The Cousteau Collection N°6-1 | Hippo, Hippo

One of the many unusual marine species is the crustacean. Caught between reality and fantasy, it has remained a mystery to man for centuries.

A close examination of the Whakaari / White Island volcanic eruption of 2019 in which 22 lives were lost, the film viscerally recounts a day when ordinary people were called upon to do extraordinary things, placing this tragic event within the larger context of nature, resilience, and the power of our shared humanity.

Join barefoot scientist Jesús Rivas in the murky marshes of Venezuela on his quest to understand these huge, fearsome reptiles. Up to 30 feet long, weighing many times more than the scientists studying them, anacondas are difficult subjects at best, but the National Geographic team captures brilliant footage of them swimming, resting, mating, and hunting prey.

Do they really launch themselves onto the shore to grab a hapless snack? See for yourself, and gain a vivid appreciation for their appetites and skills. While your jaw drops at their fearsome agility, you’ll also be learning about their migratory and other behaviours from scientists who observe them daily and strive to increase our understanding of their needs for survival. In this National Geographic ‘Wildlife Special’ you’ll journey around the globe to see their extraordinary hunting techniques in action.

The red kangaroo survives in one of the harshest environments on Earth: Australia’s inland plains. High summer temperatures keep the kangaroos inactive during the day, yet these animals thrive and have adapted to various climates, creating a large network of cousins - more than 50 species in all.

It delivers enough venom in one bite to kill a hundred people, yet it solely preys on other snakes. Through rare footage follow the King Cobra on its journey throughout the rainforests of India seeking food and a mate.

Toothed Titans centres on a walrus community containing the Eastern Atlantic and Pacific Walrus. The film includes some impressive underwater footage of walrus, as well as a predation sequence in which the walrus community is stalked by a polar bear. In a duel for supremacy, two massive walruses slash at one another in the shallows of Alaska’s Cape Pierce. Their sword-like tusks gouge and rake against each other’s thick, ruddy skin.

Monitor Lizards play a very important role in the food chain of Sri Lanka’s lagoons and forests, if they make it through the first year. Mature Monitor Lizards can grow up to 8 feet (2.4 meters) long, making some of them the largest reptiles on Earth. A mother’s role ends with the laying of eggs and hatchlings are left to fend for themselves, find food and keep to the relative safety of the trees.

Any unlucky carcass is dispatched in a matter of minutes by a feeding frenzy that attracts jackals and hyenas along with vultures. Scavenging insects swarm over the remaining bones and horns. While this film focuses primarily on the griffin vulture (“nature’s undertaker”), it considers the role of all scavengers in this harsh ecosystem. Generally despised as harbingers of death, they actually help maintain the health of the savannah by disposing of waste and returning nutrients to the soil.

Dreaded by sailors through the ages, this other-worldly looking denizen of the seas is surrendering the astonishing secrets that have brought it almost mythical status. With footage of octopus species rarely, if ever, seen before, including one with giant eyes and another with antennae in place of suction cups, National Geographic takes viewers into the deepest realms of the ocean for a front-row view of The Octopus Show.

Take a fascinating trip to the world of these enchanting creatures to observe them in their natural environment. Their work is critical now, because these well-known creatures are in dire jeopardy. The offspring of captive pandas are rare and sickly compared to those naturally raised, and scientists race to discover why before their habitats and population disappear.

As the desert dries out after the rain, antelope move away in search of greener pastures, but the bat-eared foxes remain. Their den, a burrow that’s borrowed from the meerkats, provides underground shelter and the foxes wait out the long, dry months, determined to survive. It is a lean time between rains and our bat-eared fox family must outsmart hungry Jackals, Cheetahs and Lions. Their super sensitive ears alert them to predators and help them find food.

Eerie, forbidding, and darkly beautiful - Okefenokee is ruled by a relative of the dinosaur: the fearsome alligator. Day and night the alligator glides silently through its steamy realm, stony eyes just above the waterline, mouth held in a seemingly perpetual smile.

Able to hunt prey several times its own weight, the crowned eagle is an efficient primate killer and one of nature’s most perfect predators. Witness as this phantom bird, with bull’s eye vision and lightning speed, gracefully dances over the range’s hidden forests, silently stalking the baboons and vervet monkeys. Take off with one of these young raptors and learn what it takes to stay on top of one of Africa’s fiercest food chains.

The eight lionesses soon give birth to their new leaders’ cubs and there are young everywhere, feeding, playing and training for survival. But danger lurks behind virtually every bush, whether from ever-present hyenas or from a clever mongoose. One lonely cub, born late and orphaned early, endures hardships so heart-rending the filmmakers were tempted to intervene. But they decided to let nature run its unpredictable course.

The passenger pigeon, the most abundant bird species in North America for thousands of years, became extinct by human hands in a geologic heartbeat. Its story remains relevant to conservation challenges today, and there are even plans for its possible revival. Rare archival material, CGI animation, and aerial cinematography combine to recreate the awe-inspiring nature of these birds.

The Wadden area as you have never seen before.

Animals shock us with the most bizarre appearances - some even look like they've been dressing up. But the weird and wonderful shapes and colours of nature are vital to the animals' lives. Sometimes they're disguised to help blend in, other times they are designed to stand out and show off. But whether it's a monkey in make-up or a salamander's toxic stripes.

Mandrills : le paradis retrouvé

See the world's first MRI scan of a great white shark as Ultimate Shark reveals the extreme engineering and predatory abilities of one of nature's most near perfect predators. Hear firsthand accounts of people who survived harrowing encounters, including a surfer who was bitten on the arm and leg, towed by the surfboard ankle strap and miraculously escaped only with minor injuries. National Geographic demystifies the true motives and power behind their behavior.