Video collections
One third of known species are under threat - do they have more than a future on film? We've unearthed footage of some remarkable animals, plants and habitats that are facing an imminent threat to their survival. The unique selling point of our planet is life. From the deepest trenches of the Pacific Ocean to Africa’s inhospitable deserts, it has demonstrated a knack for hanging on in there. However, the challenges for many species now seem to be too great. Watch, before they fade out.
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Saiga antelope
Saiga antelope are perfectly adapted for the Russian Steppe.
One of the fastest declining mammal species in the world is the saiga antelope. This migratory species of the steppe grasslands of Asia has declined by a massive 95% since 1995, mainly due to uncontrolled poaching following the break-up of the Soviet Union. And they still face severe problems. In May 2010, 12,000 individuals - mainly females and young calves - were found dead in western Kazakhstan, a significant proportion of the remaining population. Harsh winters, continued poaching and the destruction of their key habitats and traditional migration routes means the future looks bleak for these cold weather specialists.
Logging dilemma
The rainforests are shrinking, but it's not the locals who profit.
Rainforests have the most diverse ecosystems on our planet, with millions more plants and animal species as yet undiscovered. In the past 50 years, over a third of the world's rainforests have been deforested. Clearing them allows people to trade products such as timber, palm oil and soy and continues at an alarming rate. The loss of forest has a serious effect on the animals living there, as well as having wider impact. A solution for keeping the remaining pockets of rainforest safe, whilst making the areas already lost more profitable for local people, needs to be found - and soon.
Vanishing elms
Beetles carry a fungus that spelled the demise of millions of trees.
English elms were once one of Britain's most characteristic trees, used for making anything from boats and furniture to water pipes and coffins. Then, in the late 20th century, elms were devastated by a fungus that was accidentally introduced on a shipment of elm tree logs from North America. It spread throughout the country via elm bark beetles and killed an estimated 25 million trees changing the British landscape forever. Saplings grown from a single elm that survived the disease are now being studied by experts at Kew Gardens, in the hope that the secret of its survival can be identified and the species brought back.
Back from the brink
Large blue butterflies have fought their way back from extinction.
Large blue butterflies have fought their way back from extinction.
Gharial guardian
Gharials are devoted mothers, before and after their babies hatch.
As her babies prepare to hatch and call to her, a mother gharial digs into her nest to help them. The babies continue to call as they hatch. Gharials are devoted mothers. The mother gharials take turns to guard a creche of babies in the Chambal river. Includes shots of Valmik Thapar riding an elephant past the Taj Mahal.
Adonis blue
Adonis blue males are eye-catching, electric-blue butterflies, though the females are a...
African wild dog
African wild dogs form packs of up to 40 members, each with a dominant breeding pair,...
Black-browed albatross
Black-browed albatrosses are particularly vulnerable to fishing, both by long-line and...
Black rhinoceros
Black rhinoceroses are about the same height at the shoulder as African buffalos.
Blue whale
Blue whales are the largest animals ever to have lived - bigger even than the largest of...
Bornean orangutan
Bornean orangutans live high in the tropical canopy of Borneo's forests, where they...
Ethiopian wolf
Ethiopian wolves number fewer than 500 in the wild, and have the unfortunate title of...
European water vole
Water voles are widespread around Europe, living in the banks of slow moving rivers,...
Gharial
Gharials are once again on the verge of extinction in the wild.
Giant panda
The giant panda is a rare, endangered and elusive
Harbour porpoise
Harbour porpoises are the smallest and most common cetaceans in European waters.
Dormouse
Common dormice may spend up to three quarters of their life asleep.
Koala
Koalas are nocturnal marsupials famous for spending most of their lives asleep in trees.
Leopard
Its muscular yet graceful stealth makes the leopard a prize sighting on safari, but it's...
Saiga
Saigas are weird looking antelopes, equipped with a large, proboscis-like nose that is...
Siamese crocodile
Siamese crocodiles are one of the most endangered crocodile species in the wild.
Seahorses and pipefish
Seahorses, pipefish and seadragons fall under the family Syngnathidae.
Tiger
The magnificent tiger, largest of the big cats, is a heavily muscled, powerful predator...
Turtles, terrapins and tortoises
Turtles, terrapins and tortoises are all in one order, called the Testudines.
Western gorilla
Western gorillas are easily distinguishable from their
Dragon's blood tree
Dragon's blood trees are a distinctive and slow-growing species of dragon tree native to...
English elm
English elms were once a very common sight in the countryside of Europe, North America...
Venus flytrap
Venus flytraps are carnivorous plants native to a small region of wetlands in the...
Mangroves
Mangrove forests grow on tropical coasts with soft soils and are flooded twice daily by...
Reefs
Reefs have existed since at least the Cambrian, although the familiar coral-dominated,...
Rainforest
Rainforests are the world's powerhouses, the most vital habitats on the planet.
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