Nature's Great Events

2009 • BBC

4.6

11 reviews

Eligible

Season 1 episodes (6)

1 The Great Melt

2/11/09

The summer melt of Arctic ice provides opportunities for millions of animals, including narwhal, beluga whales, families of Arctic foxes and vast colonies of seabirds. But for polar bears it's the toughest time of year. The melting ice makes it harder for them to hunt and threatens their survival. In the river shallows hundreds of Beluga whales gather to rub themselves on smooth pebbles in one of the most bizarre summer spectacles. While Guillemot chicks take their first flights from precipitous sea cliff nests to the sea 300 metres below.

2 The Great Salmon Run

2/18/09

A spectacular natural event takes place in North America every year as hundreds of millions of salmon return from the Pacific Ocean to the mountain streams where they were born. The salmon must overcome fierce torrents and leap over waterfalls as they make their way upstream. The great run not only provides food for bears, but for killer whales, wolves, bald eagles and even for the forest itself. A family of bears is filmed from the air as they make a treacherous journey to the coast to await the return of the salmon.

3 The Great Migration

2/25/09

Each year over a million wildebeest and zebra invade the Serengeti grasslands making it a paradise for the predators that live there. But what happens when the herds move off again? We follow the moving story of one lion family's struggle to survive until the return of the great migration. The Ntudu pride has seven cubs and is already suffering as the wildebeest leave to find fresh pastures. As weeks turn to months, the pride members become more emaciated and frailer. Then finally as the herds begin to return, the plains reveal one final secret.

4 The Great Tide

3/4/09

A mighty army of dolphins, sharks, whales, seals and gannets hunt down billions of sardines along South Africa's east coast each winter. This is the Sardine Run: an underwater armageddon, the greatest gathering of predators anywhere on the planet, and the most spectacular event in the world's oceans. Pioneering a unique boat stabilised camera mount for surface filming, the crew capture all the high octane action as the predators compete for sardines, filmed with aerial, underwater and above water cameras.

5 The Great Flood

3/11/09

The Great Flood in the Okavango turns 4 000 square miles of arid plains into a beautiful wetland. Elephant mothers guide their families on an epic trek across the harsh Kalahari desert towards it, using their trunks to siphon fresh water from stagnant pools along the way. Hippos battle for territory, as the magical water draws in thousands of buffalo and birds, and vast clouds of dragonflies. As the flood finally reaches its peak, elephants and buffalo, near the end of their epic trek across the desert, face the final gauntlet of a hungry pride of lions.

6 The Great Feast

3/18/09

Every summer in the seas off Alaska humpback whales, sea lions and killer whales depend on an explosion of plant life, the plankton bloom. It transforms these seas into the richest on Earth. But will these animals survive to enjoy the great feast? Filmed from the surface, underwater and - for the first time - from the air, we reveal how giant the humpback whales can catch a tonne of fish every day.

About this show

Witness the planet's most breathtaking natural events, and follow the dramatic wildlife stories behind them. Combining epic cinematography with all the emotion, intimacy and storytelling of a wildlife diary, this series charts the effects of global climatic phenomena which transform entire landscapes, drawing in thousands of animals and determining their fate. Each episode is set in a different part of the world - from the great flood of the Okavango delta to the plankton blooms of the Pacific Ocean, and from the Indian monsoon to the race for survival triggered by the annual Arctic melt - and shows how immense natural forces, often starting thousands of miles away, drive a chain reaction that culminates in a spectacular wildlife event. For some animals, it's a window of opportunity, but for others, it's the most dangerous time of their lives. Follow their emotional, involving stories to a dramatic climax where their fate will be revealed.

Ratings and reviews

4.6

11 reviews

delphid delper

May 3, 2018

I highly recommend this episode to all dolphin lovers out there because you get to see the world's most beautiful dolphin species hunting in large super pods feeding alongside other predators

Jenna Louise

March 20, 2020

Another excellent show. I could sit and watch these documentaries all day long and I still wouldn't be bored with watching them

Simple Boy

October 24, 2015

This gives us a glimpse of what the natural world looks like, a must watch for everyone.

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