Episode list

Nature

Echo: An Elephant to Remember
Sat, Oct 16, 2010
  • S29.E2
  • Echo: An Elephant to Remember
Echo, the remarkable matriarch of a family of elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park, was most studied elephant in the world, the subject of several books and documentaries, including two NATURE films. For nearly four decades, elephant expert Cynthia Moss, and award-winning filmmaker Martyn Colbeck were on hand to record the trials and triumphs of Echo and her family, documenting the intense loyalties and deep caring that are so fundamental to all elephants, creating a moving record of a life we all can share. Echo died of natural causes at the age of 65 in May of 2009, leaving the family she had cared for and guided for so long to face the worst drought ever recorded in Amboseli on their own. It was a final test of the years of Echo's leadership. Had she taught them all they would need to survive without her? Could her wisdom continue to provide for them even after her death? With rich archival footage and warm recollections, Moss and Colbeck share their memories of Echo and her family as they follow the fortunes of Echo's family during the drought. Echo is shown caring for her newborn son, Ely, who overcame the crippling condition he was born with thanks to her patience and extraordinary perseverance. Echo is also shown making a heartbreaking decision to abandon her mortally-wounded daughter, Erin, in order to save Erin's young calf, Email. Moss and Colbeck have especially fond memories of Echo's mischievous baby daughter, Ebony, whose playful nature was so endearing to them both. And they marvel as they recall Echo's rescue of Ebony when she was kidnapped by a rival clan, remembering it as one of the defining moments of her leadership. Happily, Echo's legacy lives on. Though other elephant families suffer devastating losses, her family is able to survive the drought, retaining her wisdom for future generations, keeping her memory alive.
8.3 /10
Cuba: The Accidental Eden
Cuba may have been restricted politically and economically for the past 50 years. but at the same time, the island became a safe haven for rare and intriguing animals. What will the future bring to this untouched wilderness?
7.4 /10
Echo: An Elephant to Remember
Echo, the remarkable matriarch of a family of elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park, was most studied elephant in the world, the subject of several books and documentaries, including two NATURE films. For nearly four decades, elephant expert Cynthia Moss, and award-winning filmmaker Martyn Colbeck were on hand to record the trials and triumphs of Echo and her family, documenting the intense loyalties and deep caring that are so fundamental to all elephants, creating a moving record of a life we all can share. Echo died of natural causes at the age of 65 in May of 2009, leaving the family she had cared for and guided for so long to face the worst drought ever recorded in Amboseli on their own. It was a final test of the years of Echo's leadership. Had she taught them all they would need to survive without her? Could her wisdom continue to provide for them even after her death? With rich archival footage and warm recollections, Moss and Colbeck share their memories of Echo and her family as they follow the fortunes of Echo's family during the drought. Echo is shown caring for her newborn son, Ely, who overcame the crippling condition he was born with thanks to her patience and extraordinary perseverance. Echo is also shown making a heartbreaking decision to abandon her mortally-wounded daughter, Erin, in order to save Erin's young calf, Email. Moss and Colbeck have especially fond memories of Echo's mischievous baby daughter, Ebony, whose playful nature was so endearing to them both. And they marvel as they recall Echo's rescue of Ebony when she was kidnapped by a rival clan, remembering it as one of the defining moments of her leadership. Happily, Echo's legacy lives on. Though other elephant families suffer devastating losses, her family is able to survive the drought, retaining her wisdom for future generations, keeping her memory alive.
8.3 /10
A Murder of Crows
Although cultures around the world may regard the crow as a scavenger, bad omen, or simply a nuisance, this bad reputation might overshadow what could be regarded as the crow's most striking characteristic - its intelligence.
7.9 /10
Braving Iraq

Sat, Nov 06, 2010
Can man and animal live again in what remains one of the most politically troubled and dangerous places on Earth?
8.1 /10
Wolverine: Chasing the Phantom
We go deep into the secretive world of wolverines - the largest and least known members of the weasel family. While legend paints them as solitary, bloodthirsty killers, a new image of the wolverine is just beginning to emerge, one that is far more complex than their reputation suggests. The little demons may be the gluttonous gluttons that their scientific name implies, but they are also much more family-oriented than anyone would have guessed.
8.2 /10
The Himalayas

Sat, Feb 12, 2011
Documentary looking at the wildlife of the most stunning mountain range in the world, home to snow leopards, Himalayan wolves and Tibetan bears.
8.3 /10
Broken Tail: A Tiger's Last Journey
One day, Broken Tail, the tiger, simply disappeared. A year later, there's news that Broken Tail was killed by a train, 100 miles away from Ranthambhore. This raised a question: how did Broken Tail travel so far and why did he leave?
7.5 /10
Outback Pelicans
The show about one of the largest predatory birds, Pelican. It shows the life cycle of the Australian pelicans. Many of whom migrates in the arid, desolate and dry land of Australia's famous outback & others which stays on the shores, near sydney. Beautiful show with capturing music and mesmerizing cinematography.
7.9 /10
Salmon: Running the Gauntlet
This film investigates the parallel stories of collapsing Pacific salmon populations and how biologists and engineers have become instruments in audacious experiments to replicate every stage of the fish's life cycle. Each of our desperate efforts to save salmon has involved replacing their natural cycle of reproduction and death with a radically manipulated life history. Our once great runs of salmon are now conceived in laboratories, raised in tanks, driven in trucks, and farmed in pens. Here we go beyond the ongoing debate over how to save an endangered species.
8 /10
Bears of the Last Frontier: City of Bears
Chris Morgan and Joe Pontecorvo set up camp at a remote spot in the heart of Alaskan wilderness, alongside the largest concentration of grizzlies in the world. It is June in the Alaska Peninsula. The sun sets well into night and bears are taking advantage of the long days to feed, mate, and raise new cubs. Morgan tracks their progress as they feast on the riches of the season and re-establish the complex hierarchical social dynamics of bear society. Along the way, he experiences close encounters with bears, observing brutal battles among males during mating season as well as tender moments between a grizzly mom and her cubs.
8.1 /10
Bears of the Last Frontier: The Road North
Chris Morgan explores the world of black bears caught in the crossroads of urban development in Anchorage and the wilderness. This is a new normal for bears and for their human neighbors. Some bears are so comfortable living in urban surroundings that their primary habitat is a golf course. In residential areas, bears frequently raid garbage bins and bird-feeders for easy snacks. But these behaviors are less than ideal for bears and residents alike. Morgan heads north out of Anchorage to Denali National Park, where the mountains loom over treeless plains and bears get by on a diet of thousands of berries a day. The grizzlies share the enormous park with foxes, wolves and moose - and with one intrepid bear biologist and his team. Morgan continues his journey north on a bone-shaking, 610-mile motorcycle journey from Denali to Prudhoe Bay along the only Alaskan highway to reach the Arctic. Prudhoe Bay, a once pristine area at the edge of the Arctic Ocean, has been changed forever by the oil industry.
7.7 /10
Bears of the Last Frontier: Arctic Wanderers
Chris Morgan travels to the far north of Alaska, the tiny North Slope town of Kaktovik. It's early November and winter is coming on. But each year, the polar bears struggle for extended periods on dwindling fat reserves, waiting for the opportunity to hunt on sea ice that takes longer to freeze. In early spring, Morgan joins local hunters in Barrow, the northernmost city in Alaska, as they go out on their own hunts, facing some of the same challenges as the bears. In late spring, Morgan travels to the North Slope of the Brooks Range, where countless thousands of caribou cover the ground for miles. The grizzlies are waiting for them, as they have for thousands of years.
7.9 /10

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