Patagonia: A Land Unknown

Valdez Peninsula, a wedge of Patagonia that juts out into Argentina's Atlantic seaboard is probably the richest area for wildlife in South America outside the tropics, particularly the marine life of sea lions, fur seals and elephant seals. Inside the Peninsula is an arid shrubland, part of the windswept Patagonian Plain that covers most of southern Argentina. It is home to large colonies of up to 100 Patagonian hares or maras which, rare for mammals, pair for life. The peninsula is a stronghold of the elegant guanaco which is unique because it never needs to drink water and survives just on its meager diet of desert plants.

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Patagonia: Earth's Secret Paradise
Andes to Amazon

Wild Life - The Ocean’s Border

The Ocean's Border: With the geological closure of the Isthmus of Panama four million years ago, the world's largest oceans were separated and divided. Central America was slowly formed through intense volcanic activity, and began to spawn amazing plants, birds and bats capable of colonizing every new island being created around it. In this program you'll discover five incredibly diverse regions: the wetlands of the Caribbean, the Southern Caribbean, the North Pacific, the Corcovado Peninsula and the central mountain range.

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Wild Caribbean
Wild Connection

Zambezi (BBC Natural World)

Africa's wildest river is home to the most spectacular wildlife. Hippos fight for territory while herds of elephant, water buffalo and zebra depend on it for life. In the wet season the rains burst the riverbanks and everyone, including people, must move whilst fish swim through the villages. In the dry season the creatures fight over the few pools of water while predators prowl. At its heart it plunges over Victoria Falls and into wild ravines before draining into the Indian Ocean, where storm clouds cycle the water back into the heart of Africa.

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Wild Africa

Radioactive Wolves (PBS Nature)

What happens to nature after a nuclear accident? And how does wildlife deal with the world it inherits after human inhabitants have fled? In 1986 a nuclear meltdown at the infamous Chernobyl power plant in present-day Ukraine left miles of land in radioactive ruins. Residents living in areas most contaminated by the disaster were evacuated and relocated by government order, and a no-man’s land of our own making was left to its own devices. In the ensuing 25 years, forests, marshes, fields and rivers reclaimed the land, reversing the effects of hundreds of years of human development. And surprisingly, this exclusion zone, or "dead zone," has become a kind of post-nuclear Eden, populated by beaver and bison, horses and birds, fish and falcons – and ruled by wolves.

Access to the zone is now permitted, at least on a limited basis, and scientists are monitoring the surviving wildlife in the area, trying to learn how the various species are coping with the invisible blight of radiation. As the top predators in this new wilderness, wolves best reflect the condition of the entire ecosystem because if the wolves are doing well, the populations of their prey must also be doing well. Accordingly, a key long-term study of the wolves has been initiated to determine their health, their range, and their numbers. Radioactive Wolves examines the state of wildlife populations in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone, an area that, to this day, remains too radioactive for human habitation.

Andes: The Dragon’s Back (PBS Nature)

With glaciers marking its tip, active volcanoes running along its spine, snow-capped peaks rising high above its range, both wet and dry tropical rainforests within its interior, and desert, lowland savanna and alpine tundra in between, the Andes is an extraordinary world of diverse terrain, extreme temperatures and multifarious wildlife. Rising out of the Pacific Coast, this high mountain range is 5,000 miles long, extending over seven countries between Tierra del Fuego in the extreme south to the Caribbean coast in the north. (from pbs.org)

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Andes to Amazon (Wild South America)

Birds of Paradise (BBC Natural World)

Living in the depths of the New Guinea rainforest are the spectacular birds of paradise - creatures so beautiful that the first Europeans believed they must have fallen from heaven. Filming their bizarre courtship displays is the Holy Grail of wildlife film makers: some perform like iridescent acrobats, others make hypnotic pulsing sounds as they quiver and vibrate.

David Attenborough narrates the film. He has been entranced by these birds since he was a boy and he introduces a team of New Guinean naturalists as they embark on a gruelling expedition to try to film ten birds of paradise deep in the heart of the rainforest.

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The Life of Birds

Cuba - Wild Island of the Caribbean

Cuba is home to some of the most unusual creatures on earth, including the feisty Cuban crocodile, the world's smallest bird and frog, and migrating land crabs. Cuba's diverse wildlife stems from its unique natural history. Cuba was not originally in the Caribbean Sea but in the Pacific Ocean, where the island was situated 100 million years ago, before the forces of continental drift slowly brought it into the Caribbean. As the island migrated over the ages, an astonishing variety of life arrived by air, sea, and possibly by land bridges that may have once existed. Over time, these animals adapted to their new environment. Today, more than half of Cuba's plants and animals, including more than 80 percent of its reptiles and amphibians, are found nowhere else on the planet.

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Wild Caribbean

Natural World: Himalayas

This is a BBC nature documentary narrated by David Attenborough, looking at the wildlife of the most stunning mountain range in the world, home to snow leopards, Himalayan wolves and Tibetan bears. Snow leopards stalk their prey among the highest peaks. Concealed by snowfall, the chase is watched by golden eagles circling above. On the harsh plains of the Tibetan plateau live extraordinary bears and square-faced foxes hunting small rodents to survive. In the alpine forests, dancing pheasants have even influenced rival border guards in their ritualistic displays. Valleys carved by glacial waters lead to hillsides covered by paddy fields containing the lifeline to the East, rice. In this world of extremes, the Himalayas reveal not only snow-capped mountains and fascinating animals but also a vital lifeline for humanity.

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Walking the Himalayas

Yellowstone in Winter (PBS Nature, 1984)

As seen through the camera of Wolfgang Bayer, Yellowstone in Winter is a snow-swept landscape upon which wild creatures wage a test of endurance. The grizzly bear, majestic elk, bison, beaver, coyote, and other players enact a timeless drama, with the winners greeting springtime's renewal of life in this vast, beautiful wilderness. Featuring unique scenes and footage of American wildlife, Yellowstone in Winter tells a stirring story of struggle and survival against a backdrop of spectacular natural beauty.

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Books and Films - Yellowstone