The small Pacific island of Guadalupe off the coast of Mexico isn't normally the site of life-or-death drama. But in winter huge elephant seals arrive here to breed. The dominant male, a big bull is nearly five meters long and weighs over two tons. In order to leave as many offspring as possible, the bull mates incessantly and will go for months without eating. He threatens and attacks younger bulls to keep them away from the females. Meanwhile, great white sharks prowl the surrounding waters for females weakened after giving birth and their pups. Based on the latest scientific research, this program reveals how the elephant seals ward off the shark attacks and survive.
The endless savannah stretching to the horizon in southwestern Kenya is home to several bird species that can fly but mostly don't. With their long legs, secretary birds find insects and reptiles hiding in the grass. They even hunt for venomous snakes. Ground hornbills use their strong bills to dig for food. These birds spend most of the day on the ground, flying to the treetops only to sleep or raise their young. Many mysteries behind the peculiar habits and intriguing behavior of these sauntering savannah dwellers are revealed in this fascinating program.
The cerrado is a tropical savanna region stretching from the eastern side of the Andes Mountains. It is called a treasure trove of life because of the diverse animal life found there. Among this fauna are wild dogs that are rarely seen. They include the maned wolf, characterized by its long legs and mane, and the bush dog, with its short legs and long body enabling it to attack the underground burrows of armadillos. These wild dogs, which have adapted to the environment of the savanna, are being pushed to extinction by the expansion of farmland and the resulting changes in the environment. On the Edge of Survival traces how these very rarely photographed dogs live.
The Peruvian jungle in the upper reaches of the Amazon is home to 2 different species of monkeys, the Andean titi and the brown-mantled tamarin. What's interesting is that these 2 species live side by side as if they were members of a single troop. When titis feed on insects, they rely on tamarins to catch them. Meanwhile, tamarins use titis to get Inga beans to eat. To protect against predators, titis keep their eyes aloft looking out for birds of prey, while tamarins keep an eye to the ground for carnivores and large snakes. These species are different in both size and appearance. Why do they coexist? This program attempts to unravel that mystery.
New Guinea is a true garden of Eden for birds. Some of the most unique are birds of paradise. With plenty of food such as nuts and fruits and very few natural predators, they've been able to leisurely hone their courting skills. The ribbon-tailed astrapia flaps its long white tail feathers, while the blue bird-of-paradise unfurls its feathers to create a pulsating eye-like shape. Since they live deep in the jungle, their courtship displays have long been steeped in mystery. Tadashi Shimada, a wildlife photographer who's made numerous visits to New Guinea over the years, has for the first time ever captured images of the blue bird-of-paradise's courting behavior. This program delves into the fascinating world of these beautiful and mysterious birds.
The canals that crisscross England have long supported rich natural habitats. Along the Macclesfield Canal, in Central England, diving rodents called water voles hunt for prey below the water's surface. Kingfishers alight on the trees that line the banks, intently eying the flowing water, then swooping down on unsuspecting fish. In spring and summer, flowers burst forth in waves of color. This program depicts the 4 seasons along England's canals, where people and nature live in splendid harmony.
In the savannah of western Uganda, Africa, there's a place known as "Hippo Paradise". There are more than 5,000 hippos living there. Females spend 7 years caring for their calves. They not only carry their young piggyback-style through the water they live in, but they suckle their young beneath its surface. This program features unique footage of hippo behavior never before caught on tape. A 4-ton hippo leaping as gracefully as a dolphin must be seen to be believed. A spectacular scene in which a hippo confronts an elephant is another awe-inspiring moment from this memorable program.
The Falkland Islands, in the south Atlantic, are a haven for penguins. 5 unique species of penguin breed in this area. Among them are rockhopper penguins, which can scale steep cliffs; gentoo penguins that run across the grassland; and large, 95-centimeter tall king penguins. During the summer while they raise their young, these penguins brave stormy seas in search of food while fighting for their lives against vicious predators such as skuas and South American sea lions. The full power and glory of these penguins is revealed as they struggle to survive throughout summer.
Over the centuries, the emerald green Tara River in Montenegro on the Balkan Peninsula has etched a canyon 1,300 meters deep. The views throughout the Tara Canyon are spectacular. Up to 700 varieties of plants blanket its undulating hills. Herds of chamois live on the steep slopes where no human can venture. They nimbly roam the rocky cliffs, in perpetual danger of falling. Golden eagles circle imperiously overhead, waiting for the chance to strike. Living on the Edge chronicles a year in the life of the magnificent Tara Canyon featuring an up-close look at the chamois that live there.
In Hokkaido,Japan, lies Shiretoko. It's a natural World Heritage Site where the Hokkaido sika deer thrives. In the fall, 150-kilogram stags engage in fierce battles. They clash with each other using their enormous, 70-centimeter long antlers. Only the victors get to mate. Every spring males lose their antlers, their main means of attack and defense. Until new ones grow back, they do their best to survive, just grazing away. Females give birth in early summer. They raise their young taking full advantage of the forest's resources. This program, shot over a period of 1 year, delves into the lives of Hokkaido sika deer living on the Shiretoko peninsula.
In June each year, an intriguing phenomenon occurs in the waters off Melbourne, Australia. A swarm, some 100,000 strong, of great spider crabs covers a stretch of seafloor. They each measure about 20 centimeters wide. Their legs can extend up to 40 centimeters. When faced by predators many of this sprawling phalanx climb upon each other creating towers of writhing crabs over 2 meters high. Using the latest equipment and the help of one scientist, all the details of this mysterious mass gathering were successfully filmed. For the first time, the reason behind this gathering has been explained. This program captures the drama of crabs engaging in fierce battles with predators and risking their lives, all for the purpose of congregating in a single mass.
In the middle of the North American continent, across a prairie stretching 3,000 kilometers from north to south, live the awesome American bison. Also known as the buffalo, these impressive animals are familiar to many from old western movies. Although some 60 million bison once dominated the prairies, they were at one time hunted almost to extinction. This program paints a portrait of the lives of the bison through the changing seasons of this beautiful land.
Hordes of tiny terrors march through the rainforest: they are army ants. Known as the most feared animals in the equatorial forests of Ecuador, they hack and dice any unfortunate prey that gets in their path and bring the remains back to their nest. When they wipe out all food sources around the nest, they start a massive migration in search of a new nest, while carefully protecting their queen. This program introduces the unknown social lives of the army ants.
Killer whales living off of Peninsula Valdes in the Patagonia region of Argentina actually hunt at its beach. They move towards the beach at speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour, hit the shore, and grab unsuspecting South American sea lions. The whales judge the geographic features of the coastland, tide, and wind to pick the best time and place to hunt. NHK's high-speed cameras follow the hunts and reveal the high intelligence and hunting techniques of the killer whales that seem to be taught within the family.
The Tsushima leopard cat is one of the most endangered animals in Japan. Only 60 centimeters long and weighing about four kilograms, it lives exclusively on Tsushima Island in southern Japan. Automatic HD cameras were set up at locations where these cats were known to show up. Running 24 hours a day, the cameras recorded the habits of these rarely seen animals over one year. Viewers experience a leopard cat catching its rodent prey in the middle of the night, another stalking waterfowl in wetlands, even a parent and cub playing together in a rice field. The hitherto unknown life of the very rare Tsushima leopard cat is vividly shown here.
Giant gorillas are remarkable primates. Males routinely weigh more than 200 kilograms. It was once believed that these mighty apes lived only on the ground. But it was discovered that gorillas living in the tropical rainforests of the African nation of Gabon can climb trees as tall as 30 meters in search of leaves and fruit to feed on. This program illuminates many details of gorillas' arboreal lives. Following a large family of gorillas over nine years, touching stories of compassion are revealed, such as the support a young gorilla receives from the rest of its family after losing an arm in a severe accident.
So, you think you know penguins? Experience life in "Penguin Paradise", on South Island, New Zealand, from which the first penguins are supposed to have evolved. Home to unusual penguins like the Little Penguin, and the forest-dwelling crested Fiordland Penguin - it is a penguin wonderland!
The Comb-crested Jacanas are unique birds that use their long toes to walk delicately across lotus leaves and catch underwater prey. This episode, filmed between the rainy season and dry season in Kakadu, follows a father bird raising his chicks through their dramatic and difficult first year.
This story takes place in the vast northern land near the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk in eastern Hokkaido. Taking center stage are two mother Hokkaido red foxes caring for 10 pups. The mothers, who are in fact mother and daughter, each use their strengths and display amazing parental teamwork.
During summer, the Atlantic coast of the northeastern United States attracts huge amounts of fish and wildlife. Particularly interesting are the basking sharks, the world’s second-largest fish, and the leatherback sea turtles, which weigh one ton and are the world’s largest reptile.
In the state of California, south of San Francisco is Monterey Bay. In this bay is a dense underwater forest of giant kelp - the largest on Earth. This forest of 60-meter long kelp provides an ideal habitat for sea otters. This program follows a family of sea otters living in close harmony with this environment, revealing not only how sea otters thrive amongst the kelp but how they also help protect the kelp in turn. The mother spends all of her time and energy raising her newborn. Her young pup learns how to crack open shellfish by imitating her. She desperately tries to protect her young from a seagull attack. These are just some of the amazing moments captured in this rare and intimate animal family portrait.
The Serengeti plain in East Africa is one of the world's most diverse and spectacular wildlife kingdoms. It's home to the bat-eared fox. They feed mainly on insects. With their long, big ears, they can detect the ultrasonic waves that insects emit. Ultrasonic waves usually travel in a straight line from their source, so a fox can determine the exact location the sound is coming from and strike, even if it's underground. During the rainy season, bat-eared foxes raise their young in underground dens. The parents work as a team to confront hyenas, honey badgers and other predators that single out their pups. Relying on their giant ears and tight bonds, bat-eared fox families survive in the Serengeti through their indomitable strength and will.
The forests of Yanbaru on the main Okinawa Island have been called "a time capsule of evolution". The forests' primal environment hosts no native carnivores. Although the environment has undergone changes in recent years, the Okinawa spiny rat, which was believed to be extinct, was rediscovered in 2009 for the first time in 30 years.
Japanese gardens are internationally famed for their beauty and core ideas. Recently they are noted for another function - an ecosystem for living nature. The garden at Honen-in Temple in Kyoto embraces many animals and plants living together in harmony, creating "a mandala of life in a limited space".
On equatorial Borneo Island, it's not only birds and insects that can fly. Using special methods, even reptiles, amphibians and mammals can soar through the air! Photographer Tadashi Shimada takes up the challenge of capturing them in flight.
The forest in Kenting, which extends across southern Taiwan, is a reservoir of tropical biodiversity. The Taiwanese squirrel has a unique behavior where it uses a specific call for each purpose. For example, if a monkey, eagle or snake approaches, they make different sounds to warn other members of the group which type of predator is approaching. Males also use a special sound when courting a female. This episode features Taiwanese squirrels using their diverse range of calls to overcome many challenges of life in the forest.
The Chitwan National Park stretches along the base of the Himalayas. This vast expanse of wetland is home to the endangered Indian rhinoceros. Weighing up to 3 tons, these massive beasts look like they're wearing body armors. Because they spend most of their time hiding deep in the wetlands, sightings are rare. Recent studies, however, have revealed that at a specific time in the summer, they gather in great masses at a single large marsh. With the focus on a mother and her calf, this episode reveals amazing new truths about rhinoceroses, including the secret behind their mass gatherings.
In the Otway Forest, south of Melbourne, Australia, lives the koala. Here, their population density is extremely high, with up to 6 individuals living in a single tree. In this koala paradise, males are amazingly active as they grunt, chase each other on the ground, and engage in intense fights over females. In an interesting twist, on average, koalas are awake for a total of only 4 hours a day. Each day and each night, they repeat the cycle of spending an hour eating eucalyptus leaves and then sleeping for a few hours. Recent studies have led to an interesting discovery regarding the relationship between the eucalyptus trees and the sleepy lives of koalas. This episode features the surprising lives of koalas living in a pristine forest.
The waters of Australia are home to a variety of intriguing octopus and cuttlefish species. One is armed with a special weapon. It's an octopus measuring only 8 cm in length called the blue-ringed octopus. With venom powerful enough to kill humans, this octopus bites and kills prey several times its size. The blue rings on the body are a sign of its deadly poison and are effective to keep away even the most deadly of fish. For years, this octopus was considered invincible, but experts recently discovered it actually has a natural enemy. This episode takes an up-close and personal look at this little octopus cleverly surviving in the hostile sea environment.
The Okinawa woodpecker lives in Okinawa's Yambaru forest. Celebrated in Japan as a "special natural monument," this critically endangered bird is full of surprises. Scientists have discovered not only that Okinawa woodpeckers keep the same partner for life, but also that when it comes to feeding their chicks, females find food on trees and in the canopy whereas males forage for food on the ground. The survival of these woodpeckers depends on the choices they make, and nesting out in the open where sharp-eyed crows are on the prowl can have fatal consequences. For chicks that are preparing to leave the nest, their future depends on them watching and learning from their parents before they go it alone. Survival for the Okinawa woodpecker hangs in the balance.
Mongolia's Altai Mountains are home to one of the world's most endangered animals, the snow leopard. The lives of these big cats are a mystery, but a team of conservationists and filmmakers are uncovering their secrets by following a female named Tenger and her two young cubs as they cover huge distances in purist of their prey. The cubs face a life and death struggle as they learn to navigate the perilous terrain and hunt for themselves. Revealed here are the dangers and drama of the breeding season as these normally reclusive animals come out of hiding and track each other down, and the tense relationship with the local nomads whose livestock often become the snow leopards' prey.
During the winter months, Kushiro Marshland in eastern Hokkaido, Japan, is home to the celebrated red-crowned crane or "tancho". As temperatures plunge, these cranes flock to the marshland where an underground spring provides warmth and prevents the water from freezing, and the local people provide food to nurture the birds back from the brink of extinction. These mass gatherings are fraught affairs with limited space and predators close by, but as winter progresses one of nature's most spectacular courtship rituals begins where courting birds mirror each other's movements in graceful, spellbinding displays that can last for days. Against the ever-changing backdrop of Japan's great marshland, a love story unfolds.
