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Availability:
21 days left to watch (or download at BBC iPlayer).
Last broadcast on Wed, 11 Nov 2009, 00:45 on BBC One (Northern Ireland only) (see all broadcasts).
Synopsis
Mammals dominate the planet. They do it through having warm blood and by the care they lavish on their young. Weeks of filming in the bitter Antarctic winter reveal how a mother Weddell seal wears her teeth down keeping open a hole in the ice so she can catch fish for her pup.
A powered hot air balloon produces stunning images of millions of migrating bats as they converge on fruiting trees in Zambia, and slow-motion cameras reveal how a mother rufous sengi exhausts a chasing lizard. A gyroscopically stabilised camera moves alongside migrating caribou, and a diving team swim among the planet's biggest fight as male humpback whales battle for a female.
Clips (5)
Uakari: leap of faith
Struggling to film bald uakaris living in the tree-tops, Life programme maker Chadden Hunter finally got a glimpse of their spectacular trapeze act.
Rufous elephant shrew
The rufous sengi or elephant shrew is highly adapted to evade predators. Watch slow motion footage of this tiny mammal making a getaway.
Straw-coloured fruit bat
Straw-coloured fruit bats' wings span to almost 1m and they are capable of travelling great distances quickly. Once a year they gather together for the largest fruit bat roost on Earth.
Wildlife Finder: witness millions of these bats congregating
Polar bear
Being the world's largest land carnivore means that very few things threaten polar bears. Except other polar bears that is.
Humpback whale
Humpback whales are large baleen whales that can grow up to 16m in length. They are well known for their complex songs that are performed by males during courtship.
African bush elephant
African bush elephants are the largest living land mammals. They also have very complex social systems and family structures.
Rock wallabies: nature's free runners
Not only are they expert long jumpers, but brush-tailed rock wallabies are also high-speed rock hoppers.
Chapters
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Chapter 1
Mammals
(00.22)Opening Titles
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Chapter 2
Survival
(09.59)The Weddell seal must teach its newborn to live in the Antarctic. Also, the sengi creates pathways to help catch and escape prey and the aye-aye can only use its hearing when hunting in the dark.
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Chapter 3
Migration
(10.00)Barren land forces eight million reindeer to move north, finding food as they travel. The fruit bats, however, take to the sky, where they can fly up to a 1000km in a few nights.
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Chapter 4
Fighting
(08.32)A wounded hyena calls to her clan to help her challenge a pride of lions, and families of polar bears fight each other for food.
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Chapter 5
Strength in Numbers
(05.59)There's some sibling rivalry when the coatis go hunting for the first time, whilst the meerkats are more organised and disciplined.
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Chapter 6
The Female of the Species
(12.30)An inexperienced elephant mother must learn quickly so she can protect her young and the female humpback whale makes her presence known when looking for a mate.
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Chapter 7
The team attempt to film the humpback whale's mating contest; this requires local knowledge, hours on the water and a big slice of luck.
Credits
- Narrator
- David Attenborough
- Producer
- Ted Oakes
- Executive Producer
- Michael Gunton
Broadcasts
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Mon 26 Oct 200921:00
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Mon 26 Oct 200921:00
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Tue 27 Oct 200920:00
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Sat 31 Oct 200916:35
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Sun 1 Nov 200918:00
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Mon 2 Nov 200900:00
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Fri 6 Nov 200900:55
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Wed 11 Nov 200900:45
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