Directed by one of the pioneers of the cinematic industry, James Williamson, The History of a Butterfly - A Romance of Insect Life is an intriguing look at the life cycles of butterflies and moths. Caterpillars are seen hatching, feeding and ready for pupation and with three caterpillars changing into chrysalis and the birth of a peacock butterfly, this black and white silent film is an early example of British natural history filmmaking.
In the ice-gripped environment of Alaska's Admiralty Island, summer offers the briefest of respites. Year-round residents such as bears and seals turn to the salmon-filled waterways for sustenance. Meanwhile, migrants descend in droves, from humpback whales to over 140 million seabirds--almost half the birds in the Northern Hemisphere.
In the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, there is a paradise unlike any other: the Galapagos. Amongst these remote volcanic islands, life has played out over millions of years in relative isolation. The result is a wonderland of nature.
In the jungles of the Solomon Islands, a remote archipelago in the South Pacific, a biologist is attempting to do something Charles Darwin and Ernst Mayr never accomplished: catch evolution in the act of creating new species. Albert Uy is on the verge of an amazing discovery in the Solomon Islands, but there's a threat looming on the horizon. The islands' resources are being exploited, putting all local wildlife at risk. It's a race against time to gather the evidence necessary to prove the existence of a new species before it's lost forever.
A nature documentary centered on a family of chimps living in the Ivory Coast and Ugandan rain forests. Through Oscar, a little chimpanzee, we discover learning about life in the heart of the African tropical forest and follow his first steps in this world with humor, emotion and anguish. Following a tragedy, he finds himself separated from his mother and left alone to face the hostility of the jungle. Until he is picked up by an older chimpanzee, who will take him under her protection.
A 45 minute account of the life of a humble logger, named Vince Shute, who made one decision that would ultimately affect the black bear and the attitudes that people have of this often misunderstood animal. This short film goes into great detail about the history of The American Bear Association and the formation of the Vince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary.
Cats are the most popular companion animals in the western world. In the UK their numbers have swollen to more than 10 million. This is great news for the cat lovers amongst us but for those who see Felis silvestris catus as nothing more than a garden pest, it can feel like an epidemic. Cat Wars meets those on both sides of the feline divide to find out what really gets people so worked up about the humble moggy. This BBC One documentary also meets some of the more fanatical cat owners out there, including Silvana and her 50 cats and Helen, who likes to take her prized pets for a stroll round the block in a baby buggy.
For thousands of years, the Great Plains were home to countless numbers of American bison, but in the late 1800s, the number of bison dropped from nearly 30 million to just a few hundred in less than 100 years. What happened to place this national icon on the brink of extinction? Join us as we detail the events that led to this mass extermination. Then follow the story of William Temple Hornaday, a chief taxidermist at the Smithsonian Institution who headed west to hunt bison for the museum, but ended up saving the species instead.
Wildlife activists and investigators put their lives on the line to battle the illegal African ivory trade, in this suspenseful on-the-ground documentary.
In Africa, poachers brutally maim and kill elephants for their ivory, much of which is exported to China or smuggled into the United States. The profits help fund terrorist organisations, and are used to buy guns and artillery. WILD DAZE takes an unflinching look at these problems from various perspectives, and shows how the slaughter has decimated the elephant population, left survivors traumatised, and seriously harmed the forests of Eastern and Southern Africa.
"The Silent Alps" explores a forgotten massacre that is widely unknown in the modern era, the history of Kea culling in New Zealand
The story of a family of meerkats living in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa.
In 2008, a clip posted on YouTube featuring an emotional reunion between a young lion and his owners became an internet sensation. Overnight people wanted to know more about what lay behind this clip. The two men in question, Anthony 'Ace' Bourke and John Rendall, have published an updated best-selling version of their account of how they came to buy Christian the lion from a London department store in the late 60s. They explain how they lived with the lion whilst working in a furniture shop down the King's Road in what was then the tail end of the swinging 60s and how they eventually came to introduce their lion into the wild under the watchful eye of lion expert, George Adamson.
Curiosity and Control examines our complex relationship to nature itself. A multi layered look at the world of Museums of Natural History and Zoological gardens, with voices from historians, authors, architects and zoo managers. It raises questions about how we perceive nature and our contradictory behavior of caging what we fear may be lost.
For decades, animal rights activist and filmmaker Karl Ammann has been documenting the illegal wildlife trade. In the company of director Laurin Merz, this investigative journey takes us to Namibia, where 22 elephants are captured and then airlifted in a cargo plane to zoos in the United Arab Emirates.
Rottnest Island is one of the most remote and isolated places you can journey to on Earth. It’s also one of the only places you can meet a quokka. This is the story of a tiny island off the west coast of Australia that's become a global magnet for selfie tourism. All because of one very happy animal.
Between a jagged cliff face and a roaring ocean, lives a colony of Australian Sea Lions. In an environment equally as harsh as it is beautiful, be immersed in a classic coming of age tale guided by one of Australia’s most unique, intelligent, and playful animals. Take an intimate journey inside the colony where a life of great intimacy, tenderness, and clumsiness, must often give way to a life of great sacrifice and bravery. Dive into the world of an endangered Australian Sea Lion pup - and meet the people that are trying to save her species.
La Révolution de la Terre
In this wildlife drama, a worsening dry season in the Kalahari Desert leaves prides, packs and herds to rely on the power of family to survive.
Soon after we meet Manyari, the queen of her pride, she does something both unusual and bold: She leaves the sanctuary of the clan with her young cubs and takes them on a dangerous odyssey. She makes a bid to escape because two young bloods are sniffing around, and if they take over the pride, they will kill her cubs