From Pole to Pole
This episode looks at our planet as a whole and considers the key factors that have shaped its natural history. The tilt of the earth’s orbit to the sun dictates all our lives, creating the seasons which in turn trigger one of the greatest spectacles on our earth - the mass migration of animals.
Mountains
Planet Earth takes you on a tour of its mightiest mountain ranges, starting with the birth of a mountain at one of the lowest places on Earth and ending on the summit of Mount Everest. Mountains are home to some of the shyest and most secretive animals on the planet, and this program will show how they rise to the challenge of mountain life.
Fresh Water
Just three percent of the Planet's water is fresh water and it is our most precious resource. This program takes us from the mysterious tepees of southern Venezuela, to Angel Falls, the world’s highest waterfall and then through the planet’s most spectacular rivers and lakes.
Caves
Caves are earth's final frontier and this program goes where few have been before. Caves are one of the only habitats not directly driven by sunlight, but this doesn’t mean there is no wildlife. This episode probes the mysterious, perpetual darkness and reveals the unknown underground world of caves, caverns and tunnels.
Deserts
Deserts are united by their lack of rain, yet they are the most varied of our planet’s ecosystems. Changes are rare in deserts but they play a crucial part in their story. Planet Earth is remarkable for having captured some of the desert's key moments of change from mile high Saharan sandstorms to desert rivers that run for a single day.
Ice Worlds
At the end of the Antarctic summer, the sun abandons the South Pole and heads north. The sea around the continent freezes and the ice expands, doubling the size of Antarctica. While all other life flees north, the Emperor penguins, polar bears and humpback whales are enjoying the icy cold.
Great Plains
The vast open wildernesses of African savannah, Asian steppe, Arctic tundra and North American prairie cover more than a quarter of the land of Earth and one living thing is at their heart – grass. This humble plant feeds the greatest gatherings of wildlife anywhere on Earth.
Jungles
Jungles cover roughly three percent of our planet, yet contain a staggering 50 per cent of the world’s species. Located around the warm, sunny equatorial zone, complete with constant daylight, they are the most productive habitats on earth. Conditions are perfect for life to flourish, but the fight for survival in the jungle is also explored.
Shallow Seas
The newly discovered coral reefs in tropical Indonesia reveal that they are one of the richest in the world. They are home to innumerable fascinating creatures – such as the head-butting pygmy seahorse, the flashing ‘electric’ clam, dolphins, sea urchins, the giant sun star and the terrifying bull fur seal all shown in stunning time lapse photography.
Seasonal Forests
From the evergreen forests of the frozen North to the deciduous dry forests of the Equator, Seasonal Forests reveals the greatest woodlands on earth. This film features the icy Taiga forest where wildlife is scarce, the giant Redwoods in California which are teaming with organisms both small and large, the broadleaf forests of North America and Europe bustling with animal life and the woods of Eastern Russia where the rare Amur leopard battles for survival in the freezing temperatures.
Ocean Deep
Oceans cover two thirds of the planet, yet largely remain unexplored. For animals that dwell on the surface or within the deepest abyss, it’s finding food and conserving energy that is paramount. Planet Earth travels the world to reveal the daily life of such creatures as the 30 ton whale, the fearsome white tip shark, the common dolphin, squid, the deep-sea octopus and the nightly migration of billions of plankton.
