Natural World Vol 9
Encounter incredible animal stories from around the world as the BBC’s flagship natural history documentary series returns. Award-winning filmmakers capture unique animal behavior and previously unseen sights. The creatures featured include lethal black mamba snakes in Swaziland, elephants migrating in Botswana, Indonesian macaques, gibbons in Borneo and Russian grizzly bears.
Watch Natural World Vol 9 and more acclaimed documentaries on BBC Select today. Restrictions apply*.
Natural World Vol 9 on BBC Select
Volume 9
Episode 1: Black Mambas: A Deadly Problem
A look at the lethal black mamba in Swaziland and an unusual snake removal service.
In the African kingdom of Swaziland, the black mamba is a snake both feared and revered. During summer, these elegant yet lethal snakes turn up everywhere. Enter Thea Litschka-Koen, a mum and hotel manager who has become known affectionately as the white witch. She and her husband are on call 24 hours a day to rescue and release black mambas when they get too close for comfort.
Episode 2: Elephants: The Long Walk Home
One man’s dream to bring freedom to over 100,000 beleaguered African elephants.
Botswana’s elephants are doing very well. Too well perhaps. People are worried that too many elephants could cause damage and have suggested that up to 60,000 should be culled. Researcher Mike Chase studies ancient elephant migration routes. He has tracked them across vast deserts, desolate salt pans, and Angolan minefields. Now he thinks he has a plan that could safe guard their future.
Episode 3: Meet the Monkeys
Colin Stafford – Johnson revisits a gang of black macaques 25 years after his first meeting. Peanut, Hero and Tarzan are three cheeky monkeys. They live on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi with a gang of crested black macaques. These very special primates are found nowhere else in the world. 25 years ago, wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-
Johnson visited Sulawesi and now he has returned. What he discovers leads him on a much bigger journey than he was ever expecting.
Episode 4: Radio Gibbon
The radio station with a goal to raise awareness and save Borneo’s endangered gibbons.
In deepest Borneo, a remarkable young Frenchman called Chanee is combining his love of music and his passion f or gibbons. These magical singing apes of the rainforest are in danger of extinction. To help save them, Chanee has set up a rescue centre and become the world expert at matchmaking gibbons. To increase awareness of the gibbons’ plight, Chanee has created his own radio station.
Episode 5: The Bear Man of Kamchatka
Canadian bear expert Charlie Russell’s attempts to return two rescued cubs to the wild.
In this extraordinary and moving documentary, Canadian bear expert Charlie Russell rescues two orphaned bear cubs destined for death in a squalid Russian zoo and moves them to his home in the remote wilds of the South Kamchatka peninsula, in the former Soviet Union. But when it comes time to release the orphaned cubs back into the wild, both the bears, and Charlie, face a litany of dangers
Volume 8
Episode 1: An Unexpected Wilderness
Rediscovering the rich, elemental and little appreciated wildernesses of Essex, England.
Away from the tame landscape of suburban Essex, near to London, a rich, elemental and little appreciated wilderness is revealed. This fascinating nature documentary highlights the misconceptions that exist about rural England, bringing reassuring and surprising news about the state of these landscapes and their inhabitants. Most of all, it encourages the protection of these remaining wild places.
Episode 2: Lily – A Bear’s Life
Meet Lily, an eight-year-old black bear. From day one her life has been documented online.
Meet Lily, an eight-year-old wild black bear, described by some as ‘the most popular bear in the world’. Bear biologist Dr. Lynn Rogers has been documenting Lily’s life online. He has a unique relationship with Lily, but his methods have divided opinion, resulting in a bounty being put on Lily’s head. With hunting season approaching, this is the most challenging chapter in her remarkable life.
Episode 3: Operation Pygmy Hippo
Why do we know so little about pygmy hippos, one of nature’s last great mysteries?
The pygmy hippo is one of nature’s last great mysteries. Solitary, secretive and extremely hard to find, scientists know almost nothing about this endangered animal in the wild and what it needs to survive. Now, a young Australian ecologist is taking on what could be ‘mission impossible’. In a remote West African rainforest, they’re investigating the secret life of the pygmy hippo.
Vol 7
Episode 1: Black Bears of The Northwoods
The incredible story of a man’s 40-year study and protection of America’s black bears.
Black bears are the scariest animal that most people are likely to encounter in North America. There are nearly one million of them, often living very close to humans. This wildlife documentary traces the forty- year journey of maverick bear biologist, Dr. Lynn Rogers, from fear to fascination, as he breaks with traditional research to gain the trust of one bear family in Minnesota.
Episode 2: Mountains of the Monsoon
Sandesh Kadur visits the Western Ghats Mountains to document the incredible wildlife.
Environmentalist and photographer Sandesh Kadur has traded a comfortable career to explore the natural wonders of the Western Ghats mountains. Just a few hours from the bustle of Bangalore, Sandesh could be a world away. Alongside familiar Indian species like elephants, tigers and peacocks are more mysterious animals like a purple frog with a face like a shrew and a monkey with a lion-like mane.
Episode 3: Secrets of the Maya Underworld
Exploring the secret world of the Mayan empire in the Yucatan and its underground rivers.
Unlike great civilizations such as the Romans and the Egyptians, the Mayan empire did not arise from the banks of a mighty river. Then why did they populate Yucatan? The Maya believed that the freshwater pools dotted across the area were sacred portals to the underworld. They are indeed portals, but to an incredible underground labyrinthine system of rivers with amazing wildlife.
Episode 4: The Hidden Highlands
In the harsh Scottish Highlands, a huge variety of wildlife battles for survival.
Under the shadow of the Beinn Eighe mountain lies Loch Maree, a remote and breathtaking haven. Here, amid a dramatic landscape, a huge variety of wildlife battles for survival among the challenges of the changing seasons. Starting in spring, the extraordinary story of this hidden and mysterious Scottish landscape, depicts the harsh reality of life in the wild.
Episode 5: Victoria Falls
The story of the animal inhabitants of Victoria Falls and the Zambezi River in Africa.
A tale of life on the Zambezi River, set against the epic backdrop of Victoria Falls. The story is told from the point of view of a local fisherman who has fished these waters for 69 years, and whose riverside companions are elephants, baboons, hippos and kingfishers. Follow the fortunes of these animals through his eyes and learn how their lives are ruled by the moods of the river and the rains.
Episode 6: War Wrecks of the Coral Sea
In the South Pacific, World War II shipwrecks have become living reefs for marine life.
Thousands of tons of war wreckage sank into the fabled lagoons of the South Pacific islands during the naval and air battles of World War II. This fascinating documentary Investigates the array of shipwrecks in the are a which have been transformed into spectacular living reefs featuring fantastic mini-ecosystems and incredible marine wildlife.
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