Whale Wisdom

Whales have long been a profound mystery to us. They live in a world so removed from our own that we can barely imagine their lives. Their environment is different, their senses are different, their relationships are different. How might such almost alien creatures see the world?

Humpback Whale: The Giant of the Oceans

Latest research shows the humpback whales’ song to be a weapon used in verbal exchanges between bulls fighting over females. These battles can sometimes turn physical, sometimes endangering mothers with vulnerable calves.

The Making Of The Trials Of Life - Once More Into The Termite Mound

Behind the scenes of the documentary series The Trials Of Life showing how some of the footage was captured and interviews with the experts that informed them.

Our Planet: Behind The Scenes

Years spent recording footage of creatures from every corner of the globe is bound to produce a bit of drama. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.

Zoo Quest to West Africa

In September 1954, David Attenborough, cameraman Charles Lagus, Jack Lester and Alf Woods, both from the Zoological Society of London, set out for Sierra Leone. They spent three months intently surveying the landscapes of Sierra Leone in search of nature’s rarest animals. Although predominantly searching for Picathartes gymnocephalus (the White-necked Rockfowl) they hoped to take back to London a representative collection of the whole of animal life in this part of Africa.

Elsa the Lioness

First transmitted in 1961, David Attenborough travels to Meru National Park in Kenya to visit Joy and George Adamson and meet Elsa the lioness and her cubs shortly before Elsa's death.

Planet Earth II: A World of Wonder

A compilation episode of the wildlife documentary series presented by David Attenborough, uncovering the secrets of animals across the globe.

Attenborough at 90: Behind the Lens

As Sir David Attenborough turns 90, this intimate film presents new interviews, eye-opening behind-the-scenes footage and extraordinary clips from some of his most recent films. The doc, which was made for the occasion of Attenborough’s 90th birthday, was shot over seven years and follows him as he travels to Borneo, Morocco and the Galapagos to shoot wildlife specials. Anthony Geffen, the CEO of Atlantic Productions, commented, “This is such a special Attenborough film because unusually he is the subject. As I look back over the last seven ...

Into the Jungle

Conservationists Jim and Jean Thomas braved the steamy jungles of Papua New Guinea to save a tree kangaroo from extinction and ended up providing water and sanitation to ten thousand people in one of the most remote places on earth.

The Song of the Earth

Is there a connection between animal sounds and the music that humans create? Using a surprising and wide variety of evidence from the animal kingdom -- including the humpback whale, the lyre bird, the siamang gibbon and the great reed warbler -- Sir David Attenborough seeks to prove that the origions of music lie in territory, emotion and sex.

The Trials of Life

Each of the twelve 50-minute episodes features a different aspect of the journey through life, from birth to adulthood and continuation of the species through reproduction.

Deep Ocean: The Lost World of the Pacific

The same submarine which successfully captured the world's first moving images of a giant squid in its natural habitat is used for exploring the deep sea cliffs off the coast of New Guinea. The team encounters true living fossil species one after another. Join this exciting deep sea adventure!

Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy

Diving Deep: The Life and Times of Mike deGruy, tells the story of Mike deGruy, an irrepressibly curious and enthusiastic underwater filmmaker who died suddenly in 2012. DeGruy filmed the oceans for more than three decades becoming as famous for his on camera storytelling as for his glorious, intimate visions of the sea and the creatures who live in it. Inspired to share his legacy as a filmmaker and storyteller, and to spread his mission for protecting the ocean, his wife and filmmaking partner Mimi deGruy returned to the edit room to produ...

The Dragons of Galapagos

This is the story of the incredible struggle for survival of the dragons of the Galapagos. On the island of Fernandina, each year Land Iguanas migrate up the steep slopes of the 5000ft active volcano to lay their eggs in the warm soil. If the rim of the crater is fully occupied they have to climb 1 km down the steep crater walls to the floor below. Many are killed finding a path down as the walls are steep & dangerously unstable causing many landslides.

Mountain Lions: Big Cats in High Places

For the first time, and through the eyes of two special mountain lion families, the true nature of North America's big cat can finally be revealed. Set in Wyoming's spectacular Rocky Mountains, the dramatic story of two mothers struggling to raise their kittens is helping scientists rewrite our understanding of these elusive predators. This is mountain lions up-close, in-depth and more intimate than ever before.

Richmond Park National Nature Reserve

Richmond Park – National Nature Reserve, presented by Sir David Attenborough, is an award-winning film by conservation charity the Friends of Richmond Park. Filmed by experienced wildlife film makers (including a leading cameraman from Blue Planet II). The film won first prize in the 2018 Charity Film Awards in the 'Documentary/Long Form' category. Sir David explains in the film: “Richmond Park is not just a local park it's London's own National Nature Reserve with thousands of species of flora and fauna; but with 5.5 million visitors each...

Attenborough's Wonder of Song

Sir David Attenborough chooses his favourite recordings from the natural world that have revolutionised our understanding of song. Each one - from the song of the largest lemur to the song of the humpback whale to the song of the lyrebird - was recorded in his lifetime. When Sir David was born, the science of song had already been transformed by Charles Darwin’s theory of sexual selection: singing is dangerous as it reveals the singer’s location to predators, but it also offers the male a huge reward, the chance to attract a female and pass...

Sperm Whales: Back from the Abyss

Wildlife film about sperm whales, revealing the secret lives led by these often misunderstood ocean giants. Scientists all over the world are now learning about the secret lives of sperm whales, the world's largest hunters that spawned the legendy of Moby Dick. Although Mellville painted them as fearsome beasts of the sea, they are actually shy creatures, and cameraman Rick Rosenthal needed patience and persistence to film them at close quarters. They turn out to be efficient hunters with a close family network involving sophisticated and vo...

Satoyama II: Japan's Secret Watergarden

Each home has a built in pool or water tank that lies partly inside, partly outside its’ walls… A continuous stream of spring water is piped right into a basin, so freshwater is always available. People rinse out pots in the tank and clean their freshly picked vegetables. If they simply pour the food scraps back in the water, they risk polluting the whole village supply. However, carp can scour out even the greasy or burnt pans. They do the washing up in Satoyama villages. This traditional arrangement is called the riverside method. It’s use...

Satoyama I: Japan's Secret Watergarden

Japan is a country of steep mountains surrounding wide flat plains where people have lived for thousands of years. On the largest plain lies the country's largest freshwater lake, Lake Biwa, which is not at all far from Japan's ancient, capital city of Kyoto. The slopes that stretch down towards the lake have been terraced. Here rice seedlings need shallow water in which to grow, and the neat, meticulously constructed paddy fields provide just this. Some of them have been cultivated continuously for thousands of years. Alongside them stand p...