Ecosystems and Biomes

S2E4: The Poles | Spy in the Wild

The Spy Creatures travel to the lands of ice and snow beyond the Arctic and Antarctic circles, observing the hardiest and most charismatic ...

Life In The Snow

Gordon Buchanan meets the animals who live in nature's winter wonderlands, from the polar bear mother helping her cubs to the owl searching for food.

Emperor Penguin - Caring | Wonders of Nature

An emperor penguin watches as her baby is born. It shows the harsh habitat and the climate they live in, the cold Antarctica and...

Polar Bear - Mother and Baby | Wonders of Nature

A mother and her baby polar bears explore their habitat.

The Snow Wolf: A Winter's Tale

A she-wolf must flee her pack and embark on a dramatised perilous journey through the Alps in search of a new territory and a new life.

5: Northern Europe | Arctic with Bruce Parry

The final stage of Bruce Parry's six-month journey is through Arctic Europe. He travels to a remote Russian village where life h...

4: Canada | Arctic with Bruce Parry

Bruce travels to the far north of Canada to live with the Caribou people and witness their annual spring hunt. He then heads south to the...

3: Alaska | Arctic with Bruce Parry

Bruce travels to Alaska, America's last great wilderness, where modern-day pioneers are harvesting the vast natural wealth of the seas.

1: Siberia | Arctic with Bruce Parry

Bruce Parry meets the Sakha horse people and Eveny reindeer herders in Siberia's Verkhoyansk Mountains to see how they are embracing the...

2: Greenland | Arctic with Bruce Parry

Bruce Parry journeys to the far north of Greenland, home to the last traditional Inuit hunters, and learns how climate change is threa...

Yukon ancestors | Fierce Earth

Clare and Mike meet some descendants of the first people to live in the Yukon, and they learn about their ancestors way of life.

Surviving in the cold | Fierce Earth

The team gets some tips on how to survive if trapped in the cold, including how to build an igloo!

Why is the Yukon so cold? | Fierce Earth

Due to a lack of sun and high mountains blocking any warmth from the sea, the Yukon has little opportunity to get hot.

The Yukon territory | Fierce Earth

The team visit one of the coldest places on earth, the Yukon territory where the border of the Arctic circle runs right through it.

Human impact | Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart

The impact of human life on marine seabirds is quite apparent as the seas warm. This has encouraged different types of fish ...

Rewilding | Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart

Rewilding and reintroducing species to Scotland is controversial and while there are benefits, it is the people of Scotland who...

Regenerating forests | Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart

After centuries of neglect, the ancient forests of the Highlands are in need of help to naturally regenerate.

Scottish wild cat | Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart

Due to diluting with domestic cats, the true genes of the Scottish wild cat are scarce. This has lead to a specific bre...

Caring for reindeer | Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart

Highlanders help maintain the reindeer population, who are very docile, bringing in tourism to the local area through...

Public engagement | Highlands - Scotland's Wild Heart

Public engagement has been vital in succeeding at conservation as it spreads knowledge and awareness about the plight o...

S2E2: The North | Spy in the Wild

The Spy Creatures travel to the temperate lands north of the tropics, where life is governed by the rhythm of the seasons. Their destinatio...

S1E5: Meet the Spies | Spy in the Wild

A behind-the-scenes view of the story behind deploying the Spy Creatures, showing how the concept evolved and became the inspiration f...

S1E4: Mischief | Spy in the Wild

Animatronic spy creatures discover that mischief is rife in nature, but there are still rules that govern the animals' lives.

S1E3: Friendship | Spy in the Wild

Animatronic spy creatures go undercover to discover how friendships are a vital part of animal societies, helping them survive in a danger...

S1E2: Intelligence | Spy in the Wild

Animatronic spy creatures go undercover to explore the world of animal intelligence and reveal their use of tools, self-medication, cult...

S1E1: Love | Spy in the Wild

Documentary in which animatronic spy creatures infiltrate the animal world to explore their complex emotions.

Mandarin Duck - First Flight | Wonders of Nature

A mother mandarin duck shows her babies how to take their first flight out of the safety of the nest.

S1E5: The Trees | Maddie, the Plants and You

Join Maddie on an adventure around the world of trees to see how we can help look after them and our planet. Discover how trees ...

S1E2: The Plants Around the World | Maddie, the Plants and You

Join Maddie on a journey of discovery to find out about plants around the world. Find out how we can help to l...

S1E1: The Flowers | Maddie, the Plants and You

Join Maddie on an adventure around the world of flowers to see how we can help to look after them and our planet.

Travelling inside an Icelandic volcano | Volcano Live

An exploration inside one of extinct Icelandic volcano.

2: The Jewel of Arabia | Wild Arabia

Wildlife documentary series. Swept by the annual Indian Ocean monsoon, the Dhofar mountains become a magical lost world of waterfalls an...

1: Sand, Wind and Stars | Wild Arabia

Wildlife documentary series which enters the wilderness of Arabia and reveals a magical cast of characters, from the snow-white oryx to...

2: Water Worlds | The Green Planet

A look at the beautiful, bizarre worlds created by water plants. Flowers smother rivers and lakes. Plants fight and hunt. A river bubbles ...

1: Galapagos | Nature's Microworlds

The Galapagos is home to a myriad of bizarre and unique creatures endemic to these islands, but how did they get here and what is the key...

4: Mexico Part 2 | Undiscovered Worlds with Steve Backshall

Steve Backshall is in Yucatan, Mexico, on the trail of the ancient Maya. His team of explorers uncover macabre an...

3: Mexico Part 1 | Undiscovered Worlds with Steve Backshall

Steve Backshall leads an elite cave diving team into the largest unexplored cave network on earth. Below a Mexica...

5: Strange Islands | South Pacific

Why do animals perfectly adapted to island life often give up the ghost when new species arrive?

Our Precious Isles | Wild Isles

David Attenborough celebrates the rich variety of habitats in our wild isles, the existence of which is critical for the survival of species ...

Africa | Seven Worlds, One Planet

Africa - home to the greatest wildlife gatherings on earth. But even in this land of plenty, wildlife faces huge challenges.

Elephant - Importance of Water | Wonders of Nature

A herd of elephants moves across the land in search of water.

Episode 2 | Waterhole: Africa's Animal Oasis

It is the hottest time of year, and the waterhole becomes busier in the cool of the night. Hyena lurk in the shadows as the team...

Episode 3 | Waterhole: Africa's Animal Oasis

The rains hit the waterhole, and for the first time in half a year, grass begins to grow, and water is everywhere, dramatically ...

Episode 1 | Waterhole: Africa's Animal Oasis

In a groundbreaking natural history event, remote cameras capture life at a specially built African waterhole. Which animals fin...

10: Yellowstone | Nature's Microworlds

In Yellowstone National Park, where wolves, bears, coyotes, bison and elk roam vast grasslands, wetlands and forests, Steve Backshall ...

5: Okavango | Nature's Microworlds

Steve Backshall reveals the secret to the existence of the Okavango, the world's largest inland delta and home to one of Africa's greatest...

2: Serengeti | Nature's Microworlds

A look at one of the most famous habitats on the planet, the Serengeti in east Africa, a vast grassland that is home to some of the great...

S2E3: Hyena People of Ethiopia | Tribes, Predators & Me

Gordon Buchanan journeys across Ethiopia to find out how the tribes here can live so close to hyenas, a fierce predat...

6: Grasslands - Roots of Power | Human Planet

Documentary featuring the remarkable people who live in the world's grasslands, exploring their relationship with the natural w...

S2E4: Driest | Fierce Earth

In this episode the team travel 6000 miles to the country of Chile and the Atacama Desert - officially the driest place in the world. Leo sky-div...

S2E1: Deserts | Fierce Earth

In the first of a new series, the Fierce Earth team travel to Morocco, North Africa and to the Sahara Desert - the biggest hot desert in the wor...

Excerising in the heat | Fierce Earth

Leo attempts to run in the extreme heat with a doctor on standby to monitor his levels of dehydration.

Cooking in the sun | Fierce Earth

Leo and Clare use the power of the Sun's heat in Death Valley to cook different foods using different techniques.

Hot rocks | Fierce Earth

The hot rocks of the mountains trap the heat in the valley and crumble as a result, making it treacherous for climbing.

School in the heat | Fierce Earth

There is a tiny school of 6 students who live in Death Valley who have to get up at 5.30am to avoid the main heat.

Heat and colour | Fierce Earth

Leo and Clare test wearing different colours in the heat to see how they affect their temperatures.

Death Valley | Fierce Earth

Leo and Clare head to Death Valley in California which is 80 metres below sea level and the hottest place on earth.

Life in Death Valley | Planet Earth

A single shower can transform Death Valley.

Flash flood | Planet Earth

A flash flood is a rare chance for wildlife to build up food and water reserves.

Moisture in the Atacama | Planet Earth

Life exists in a strip of the Atacama Desert due to fog that blows in from the sea.

Sandstorm | Planet Earth

How the desert is shaped by sandstorms.

Climbing Erta Ale | Hottest Place on Earth

The team climb up and into the crater of Erta Ale volcano.

3D model of Erte Ale | Hottest Place on Earth

The team manage to make a 3D model of Erte Ale, from scans taken inside the volcano's crater.

Erta Ale from the Sky | Hottest Place on Earth

The team fly over Erte Ale and the land around the lava lake in a helicopter.

Dabbahu earthquake fissure | Hottest Place on Earth

The team attempt to digitally map a fissure created by an earthquake.

Dallol volcano | Hottest Place on Earth

The team explore the volcano system in Dallol, in the Danakil Depression.

Episode 2 | Ben and James versus the Arabian Desert

James Cracknell and Ben Fogle travel across the world's largest sand desert. As they try to pick up the pace disaster str...

Episode 1 | Ben and James versus the Arabian Desert

James Cracknel and Ben Fogle trek deep into the Empty Quarter of the Arabian Desert in the footsteps of explorer Wilfred ...

2: The Mucubal | Tribe with Bruce Parry

Bruce Parry visits the Mucubal, a community surviving in Angola's harsh Namib Desert, and experiences an extraordinary way of life pr...

3: Andes | Mountain: Life at the Extreme

The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world and home to astonishing hidden worlds, extraordinary animals and remarkable peo...

2: Himalaya | Mountain: Life at the Extreme

A look at the highest mountain range on earth, the Himalayas, including resident snow leopards and bizarre-looking monkeys, and t...

1: Rockies | Mountain: Life at the Extreme

This episode looks at the Rockies in North America, home to cougars, wolves and grizzly bears.

Episode 1 | Walking the Himalayas

Explorer Levison Wood takes on a new challenge: to walk the length of the world's highest mountain range, from Afghanistan to Bhutan.

Britain's Busiest Mountain | Our Lives

Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) attracts around 750,000 visitors each year, and the race is on to prepare for the busiest season yet.

S2E3: The Islands | Spy in the Wild

The spy creatures explore the islands of the southern seas. Some of the most unique animals on earth have evolved in these isolated place...

4: Revive Our Oceans | The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet

This episode explores how we might stop damaging the oceans and begin to enable their revival.

Episode 4 | Wonders of the Celtic Deep

Presented by Dame Sian Phillips, this episode looks at some of the biggest challenges and issues facing the marine environment in Wale...

Episode 3 | Wonders of the Celtic Deep

As the water starts to warm in the summer, marine giants arrive at the Celtic deep. Some have travelled for thousands of miles to feas...

Episode 2 | Wonders of the Celtic Deep

The strange environment of the shallow seas is one that sits remarkably close to shore. In the giant kelp forest, we join a female cat...

Episode 1 | Wonders of the Celtic Deep

We follow Atlantic grey seals through the year, from courtship to pregnancy and birth. Will a curious snowy-white seal pup make it saf...

Restoring Our Reefs | Our Changing Planet

As part of a seven-year series on the planet's most threatened ecosystems, this third episode takes an in-depth look at efforts to ...

3: Reef and Beyond | Great Barrier Reef

Monty Halls explores Australia's natural wonder. The Great Barrier Reef is vitally linked to the rest of the planet and creatures tra...

2: Reef to Rainforest | Great Barrier Reef

As well as coral, the reef is made up of jungle, hundreds of islands, mangrove swamps, mysterious deep-water gardens, vast sand fl...

1: Nature's Miracle | Great Barrier Reef

Monty Halls explores Australia's Great Barrier Reef, examining the vast, complex structure of the coral reef itself and the wildlife...

2: Ocean | Australia: Earth's Magical Kingdom

A natural history exploration of Australia's magical coasts and islands, where three oceans create the perfect environment for ...

11: The Deep Sea | Nature's Microworlds

Steve Backshall plumbs the ocean depths to find an array of beautiful and bizarre creatures, from 40m-long jellyfish to grotesque ang...

8: Great Barrier Reef | Nature's Microworlds

Steve Backshall visits Australia's Great Barrier Reef to discover the conditions that let a tiny coral building block create Ear...

4: Monterey Bay | Nature's Microworlds

Steve Backshall looks at the unique geography of California's Monterey Bay, its kelp forest bursting with life from microscopic plankt...

3: Coral Triangle | Wilderness with Simon Reeve

Simon Reeve voyages across the Coral Triangle, a remote wilderness of tropical reefs and jungle-clad islands described as the...

3: Endless Blue | South Pacific

Much of this blue wilderness is a marine desert, where sharks, whales and turtles must go to great lengths to survive.

2: Castaways | South Pacific

A look at how every one of the 20,000 islands was colonised by the Polynesians, and at the varied local fauna.

1: Ocean of Islands | South Pacific

Documentary looking at the remote South Pacific islands, which are inhabited by some of the most curious and precarious examples of life ...

Episode 3 | Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough

David Attenborough uncovers the ways in which scientists are trying to preserve the Great Barrier Reef and embarks on ...

Episode 2 | Great Barrier Reef with David Attenborough

David Attenborough examines the journeys made by the birds and whales that visit the reef every year.

3: Clean Our Air | The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet

This episode explores the global issue of air pollution and the toll it is taking on our health.

Farming in the UK | Countryfile

Adam Henson is on his farm in the Cotswolds, looking at how his practice of being more nature-friendly, by limiting the chemicals he uses on ...

Track My Trash | Panorama

Using tracking equipment inside broken TV sets, Panorama investigates the illegal market in electronic waste - and recycling companies whose creden...

Coca-Cola's 100 Billion Bottle Problem | Panorama

Coca-Cola sells more than 100 billion throwaway plastic bottles each year. Panorama investigates Coca-Cola's promises to cr...

Eutrophication | Countryfile

An explanation of eutrophication and the use of carbon pellets as a solution.

Crocodiles vs monitor lizard | Earth's Great Rivers

A mother crocodile has buried her eggs in the sand, but their scent attracts in hungry mouths. Nile monitor lizards try t...

Baby Alligators in Atchafalaya Swamp | Earth's Great Rivers

Baby alligators - so small that they could easily become a meal for some here in the largest swamp in the USA. Bu...

Industrialised Mississippi river | Earth's Great Rivers

In the central stretch of the Mississippi, barges transport millions of tonnes of the nation's produce up and down th...

The Grand Canyon | Planet Earth

For five million years, the Colorado River has carved its way through the landscape, creating the Grand Canyon.

Tepuis of Venezuela | Planet Earth

How rain has shaped the Tepuis of Venezuela.

Mountain streams | Planet Earth

The early stages of a mountain stream and the wildlife that lives there.

Disappearing Mississippi wetlands | Earth's Great Rivers

The Mississippi wetlands are disappearing due to human interventions in the landscape.

Building on the Atchafalaya | Earth's Great Rivers

The city of New Orleans was built on the Mississippi floodplain and is constantly fighting to hold the river back.

Mississippi floodplain | Earth's Great Rivers

In the last 1,000 miles of its journey, the Mississippi flows out into a vast natural floodplain.

Introduction to the Mississippi river | Earth's Great Rivers

An introduction to the Mississippi river, including it's source in the Rockies.

When the Amazon reaches the sea | Earth's Great Rivers

The meeting of the Amazon and the Atlantic ocean produces an extraordinary ecosystem.

Flooded forest | Earth's Great Rivers

Wildlife thrives in the Amazon during the wet season.

Tropical wet season | Earth's Great Rivers

How the Amazon changes during the tropical wet season.

The Amazon Basin | Earth's Great Rivers

In the Amazon Basin the tributaries meet and the grow larger and stronger. The water is mixed with a variety of different sediments a...

Underwater spring | Earth's Great Rivers

An underwater spring introduces crystal clear water into the Amazon.

Thermal river | Earth's Great Rivers

An exploration of a thermal section of the Amazon and the indigenous peoples who live there.

Introduction to the Amazon river | Earth's Great Rivers

An introduction to the river Amazon, including it's source in Peruvian glaciers.

Episode 2 | The River Wye with Will Millard

Writer and angler Will Millard is on the second leg of his journey down the River Wye, taking in Glasbury, Hay-on-Wye and Hereford.

Episode 3 | The River Wye with Will Millard

Writer and angler Will Millard embarks on the final leg of his journey down the River Wye, from Ross-on-Wye to Chepstow, where th...

Episode 1 | The River Wye with Will Millard

Writer and angler Will Millard travels along the River Wye. He begins his journey in the mountains of Mid Wales, going in search ...

Camargue | The Geography Programme

This programme looks at the conflict between those people who want to make a living out of the unique wetlands environment and those who w...

25: Antarctica | Deadly Pole to Pole

Steve's journey finally comes to an end at the land of extremes - the least inhabited, remotest, highest, driest, coldest and windiest c...

Indonesian sulphur miners | Human Planet: Change and Sustainability

Linked to the KS2 geography curriculum, this programme looks at how humans have learnt to live with extre...

5: Build a Waste-Free World | The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet

Exploring the extent of our careless approach to producing waste, both non-biodegradable and biodegra...

2: Fix Our Climate | The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet

Looking at ideas like creating diamonds from the air and protecting the great whales, the programme examines t...

1: Protect & Restore Nature | The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet

Sir David explains exactly what aspect of our approach to modern life is causing a global decline in ...

Inle Lake: Unique, Endangered Ecosystem | Burma with Simon Reeve

Simon Reeve visits one of the wonders of Burma, Inle Lake, an ecosystem supporting many unique species, and ...

Satellite images | Earth From Space

The important role of satellite cameras in protecting the earth.

Peat and carbon | Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

Dr Tara Shine and Dr Andy Baird discuss the abilities of peat to store carbon.

Lightning and wildfires | Earth From Space

Satellite footage captures lightning storms in California.

Chimborazo Glacier | Earth From Space

Satellite images depict the rapid rate at which the Chimborazo Glacier in Ecuador is melting.

Resources and waste | Earth From Space

Satellite images depict how humans have exploited natural resources and the waste that we have left behind.

Deforestation and Palm Oil | Earth From Space

Satellite images depict wild spaces in Indonesia being replaced by palm oil farms.

Disappearing wildlife | Earth From Space

Satellite images visualise Earth's wild spaces shrinking.

Growing cities | Earth From Space

Satellite images depict the growth of cities over time.

How deforestation in Madagascar is threatening animal habitats | Deadly Dilemmas

UK teenagers witness first hand the major issues Madagascan wildlife is facing. They explore...

The balance between tourism and conservation in Madagascar | Deadly Dilemmas

An exploration of the impact that deforestation is having on the wildlife in Madagascar.

Restoring Our Rivers | Our Changing Planet

Liz Bonnin and Ade Adepitan investigate two ambitious river restoration projects: in the US, the largest dam removal in the world,...

Restoring Our Reefs | Our Changing Planet

As part of a seven-year series on the planet's most threatened ecosystems, this third episode takes an in-depth look at efforts to ...

S2E2 | Our Changing Planet

In the second year of a seven-year project, six presenters chart the fight to save the planet’s endangered ecosystems. In this episode, we visit B...

S2E1: The Tropics | Spy in the Wild

The spy creatures infiltrate a hippo pod, a nursery of red flying foxes and the secret world of pygmy forest elephants.

Episode 3 | Lost Land of the Volcano

A team of scientists and film-makers explores the jungle wilderness of New Guinea.

Episode 2 | Lost Land of the Volcano

A team of scientists and film-makers explores the jungle wilderness of New Guinea.

Lost Land of the Volcano

A team of scientists and film-makers explores the jungle wilderness of New Guinea.

Fungi | Planet Earth

The high humidity of the rainforest creates the ideal environment for life built on decay.

Water | Planet Earth

The water cycle in rainforests.

Species of tree | Planet Earth

In the New Guinea rainforest, different species of tree fight for sunlight.

Heights of diversity | The Living Planet

David Attenborough discusses the rainforest climate and explains where earth's rainforests are located.

1: The Waimaha | Tribe with Bruce Parry

Deep in the Amazon, Bruce Parry undergoes a brutal training regime to prepare his mind and body to take ayahuasca and understand how ...

1: Tropical Worlds | The Green Planet

Tropical rainforests are plant battlegrounds. New filming techniques allow us to enter the world of plants to see it from their perspec...

Saving the Rainforest | From Above

See the incredible journey a group of scientists make to explore a once hidden forest in Mozambique. The team discovered new species that ...

S6E5: Datai Langkawi, Malaysia | Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby

Rob and Monica travel to the Malaysian rainforest to work at the Datai Langkawi hotel, where monkeys r...

Episode 4 | Expedition Borneo

Wildlife adventure series following a team of explorers in the heart of the tropical island of Borneo. They find extraordinary cave paintings m...

Episode 5 | Expedition Borneo

Wildlife adventure series following a team of explorers in the heart of the tropical island of Borneo. A network of caverns never explored by h...

Episode 3 | Expedition Borneo

Wildlife adventure series following a team of explorers in the heart of the tropical island of Borneo. One of the team is bitten by a deadly co...

Episode 2 | Expedition Borneo

Wildlife adventure series following a team of explorers in the heart of the tropical island of Borneo. The team begins searching for jungle ele...

Episode 1 | Expedition Borneo

Wildlife adventure series following a team of explorers in the heart of the tropical island of Borneo. The team search for the elusive clouded ...

1: Congo | Wilderness with Simon Reeve

Simon Reeve battles his way across the Congo, braving thick jungle and tropical swamps in search of the people and the wildlife who ma...

Waterworld | Jungle

Charlotte Uhlenbroek travels along the Amazon river, from its headwaters in the high Andes to enormous forested floodplains.

Underworld | Jungle

Charlotte Uhlenbroek travels to the Congo rainforest to investigate the wildlife of the forest floor.