Wed, Jan 28, 2015
In the heart of the Antarctic Peninsula there's a unique British post office staffed by a dedicated team and surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery that includes 3,000 gentoo penguins. Every summer, this particular colony of penguins returns from an intensive spell of deep sea fishing to its breeding grounds alongside the post office, trekking nearly two miles across sea ice and snow to get there when the weather is especially bad. They rush to find a partner, build a nest, lay eggs and protect those eggs from predators, and then finally get down to the task of raising their young. We see their four-month drama unfold against the backdrop of their lives - primarily, the comings and goings of cruise ships, bringing enthusiastic tourists to photograph the penguins and their chicks, and to buy postcards to send to friends and family around the world - from the Penguin Post Office.
Wed, Feb 18, 2015
For centuries, the mysterious nighttime lives and uncanny hunting skills of owls have made them fascinating hallmarks of children's stories and folk tales the world over. But what actually makes owls so special? Bird trainers Lloyd and Rose Buck and their very special family of owls, eagles, falcons, geese, pigeons, and two newly-hatched barn owls - Luna and Lily - provide a rare opportunity to learn more about these unique birds. Using the latest in camera technology, computer graphics, x-rays and super-sensitive microphones, we can take a brand new look at owls in more detail than ever before. The real stories behind how they hunt, how their vision and hearing works, and how they fly so silently are influencing 21st century technology and design.
Wed, Feb 25, 2015
Ecologist Chris Morgan (Bears of the Last Frontier) travels to the jungles of Northern Sumatra to document the work being done to save its population of wild orangutans, quickly dwindling due to deforestation. Morgan spends time with orphaned orangs at a rehabilitation center, observing the process of teaching them the skills they'll need to be released back into the wild. But to truly understand the complexity of wild orangutan society and learn exactly what the young orangs would have learned from their mothers in the wild, Morgan must go farther. He joins a team of experienced researchers in Suaq Balimbing, a remote peat swamp forest protected as part of a World Heritage Site. The scientists are there to study and document a unique social band of wild orangutans who use tools, share food, forage together, and create their own distinct culture. For the first time, advanced cameras follow the orangs throughout the canopy to provide an intimate, clear picture of how these arboreal apes spend their days and nights and interact with one another. At the conclusion of his journey, Morgan accompanies one special orphan orangutan as he is transported to a remote nature reserve to become part of a new community of former orphans now prepared to be wild once more.
Wed, Apr 8, 2015
Bird nests come in all shapes and sizes, crafted from a diversity of materials, including fur, grasses, leaves, mosses, sticks and twigs, bones, wool, mud and spider silk. Quite a few contain man-made materials -- twine, bits of wire, even plastic bags. Each is a work of art, built with just a beak! All over the world, birds in the wild arrive at diverse nesting grounds to collect, compete for, reject, steal and begin to build with carefully selected materials, crafting homes for the task of protecting their eggs and raising their young.
Wed, Apr 15, 2015
Finding a good base of operations is key to successfully raising a family. One must find the right stream or tree, the right building materials, neighbors and sometimes tenants. In the wild, every home is a unique DIY project, every head of household a designer and engineer. Cameras chart the building plans and progress of beavers, tortoises, hummingbirds and woodrats, examining layouts and cross sections, evaluating the technical specs of their structures, documenting their problem-solving skills. Animal architecture provides insights into animal consciousness, creativity and innovation.
Wed, Apr 22, 2015
For some animals, living in the midst of huge colonies of their own kind is the most secure and rewarding housing arrangement. Icelandic puffins form nesting colonies of more than a million, providing shared information about food sources and reducing the odds of attacks on individual birds. But colonies are useful for predators, too. Social spiders in Ecuador work together to capture prey 20 times the size an individual might subdue on its own. For others, communal living provides multi-generational care-giving options or the opportunity to build enormous cities like the acre-wide multi-million-citizen colonies built by leaf cutter ants in Costa Rica, or Australia's Great Barrier Reef, built entirely by tiny corals.
Wed, Apr 29, 2015
This is the true story of a family of Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys living in the highest forests in the world. Only recently discovered, snub-nosed monkeys are hauntingly beautiful primates, gentler than others of their kind. Elfin-like, they seem both childlike and wise beyond their years. The family is led by a formidable fighter and his fighting force who guard a troop of 8-10 families. The survival of this unique monkey society, formed in response to the hardships of the Himalayas, depends on strong defensive strategies and the cooperation and interdependence of them all.
Wed, May 13, 2015
In every animal's life, there comes a time when it must stand on its own, and face the world alone. For a few, this happens just moments after birth, others have the advantage of home schooling under the watchful eye. But growing up is never easy, and finding food, avoiding predators and making friends does not always come naturally. These are the trials of young animals all over the world, as they prepare to leave home.
Wed, May 20, 2015
One of the most overlooked ecosystems in the America West is a massive sea of sagebrush that stretches across 11 states. This spartan landscape supports more than 170 species of birds and mammals. Among those that have adapted to survive here are the Greater Sage-Grouse. Today, they must contend with wells and pipelines tapping the resources buried deep below. The sagebrush and the grouse carry on, but they're losing ground.
Wed, Sep 23, 2015
Growing up wild is hard - even harder when you've lost your mom. But for some orphans, there are havens, rescue centers where dedicated individuals are helping them to make it on their own. It's a demanding job, as many require long-term, round-the-clock care. Yet the caregivers persevere, and not just because they believe every animal deserves a chance at a wild life. Forming supportive bonds with these helpless, tiny creatures, providing them with carefully monitored feedings and medical attention, as well as greatly needed affection, training, security and comfort, clearly brings rewards beyond measure to each of them in turn. In this captivating two-part mini-series, fall in love with baby koala Danny, tiny wallaby Neil, baby sloth Newbie, young kangaroo Harry and baby fruit bat Bugsy, and with their caring foster mothers, who give so much of themselves to help these little orphans find their way back to the wild.
Wed, Sep 30, 2015
Growing up wild is hard - even harder when you've lost your mom. But for some orphans, there are havens, rescue centers where dedicated individuals are helping them to make it on their own. It's a demanding job, as many require long-term, round-the-clock care. Yet the caregivers persevere, and not just because they believe every animal deserves a chance at a wild life. Forming supportive bonds with these helpless, tiny creatures, providing them with carefully monitored feedings and medical attention, as well as greatly needed affection, training, security and comfort, clearly brings rewards beyond measure to each of them in turn. In this captivating two-part mini-series, fall in love with baby koala Danny, tiny wallaby Neil, baby sloth Newbie, young kangaroo Harry and baby fruit bat Bugsy, and with their caring foster mothers, who give so much of themselves to help these little orphans find their way back to the wild.
Wed, Oct 7, 2015
Of all the birds he's filmed over the years, David Attenborough finds these big birds the most comical. They are the Flintstones of the bird world - a group whose lineage can be traced back to when dinosaurs walked the earth. The ostrich, the emu, and the rhea - together with the kiwi and the cassowary - are essentially the court jesters of the avian world, because they can't do the one thing that birds are famous for doing. They can't fly. But exactly how - and why - did these birds abandon flight? It's been one of the natural world's great mysteries. And now DNA is promising to give us the answer. Among their number is the fastest bird on land, whose chicks hatch ready to run. One has dagger-sharp talons; another, killer thighs. One is a bird that is heard, but seldom seen, and only in the pitch black dead of night, does it call. So you could say these groups of birds are real oddballs. But they're a family with a remarkable success story...despite having never flown a day in their lives.
Wed, Oct 14, 2015
Ironically, every dead elephant with its ivory intact is a reason to celebrate. It means an elephant died of natural causes, not bullets, snares or poison, and a soul was allowed to be celebrated and mourned by its herd. Award-winning filmmakers, Dereck and Beverly Joubert start with the remains of two bull elephants and through a series of key flashbacks, look at the lives they would have led, the dramas they may have seen, their great migrations for water with their families, and their encounters with lions and hyenas. This film, shot over two years, is an intimate look at elephants through the lens of perhaps the greatest storytellers of natural history.