Nature

This archive contains nature video documentaries

Frozen Ocean

Frozen Ocean

Frozen Ocean: At the top of our planet lies a magical realm, the Arctic Ocean. After four months of winter darkness, the sun returns to reveal a frozen ocean covered in ice. Mother polar bears emerge from their hillside dens and lead their cubs down to the sea ice to hunt, while a young male and female bear forge a surprising friendship out on the ice.       For others, the frozen sea is a trap. A pod of beluga whales has been confined to an ice hole for five months, slowly starving to death as the food around […]

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Frozen Worlds

Frozen Worlds

Frozen Worlds: Journeying from pole to pole, we reveal the surprising frozen worlds that exist across the planet and the remarkable animals that make them their home. We begin our journey in the far south, in the most hostile place on earth, the frozen continent of Antarctica. After being raised on the ice in winter, emperor penguin chicks find themselves abandoned by their parents in spring. To survive, they must find their own way across the treacherous sea ice to the rich waters of the Southern Ocean.       The waters surrounding Antarctica may be the richest of all,

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The Wonder of Animals - Great Apes

The Wonder of Animals – Great Apes

The Wonder of Animals – Great Apes: Chris Packham explores the evolution of the great ape’s brain to reveal how different parts have been adapted over time by its anatomy, ingenuity and sociability, culminating in one of the most complex brains on the planet. Chris examines how the ability to use two hands asymmetrically sets the great ape apart from other tool-using animals and how social living is linked to the evolution of the amygdala in both humans and our ape cousins.     New research reveals how bonobos’ peace-loving reputation may have developed through a similar domestication process to

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The Wonder of Animals - Dolphins

The Wonder of Animals – Dolphins

The Wonder of Animals – Dolphins: Chris Packham explores the success of the most widespread of marine mammals, the dolphin. Contrary to their amiable reputation, they are in fact ruthless predators. They hunt using a combination of specialised anatomy and complex communication, requiring a big brain.     Chris explains the inner workings of dolphin echolocation, reveals how a pod uses body movements to communicate the location of food and explores the strategies used by orcas during a hunt. Series in which Chris Packham uses groundbreaking science and brand-new behaviour to delve deep beneath the skin and discover the unique features that

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The Wonder of Animals - Bats

The Wonder of Animals – Bats

The Wonder of Animals – Bats: Bats have colonised remote corners of the planet to become one of most widespread mammals on earth. Chris Packham explores their incredible anatomy, physiology and senses to understand what enables them to thrive in some surprising places.     Tiny hairs on their wings give them a detailed air-flow map during flight, heat sensors on the nose of vampire bats means they can sense the most blood-rich areas of a prey’s body and iron oxide particles in the bat brain may act as a compass allowing them to find the most direct route back

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The Wonder of Animals - Birds of Prey

The Wonder of Animals – Birds of Prey

The Wonder of Animals – Birds of Prey: Chris Packham explores what enables birds of prey to rule the aerial roost. Their ability to dominate their fellow birds in terms of strength, manoeuvrability and phenomenal speed is down to a combination of anatomical and physiological adaptations.     Chris explains the internal workings of the bald eagle’s ratchet talons and how sharp eyes and a gyroscopic head enable the goshawk to keep its sight firmly fixed on both its prey and its surroundings as it tears through the undergrowth. New research reveals how pop-up feathers on the peregrine falcon’s back

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The Wonder of Animals - Crocodiles

The Wonder of Animals – Crocodiles

The Wonder of Animals – Crocodiles: Chris Packham explores what lies beneath a crocodile’s hard exterior to discover the secret to its 250-million-year history. It may look like a relic from a prehistoric world, but the crocodile boasts one of the most sophisticated physiologies on the planet. By following all stages of a crocodile hunt, from the warm-up to the ambush and the kill, Chris reveals how their extraordinary circulatory system enables them to hold their breath underwater for over an hour, how exceptionally sensitive skin detects their prey through water from over 20m away and how antibacterial blood means

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The Wonder of Animals - Foxes

The Wonder of Animals – Foxes

The Wonder of Animals – Foxes: Across the planet carnivores are struggling to compete in a world with a rocketing human population, but one predator is bucking the trend – the fox. Its numbers are increasing and its geographical range expanding.     Chris Packham explores the secrets to its success – its senses, its intelligence and its flexibility. New research reveals how its slit pupils enable it to hunt in the bright desert day; how it may be using the Earth’s magnetic field to determine the location of prey during a pounce; and how regular exposure to rotting food

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The Wonder of Animals - Penguins

The Wonder of Animals – Penguins

The Wonder of Animals – Penguins: Chris Packham explores what makes animal groups successful. He looks at how the penguin’s legs, wings and body shape have allowed it to adapt to a range of environments.     At first sight, penguins seem ill-suited to their environment – rotund abdomens, stubby little legs and stiff wings appear to make the going tough. But in fact it is these very traits that enable this bird to thrive. Chris explores details of the penguin’s anatomy, using new scientific research to reveal how its legs, wings and body shape have allowed it to conquer

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The Wonder of Animals - Bears

The Wonder of Animals – Bears

The Wonder of Animals – Bears: Bears can live in practically every habitat on Earth, from tropical jungles to the Arctic Ocean. Wherever they are found, they are capable of surviving extreme conditions and extracting the highest-quality food.     Detailing the latest research, Chris Packham explores the specialised adaptations that have enabled bears to thrive, including how a polar bear’s hollow fur allows it to feed throughout the gruelling Arctic winter, whilst a state of ‘walking hibernation’ sees it through the summer months. Series in which Chris Packham uses groundbreaking science and brand-new behaviour to delve deep beneath the

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Heligan: Secrets of the Lost Garden

Heligan: Secrets of the Lost Garden

Heligan: Secrets of the Lost Garden – Looking at the secret lives of the wildlife in one of Britain’s favourite gardens. Shot by Charlie Hamilton-James, this film follows various animals, from the family of foxes that play after hours in the pleasure gardens to the toads in the Italian garden and the badgers that clear up the tea rooms at night. Set against the background of the gardening year, these stories reveal life behind the scenes at Heligan.     The Lost Gardens of Heligan are located near Mevagissey in Cornwall, England and are considered to be amongst the most

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Big Oil v the World episode 3

Big Oil v the World episode 3

Big Oil v the World episode 3: How the 2010s became another lost decade in the fight against climate change – as the move to natural gas delayed a transition to more renewable sources of energy. Engineer Tony Ingraffea explains how, in the 1980s, he helped develop a new technique for extracting gas and oil from shale rock, which ultimately became known as ‘fracking’. It was to unleash vast new reserves of fossil fuels and was promoted as a cleaner energy source. But Ingraffea explains how he later came to regret his work when he realised that gas could be

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