creatures such key members of our families?
Read MoreKilauea: Mountain of Fire
Kilauea continually molds Hawaii’s Big Island. Creating new land, shaping ancient forests and carving tunnels through the earth, the volcano fascinates a dedicated group of scientists and filmmakers who follow its every action. Using innovative new imaging technologies to map the magma chamber, following the lava’s heat along its journey underground, and listening to the constant noises of its movements, geologists map the shifting liquid earth as they work to understand its awesome force.
Read MoreFrogs: The Thin Green Line
More than a third of all amphibians have already been lost, and more are disappearing every day. A fungus called chytrid has been identified as the major culprit.
Read MoreThe Loneliest Animals
Around the globe, unique and fascinating species face extinction. Follow the plight of these creatures and the dedicated conservationists who fight for them.
Read MoreEagles of Mull
Returning home to the Isle of Mull after 15 years abroad, Gordon Buchanan was happy for the chance to take a new look at his native land, through his camera lens.
Read MoreVictoria Falls
The world's largest waterfall, Victoria Falls, is explored through the eyes of a 74-year-old fisherman who's lived near the 350-foot wonder, located on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, for all of his life. During the rainy season (November to April), much of the wildlife that depend on the river for subsistence dissipate into the savanna. The rest of the year, however, it attracts baboons, eagles, elephants, hippos, kingfishers and quelea finches, among other creatures.
Read MoreCloud: Challenge of the Stallions
The epic story of a wild stallion continues with the third installment of the Cloud series.
Read MoreBorn Wild: The First Days of Life
Across the animal kingdom, some of the most essential lessons -- and the most extreme challenges -- occur in the first moments of life.
Read MoreBlack Mamba
The black mamba is Africa’s deadliest snake. In Swaziland, snake handler Thea Litschka-Koen and her husband, Clifton, endeavor to change attitudes and save lives.
Read MoreFellowship of the Whales
A baby humpback enters the world and joins the 3,000 or more whales that congregate in the waters off Hawaii each winter. This is the story of her first year of life.
Read MoreHummingbirds: Magic in the Air
These tiny marvels dazzle and delight bird watchers all over the world, and NATURE reveals their stunning abilities as they have never been seen before.
Read MoreClash: Encounters of Bears and Wolves
The wilds of Yellowstone National Park are a world of predators, scavengers and opportunists. In this vast and complex kingdom, two dominant predators reign supreme: the grizzly bear and the wolf. Size and power square off against speed and teamwork, as mighty grizzly bears contend with powerful packs of wolves for control of the food supply. Though these two fearsome hunters would normally rule their ranges uncontested, in Yellowstone they must share resources, or face starvation.
Read MoreInvasion of the Giant Pythons
The Everglades’ watery oasis has been invaded by giants. Florida’s Everglades National Park has become a dumping ground for a variety of non-native species, including what may be tens of thousands of Burmese pythons. Follow scientists and snake hunters as they study the problem and try to find solutions to the growing crisis.
Read MoreWild Balkans
The Balkan Peninsula is notorious for being one of the great battlegrounds of history. And yet, it possesses another side unknown to many, where ancient forests and vast wetlands harbor pristine wilderness, and sheer cliff walls and desolate plateaus preserve a seemingly unchanged past.
Indeed the Balkan Peninsula is home to a variety of regions that border on mythical. In Croatia’s Kopacki Rit Wetlands, land mines keep people away, but enable native wildlife to thrive. Further south, Montenegro’s Tara River carves through Europe’s longest and deepest canyon, and neighboring forests provide refuge to rare animals such as the Balkan Lynx. To the east, millions of birds flock to the Danube Delta to feast on swarms of mosquitoes. And at the west of the Balkans is Skadar Lake, a remarkable landscape of peaks and water.
Read MoreMoment of Impact: Hunters & Herds
They are the scenes of some of the largest concentrations of predators and prey on the planet – the vast tracts of grassland and savannah found on every continent but Antarctica. Yet survival in this kind of open, horizontal world is far from easy, with few places to hide, a scarcity of vegetation, drought, fire and the threat of attack by some of the world’s fastest and most powerful hunters.
From Africa’s Serengeti to California’s grasslands, some of nature’s most dramatic moments are caught, examined and “fractured” into their unique parts … within creatures great and small … to reveal the amazing abilities that give each animal the instinct, intelligence and brute prowess to survive. From elaborate impact sequences that spin around animals caught in a “frozen moment” to animations that go inside their bodies – a unique view of animals’ amazing biomechanics is revealed.
Read MoreMoment of Impact: Jungle
Teeming with creatures in every shape and form, the jungle is the most diverse habitat on the planet and home to nearly half of the world’s plant and animal species. Rising hundreds of feet from the dark depths of the tropical forest floor, through layers of twisting branch and canopy full of life – this vertical landscape pushes the limits of animal engineering.
The jungle’s layers are peeled back to dissect more amazing moments of impact. Stealth and ambush reign in the jungle and survival depends on highly tuned senses and ingenious defenses. From ninja ants to flying snakes, cameras dive underwater, sail through trees and penetrate fur, feathers, skin and bone to reveal the science of some amazing animal engineering hidden deep in the jungle.
Read MoreCuba: The Accidental Eden
Cuba may have been restricted politically and economically for the past 50 years, but its borders have remained open to wildlife for which Cuba’s undeveloped islands are an irresistible draw. While many islands in the Caribbean have poisoned or paved over their ecological riches on land and in the sea in pursuit of a growing tourist industry, Cuba’s wild landscapes have remained virtually untouched, creating a safe haven for rare and intriguing indigenous animals, as well as for hundreds of species of migrating birds and marine creatures. Coral reefs have benefited, too. Independent research has shown that Cuba’s corals are doing much better than others both in the Caribbean and around the world.
Read MoreEcho: An Elephant to Remember
Echo, Africa’s most famous elephant, was the subject of many films and the matriarch of perhaps the most studied wild elephant herd in the world. In May of 2009, she died of natural causes. This film is a look back at this remarkable animal through extraordinary footage and interviews with the researchers that cared for and studied Echo and her family.
Read MoreA Murder of Crows
Although cultures around the world may regard the crow as a scavenger, bad omen, or simply a nuisance, this bad reputation might overshadow what could be regarded as the crow’s most striking characteristic – its intelligence. New research indicates that crows are among the brightest animals in the world. NATURE’s A Murder of Crows brings you these so-called feathered apes, as you have never seen them before.
Read MoreBraving Iraq
As recently as the 1980’s, Iraq’s Mesopotamian Marshes were reminiscent of the Garden of Eden – indeed, many biblical scholars believe they are one and the same. Fed by the combined waters of the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, this enormous marshland of over 6,000 square miles dominated southern Iraq. For more than 7,000 years, these wetlands provided a bountiful home for both wildlife and humans. A large population of indigenous people, the Ma’dan Tribes known as Marsh Arabs, had thrived there for centuries. But in the 1990’s, due to political conflict, Saddam Hussein attempted to eradicate them – not through systematic extermination, but by destroying the marshes on which they depended for survival. Massive canals were dug, diverting river water away from the wetlands and towards the Persian Gulf. Huge embankments were built to prevent water from entering the marshes. What had been a green paradise twice the size of the Everglades shrank to less than 10% of its original size. Most of it was transformed into a parched, lifeless desert. The wildlife and the people were forced to leave.
Read MoreWolverine: Chasing the Phantom
Wolverines are among the most elusive creatures on the planet. They seek out the toughest terrain – the most rugged, remote and fiercely raw – and they’ve always been scarce to begin with.
Read MoreRevealing the Leopard
Leopards may be smaller than lions and slower than cheetahs, but it is believed there are roughly ten times more of them than lions, tigers and cheetahs combined. How have they achieved this? The key to their success is their cunning, stealth, and adaptability. From South Africa to Sri Lanka, leopards live secretly, clinging to the shadows.
Read MoreElsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story
In 1960, a book written about raising an orphaned lion cub named Elsa and then releasing her back into the wild became a worldwide bestseller and a Hollywood hit. But this retelling of Elsa’s story reshapes the story told fifty years ago, as it really happened and with no fairy tale ending.
Read MoreBirds of the Gods
On the island of New Guinea in the South Pacific lives the most striking and diverse group of birds on the planet. Local biologists and conservationists, Miriam Supuma and Paul Igag, go into the island’s dense forests in their quest to document the mating behaviors of several exceptional and elusive birds of paradise.
Read MoreThe Himalayas
Examining the diversity of Himalayan habitats and wildlife, including snow leopards, red pandas, Asiatic black bears, musk deer, snub-nosed monkeys, Tibetan foxes and high-flying birds. Included: how eagles and wolves rely on teamwork to survive; how the blood of bar-headed geese has a special hemoglobin that enables them to fly in the thin air of the Himalayas. Also: the mountains' valleys, which are home to rain forests that conjure Shangri-La.
Read MoreBroken Tail: A Tiger's Last Journey
Wildlife filmmaker Colin Stafford-Johnson tracks the trek of Broken Tail, a 2-year-old tiger that disappeared from Ranthambore National Park, a tiger reserve in India, and was killed by a train 100 miles away. Their horseback journey takes them across Rajasthan, where they witness how India's historical and contemporary cultures are linked to tigers; introduces them to a poacher; and takes them to Ramgarh sanctuary, a former hunting lodge. They also share favorite memories of Broken Tail.
Read MoreOutback Pelicans
The Australian pelican is built for long-distance travel. With a light skeleton and a wingspan of over eight feet, it can be airborne all day and deep into the night. But what exactly triggers their journey? How do they find their way? NATURE looks for answers to questions researchers are only now beginning to unravel.
Read MoreSurvivors of the Firestorm
In February 2009, conditions were ripe for wildfires in the state of Victoria in southeast Australia. Relentless heat waves, seemingly endless drought, and arid winds sweeping in from the outback had left the countryside tinder dry and braced for the worst. Then, on Saturday, February 7, Victoria went up in flames; and raging fires engulfed everything in their path. By the time the fires subsided, 173 people had lost their lives, over one million acres of mountain ash forest had been destroyed, and countless animals had perished. The overwhelming firestorm was one of the worst in the country’s history, and came to be known as Black Saturday.
Survivors of the Firestorm follows the phoenix-like story of Victoria’s wildlife, the fall and rise of the great mountain ash forests and all that dwell within them, and the extraordinary capacity of a damaged natural world to bounce back.
Read MoreSalmon: Running the Gauntlet
This film investigates the collapse of Pacific salmon populations and the desperate efforts to save them: Our once great runs of salmon are now conceived in laboratories, raised in tanks, driven in trucks, and farmed in pens. In its exposure of a wildly creative, hopelessly complex, and stunningly expensive approach to managing salmon, the film reveals one of the most ambitious plans ever conceived for taking the reins of the planet.
Read MoreBears of the Last Frontier: City of Bears
Chris Morgan sets up camp at a remote spot in the heart of Alaskan wilderness, alongside the largest concentration of grizzlies in the world. It is June in the Alaska Peninsula. The sun sets well into night and bears are taking advantage of the long days to feed, mate, and raise new cubs. Morgan tracks their progress as they feast on the riches of the season and re-establish the complex hierarchal social dynamics of bear society. Along the way, he experiences close encounters with bears, observing brutal battles among males during mating season as well as tender moments between a grizzly mom and her cubs.
Read MoreBears of the Last Frontier: The Road North
Chris Morgan explores the world of black bears caught in the crossroads of urban development in Anchorage and the wilderness. This is a new normal for bears and for their human neighbors. Some bears are so comfortable living in urban surroundings that their primary habitat is a golf course. In residential areas, bears frequently raid garbage bins and birdfeeders for easy snacks. But these behaviors are less than ideal for bears and residents alike. Morgan heads north out of Anchorage to Denali National Park, where the mountains loom over treeless plains and bears get by on a diet of thousands of berries a day. The grizzlies share the enormous park with foxes, wolves and moose — and with one intrepid bear biologist and his team. Morgan continues his journey north on a bone-shaking, 610-mile motorcycle journey from Denali to Prudhoe Bay along the only Alaskan highway to reach the Arctic. Prudhoe Bay, a once pristine area at the edge of the Arctic Ocean, has been changed forever by the oil industry.
Read MoreBears of the Last Frontier: Arctic Wanderers
Chris Morgan travels to the far north of Alaska, the tiny North Slope town of Kaktovik. It’s early November and winter is coming on. But each year, the polar bears struggle for extended periods on dwindling fat reserves, waiting for the opportunity to hunt on sea ice that takes longer to freeze. In early spring, Morgan joins local hunters in Barrow, the northernmost city in Alaska, as they go out on their own hunts, facing some of the same challenges as the bears. In late spring, Morgan travels to the North Slope of the Brooks Range, where countless thousands of caribou cover the ground for miles. The grizzlies are waiting for them, as they have for thousands of years.
Read MoreRadioactive Wolves
What happens to nature after a nuclear accident? And how does wildlife deal with the world it inherits after human inhabitants have fled? Radioactive Wolves examines the state of wildlife populations in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone, an area that, to this day, remains too radioactive for human habitation.
Read MoreThe Animal House
Some of the most amazing, creative, and innovative structures on earth are not man-made.
Read MoreJungle Eagle
Harpy eagles are the most powerful birds of prey in the world. Standing three feet tall, with a six-foot wingspan and talons the size of bear claws, these birds are the heavyweight hunters of the South American rainforest. Enter their secret world.
Read MoreMy Life as a Turkey
After a local farmer left a bowl of eggs on Joe Hutto’s front porch, his life was forever changed. Based on his true story, My Life as a Turkey chronicles Hutto’s remarkable and moving experience of raising a group of wild turkey hatchlings to adulthood.
Read MoreKangaroo Mob
In the past 50 years, the kangaroo population around Canberra, Australia’s capital city, has exploded from a few hundred to tens of thousands. Following the stories of several urban kangaroos, this film reveals how these marsupials manage to survive the city, and documents the ongoing debate on how best to manage them.
Read MoreFortress of the Bears
Alaska’s Admiralty Island is home to the largest concentration of bears in the world. At half the size of Yellowstone National Park, it manages to sustain four times as many grizzlies. The native Tlingít people call this island “Kootznoowoo,” which means “Fortress of the Bears.”
Read MoreRaccoon Nation
Following a family of urban raccoons over the course of six months, and using high-definition cameras and intensive GPS tracking systems, “Raccoon Nation” reveals new insights about a species that is far more elusive and wily than most people ever imagined, and more destructive.
Read MoreOcean Giants: Giant Lives
Whales and dolphins conjure a deep sense of wonder in us that’s hard to explain. From the Arctic to the Amazon, this groundbreaking three-part series goes on a global expedition with world-renowned underwater cameramen, Doug Allen (Planet Earth) and Didier Noirot (Jacques Cousteau’s cameraman), as they capture spellbinding footage of these marine mammals. Ocean Giants looks at how cetaceans hunt, mate, and communicate, and follows scientists as they strive to uncover new insights about these animals.
The first hour, Giant Lives, enters the world of the great whales. In the Arctic, giant bowhead whales survive the freezing cold wrapped in fifty tons of insulating blubber two-feet thick, making them the fattest animals on the planet. But the biggest animal on the planet is the blue whale. Measuring a hundred feet long, and weighing in at 200 tons, it is double the size of the largest dinosaur.
Read MoreOcean Giants: Deep Thinkers
Whales and dolphins conjure a deep sense of wonder in us that’s hard to explain. From the Arctic to the Amazon, this groundbreaking three-part series goes on a global expedition with world-renowned underwater cameramen, Doug Allen (Planet Earth) and Didier Noirot (Jacques Cousteau’s cameraman), as they capture spellbinding footage of these marine mammals. Ocean Giants looks at how cetaceans hunt, mate, and communicate, and follows scientists as they strive to uncover new insights about these animals.
The second hour, Deep Thinkers, explores the cognitive and emotional lives of dolphins and whales. Like us, cetaceans have special brain cells, spindle cells, that are associated with communication, emotion, and heightened social sensitivity. These cells were once thought to be unique to us, but research is now showing that whales and dolphins may have up to three times more spindle cells than humans.
Read MoreOcean Giants: Voices of the Sea
Whales and dolphins conjure a deep sense of wonder in us that’s hard to explain. From the Arctic to the Amazon, this groundbreaking three-part series goes on a global expedition with world-renowned underwater cameramen, Doug Allen (Planet Earth) and Didier Noirot (Jacques Cousteau’s cameraman), as they capture spellbinding footage of these marine mammals. Ocean Giants looks at how cetaceans hunt, mate, and communicate, and follows scientists as they strive to uncover new insights about these animals.
Marine mammals’ extrasensory perceptions and communication skills are the focus of Voices of the Sea, the final hour of the series. Whales and dolphins depend on sound to function in their ocean home. They use ultrasound to see inside other creatures, clicks and whistles to speak, and echolocation to navigate and hunt in the pitch-black depths.
Read MoreRiver of No Return
Deep in the heart of Idaho lies the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, part of the largest roadless area left in the lower 48 states. At 2.5 million acres, it is larger than Yellowstone. River of No Return tells the story of a couple that took on the wilderness and all its challenges.
Read MoreThe White Lions
White lions are among the rarest and most treasured animals in the world. Rarer still is their survival in the wild. Follow NATURE as it tracks two white lion cubs as they struggle to survive the dangers they are faced with in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Read MoreCracking the Koala Code
Explore the day-to-day dramas of an extended family of koalas, seen through the eyes of the scientists studying their every move and vocalization.
Read MoreSiberian Tiger Quest
Conservation ecologist Chris Morgan embarks on a challenge that will fulfill a lifelong dream — to find and film a Siberian tiger living wild and free in Russia’s far eastern forests. To help him, Morgan turns to Korean cameraman Sooyong Park, the first individual ever to film Siberian tigers in the wild.
Read MoreMagic of the Snowy Owl
Filmmakers take us deep into the snowy owl’s tundra home on the North Slope of Alaska to observe the daily struggles involved in raising a family of helpless owlets until they’re able to fly.
Read MoreAnimal Odd Couples
Love apparently knows no boundaries in the animal kingdom. Despite the odds, there are countless stories of the most unlikely cross-species relationships imaginable. Instincts gone awry? NATURE investigates why animals form these special bonds and what these relationships suggest about the nature of animal emotions.
Read MoreAn Original DUCKumentary
Masters of the water and air, they have conquered the globe. From deft dabblers to great divers, these are one of the Animal Kingdom's ultimate athletes. Take a fascinating look at one of our most familiar birds.
Read MoreAttenborough's Life Stories: Life on Camera
Attenborough revisits key places and events in his career and shows how a succession of technical innovations in filmmaking led to remarkable revelations about our planet and the creatures that inhabit it.
Read MoreAttenborough's Life Stories: Understanding the Natural World
Attenborough shares his memories of the scientists and the breakthroughs that helped shape his own career in translating these discoveries into film.
Read MoreAttenborough's Life Stories: Our Fragile Planet
Attenborough reflects on the dramatic impact that we have had on the natural world during his lifetime.
Read MoreCold Warriors: Wolves and Buffalo
Wildlife filmmaker Jeff Turner captures how wolves and buffalo live together in what seems like a forgotten corner of the world.
Read MoreWhat Plants Talk About
When we think about plants, we don’t often associate a term like “behavior” with them, but experimental plant ecologist JC Cahill wants to change that. The University of Alberta professor maintains that plants do behave and lead anything but solitary and sedentary lives. What Plants Talk About teaches us all that plants are smarter and much more interactive than we thought!
Read MoreThe Mystery of Eels
Eels can be found all over the globe, in fresh and salt water ecosystems alike. But today, risk of over-fishing and the presence of dams and other obstacles that prevent eels from reaching their oceanic spawning grounds pose new threats to an animal that once roamed the planet alongside the dinosaurs. Artist, writer, and naturalist James Prosek explores the mysterious world of the eel.
Read MoreLegendary White Stallions
For 450 years, Lipizzaner stallions have been performing for audiences in Austria's capital. The stallions go through extensive training at the Spanish Riding School, where they learn to perform acrobatic feats and synchronized movements known as high classical dressage.
Read MoreThe Private Life of Deer
Just a century ago, there were less than a million deer in North America. Today, there are nearly 30 million. The Private Life of Deer looks at how these wild deer interact with one another, and how they adapt to living in a suburban environment.
Read MoreGreat Zebra Exodus
Great Zebra Exodus explores parenthood and the fragility of young life—from zebras to lapwings to meerkats. It’s a tale of loyalty and sacrifice, of home and exile, of death and new life, set against the backdrop of one of Africa’s most surreal landscapes.
Read MoreEarthflight
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Earthflight
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Earthflight
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Earthflight
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Earthflight
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Earthflight
We don't have an overview translated in English. Help us expand our database by adding one.
Saving Otter 501
This is the story of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's 501st attempt to save an orphan otter. From her discovery as a stranded newborn pup crying on the beach through her rehabilitation in secret roof tanks atop the Aquarium, we follow as Otter 501 learns how to dive, hunt, eat, and fend for herself in the wild, where survival is a long shot at best.
Read MoreLove in the Animal Kingdom
Examining the ways animals attract mates. Included: the feminine wiles of a young gorilla; the search for a partner among a thousand flamingos; the "open" relationships of blue-footed boobies; and the soap opera-like entanglements of gibbons.
Read MoreParrot Confidential
A look at the difficulties of raising parrots. The intelligent birds have a life span of 80-90 years, which means they often live longer than their owners—when their owners don't give them up after a few years, that is. They also form strong bonds with caregivers, which can result in odd behavior if a caregiver leaves for an extended period of time, as Liz and Russ Hartman learned: their bird became so upset while Russ was away on a business trip that it plucked all the feathers from its chest.
Read MoreMeet the Coywolf
The coywolf, a mixture of western coyote and eastern wolf, is a remarkable new hybrid carnivore that is taking over territories once roamed by wolves and slipping unnoticed into our cities. Its appearance is very recent — within the last 90 years — in evolutionary terms, a blip in time. Beginning in Canada but by no means ending there, the story of how it came to be is an extraordinary tale of how quickly adaptation and evolution can occur, especially when humans interfere. Tag along as scientists study this new top predator, tracking it from the wilderness of Ontario’s Algonquin Park, through parking lots, alleys and backyards in Toronto all the way to the streets of New York City.
Read MoreThe Funkiest Monkeys
There is an unusual looking monkey called the crested black macaque that is endemic to rainforests in Indonesia, which includes the island of Sulawesi. These striking black primates, sporting punk hairstyles and copper-colored eyes, first caught the attention and won the heart of wildlife cameraman and biologist Colin Stafford-Johnson 25 years ago. But since then, their numbers have dropped by almost 90 percent, so the filmmaker returns to the island to discover why and how he could help.
Read MoreHoney Badgers: Masters of Mayhem
“Honey badger is bad ass.” Those words and corresponding video became a YouTube sensation with 51 million hits. This relentless little creature is one of the most fearless animals in the world, renowned for its ability to confront grown lions, castrate charging buffalo, and shrug off the toxic defenses of stinging bees, scorpions, and snakes. Little is known about its behavior in the wild or why it is so aggressive. Our film will follow three badger specialists in South Africa who take on these masters of mayhem in ways that must be seen to be believed.
Read MoreIreland's Wild River
The Shannon is Ireland’s greatest geographical landmark and the longest river. It is both a barrier and highway – a silver ribbon holding back the rugged landscapes of the west from the gentler plains to the east. On its journey south, the Shannon passes through a huge palette of rural landscapes, where on little-known backwaters, Ireland’s wild animals and plants still thrive as almost nowhere else. For a year, wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson lives on the river — camping on its banks, exploring its countless tributaries in a traditional canoe, following the river from dawn to dusk through the four seasons, on a quest to film the natural history of the Shannon as it has never been seen or heard or experienced before.
Read MoreMy Bionic Pet
The animals of the world may increasingly need our help with big issues like preserving habitat or species conservation. But sometimes individual animals need our help as well. Left disabled without fins, flippers, beaks or tails because of disease, accidents or even human cruelty, these unfortunate creatures need what amounts to a miracle if they are to survive.
Read MoreTouching the Wild
Joe Hutto’s idea of research is anything but normal, dedicating seven years of his life to becoming a wild mule deer. The herd would ordinarily run from any human but, incredibly, these keenly intelligent animals come to regard this stranger as one of their own. Accepted by the matriarch, he walks among them, is even groomed by them, and can lie with a pregnant doe talking to its unborn fawns. As he crosses the species divide Joe is tapping into a new understanding about these elusive animals, literally entering a deer society. The captivating joy he feels for his new family is nothing short of infectious, but this human predator also learns to see the world from the point of view of prey – and it’s an experience that will ultimately rock him to his very core; sharing their world so personally finally takes a toll that sends him back to his own kind.
Read MoreSnow Monkeys
In the frigid valleys of Japan’s Shiga Highlands, a troop of snow monkeys make their way and raise their families in a complex society of rank and privilege where each knows their place. Their leader is still new to the job and something of a solitary grouch. But one little monkey, innocently unaware of his own lowly social rank, reaches out to this lonely leader, forming a bond with him that manages over time to warm his less than sunny disposition. It is a rare and remarkable gesture that alters both their lives. Changing seasons bring new babies to care for, a profusion of insects and blossoms to eat, family disagreements to squabble over and tragedies to overcome. Mating season brings competition for females as the days grow shorter and colder in a rush toward winter. But with their now confident leader to guide them and their families to shelter and care for them, this troop of snow monkeys is ready to face the world.
Read MoreLeave It to Beavers
A growing number of scientists, conservationists and grass-roots environmentalists have come to regard beavers as overlooked tools when it comes to reversing the disastrous effects of global warming and world-wide water shortages. Once valued for their fur or hunted as pests, these industrious rodents are seen in a new light through the eyes of this novel assembly of beaver enthusiasts and “employers” who reveal the ways in which the presence of beavers can transform and revive landscapes. Using their skills as natural builders and brilliant hydro-engineers, beavers are being recruited to accomplish everything from finding water in a bone-dry desert to recharging water tables and coaxing life back into damaged lands.
Read MoreThe Gathering Swarms
A look at some of the planet’s great gatherings, creatures that come together in inconceivable numbers – sometimes in millions, billions, and even trillions. Included are bats and bees, locust and ants, monarch butterflies in Mexico, 17-year cicada hatches, grunion in the Sea of Cortez and carp in the Mississippi River, sardine runs off the coast of South Africa, super flocks of parakeets in the Australian Outback, mayflies on the 4th of July, and even penguins and wildebeest. Some gather to breed or to migrate, some for protection, some simply to keep warm in the cold. But in the process, a kind of super-organism is created in which individual intelligence is superseded by a collective consciousness that shares information and moves with a single purpose for the benefit of all. Check out swarm intelligence, essentially a living embodiment of social media in the natural world.
Read MoreFabulous Frogs
Sir David Attenborough hosts an exploration of the weird and wonderful world of frogs. Firsthand stories, the latest science and cutting-edge technology are used to demonstrate the wide variety of frog anatomy, appearance and behavior.
Read MoreBest of Birds
This pledge period special airs throughout December, 2014 and contains segments from 16 of Nature's films about birds.
Read MoreA Life Among the Clouds: A NATURE Short Film
Join Lisa Dabek and her team with Woodland Park Zoo’s Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program as they journey into the remote cloud forests of Papua New Guinea. Meet one of the most elusive creatures you will ever see in the wild – the Matschie’s tree kangaroo. See how the local people are helping to protect this rare marsupial and its forest home.
Read MoreRunning With The Herd: A NATURE Short Film
Biologist Jack Hogg has been studying a herd of wild bighorn sheep on Montana’s National Bison Range for more than 35 years. When Jack’s herd gets infected with a deadly form of pneumonia, he goes in search of answers.
Read MoreLiving with Snow Leopards – Tashi’s Story: A NATURE Short Film
In the frigid Indian Himalayas, people manage to eke out a living alongside one of Asia’s most elusive cats: the snow leopard. Today there may be as few as 4,000 of these great cats remaining in the wild, and with the snow leopards‘ prey in decline, encounters between herders and the cat are on the rise. Explore this fragile relationship through the eyes of Tashi, a local goat herder, and learn how his village has partnered with the Snow Leopard Trust to find ways to both live with and save one of the rarest cats on Earth.
Read MoreSpend An Hour in Snowy Yellowstone: Sights & Sounds
Sit back, relax, and experience the animals, landscapes, and awe of Yellowstone National Park in winter.
Read MoreThe Big Oyster | WILD HOPE
New York Harbor was a haven of incredible underwater biodiversity—until centuries of pollution turned it into a cesspool. Today, an alliance of architects, restaurateurs, scientists, and high school students is working to restore the harbor and protect the city from climate change. At the heart of the effort is a tiny creature with an outsized talent for cleanup: the extraordinary oyster.
Read MoreBeaver Fever | WILD HOPE
The surprise return of beavers to the British countryside brings benefits and controversy for humans and wildlife alike. The work of these famously busy rodents increases local biodiversity, reduces storm-induced flooding, and restores wilderness to a highly manicured landscape. It also injects some chaos into the lives of the beavers’ human neighbors. Can the British beavers regain their former glory as powerful ecosystem engineers, or is their new home too domesticated to return to the wild?
Read MoreWoodpecker Wars | WILD HOPE
One of the most inspiring conservation stories in American history is playing out on, of all places, a live-fire training ground at Ft. Bragg Army base in North Carolina. There, an improbable alliance is giving a special bird—the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW)—a new lease on life. After a clash between U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Army revealed that low grade forest fires sparked by artillery and tracers inadvertently created excellent woodpecker habitat, the two sides joined forces to monitor and protect the birds on the base. Landowners on nearby properties are joining the effort—putting aside mutual suspicions and using fire to save the RCW and ignite a passion for wildlife.
Read MoreDoes Nature Have Rights? | WILD HOPE
Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, yet its wild spaces are also among the most threatened. In 2008, the country became the first nation in the world to enshrine the “rights of nature” in its constitution—granting wild species their own legal rights to exist. Today, conservationists are putting that powerful tool to the test as they battle to save the country’s biodiversity.
Read MoreThe Beautiful Undammed | WILD HOPE
Ten years after the largest dam removal in history—on the Elwha River, in Washington State—scientists are chronicling an inspiring story of ecological rebirth. Recovering salmon populations are transferring critical nutrients from the ocean into the forests along the Elwha’s banks, enriching the entire ecosystem. The Elwha’s revival is encouraging advocates to push for the removal of many larger dams in the region, and in the rest of the world.
Read MoreCoffee for Water | WILD HOPE
Decades of war and unsustainable agriculture have stripped almost half the trees from the rainforest atop Mozambique’s Mount Gorongosa. The devastation threatens the watershed that sustains life in nearby communities and in Gorongosa National Park. Now, park experts and local farmers are uniting to plant a new shade-loving cash crop—coffee—that will help restore the forest and ensure a more prosperous future for humans and wildlife alike.
Read MoreSalamander of the Gods | WILD HOPE
The axolotl—an amphibian with incredible regenerative abilities—is ubiquitous in pet stores, science labs and pop culture, yet almost extinct in the wild. Now, scientists and farmers in Mexico City are using ancient Aztec farming techniques to secure the creature’s future. Meanwhile, another team is partnering with salamander-breeding, cough syrup-making Dominican nuns to save a closely-related species—the achoque.
Read MoreCanine Conservationists | WILD HOPE
Dogs are often thought of as humans’ best friends. But in Australia, they’re also being enlisted to save other species. Canine conservationists—and their sensitive noses—are helping researchers locate dwindling populations of elusive koalas as their habitats get fragmented by urbanization and devastated by wildfires. Dogs are also helping scientists track down—and take out—invasive foxes that have been devastating native sea turtle populations.
Read More