S01 Episode 1
Arriving
David Attenborough's series exploring the living world. Looking at birth, and showing how, from egg-laying to live-bearing, animals employ an extraordinary variety of techniques to disperse their offspring.
48 mins · Thu, 4 Oct 1990
S01 Episode 2
Growing Up
From creches of bats to elephant babysitters, from chimpanzee games to protective lace bugs - nature's answers are as varied as those in human societies.
48 mins · Thu, 11 Oct 1990
S01 Episode 3
Finding Food
David Attenborough discovers that the quest for food in the animal kingdom is a devious business requiring exploitation and theft. While plants try to defend themselves from unwelcome visitors, animals have devised numerous ways to break down the defences.
49 mins · Thu, 18 Oct 1990
S01 Episode 4
Hunting and Escaping
David Attenborough looks at the life-and-death duels which are fought daily in the wild, using every conceivable trick: traps and lures, warnings and deception, ambush and camouflage.
49 mins · Thu, 25 Oct 1990
S01 Episode 5
Finding the Way
Sir David looks at how creatures find their way around the earth with an accuracy that man has only recently achieved. Some creatures use echolocation to navigate, including river dolphins, while others, such as the electric eel, use electric fields. The albatross can travel over a thousand kilometres while hunting.
48 mins · Thu, 1 Nov 1990
S01 Episode 6
Home Making
David Attenborough looks at how animals build their homes, revealing how, whether building a simple sandy burrow or a massive termite city, they manage to keep out the elements and unwanted visitors. We see the tiny nest of the hermit hummingbird and the dams of beavers, before David enters a termite's mound himself.
49 mins · Thu, 8 Nov 1990
S01 Episode 7
Living Together
David Attenborough looks at how, for better or worse, many animals form surprising partnerships. Birds rid larger animals of itchy hangers-on, hermit crabs enlist stinging anemones to repel predatory octopuses, and others use their hosts in less benign ways.
49 mins · Thu, 15 Nov 1990
S01 Episode 8
Fighting
David Attenborough examines the widespread aggression over food, territory, or mates in animals. He shows how the mantis shrimp packs a punch, how wolves and big cats tell opponents they're annoyed, and how giraffes use their long necks as weapons.
49 mins · Thu, 22 Nov 1990
S01 Episode 9
Friends and Rivals
David Attenborough examines how, in the animal kingdom, recognising friends and respecting the power of rivals is vital. For baboons it's not how big they are, but who they know that counts, while chickens need to know their place in the farmyard pecking-order. Vampire bats have an interesting way of helping out their friends, while leafcutter ants operate their own caste system.
47 mins · Thu, 29 Nov 1990
S01 Episode 10
Talking to Strangers
The love song of a fish keeps the inhabitants around San Francisco Bay awake, the river banks in Malaysia teem with millions of tiny beetles, and the world's loudest birds scream through the rainforest. David also swims with dolphins, whose ultrasonic clicks are the closest the animal world comes to human language.
49 mins · Thu, 6 Dec 1990
S01 Episode 11
Courting
David Attenborough examines courtship rituals in the animal kingdom. Like humans, animals can become a little crazy when looking for a mate, but stakes are high - successful courtship means the chance to become a parent.
48 mins · Thu, 13 Dec 1990
S01 Episode 12
Continuing the Line
A look at the lengths some creatures will go to in order to make babies - to continue the line by passing on genes is the ultimate triumph. Some creatures, such as the tarantula spider, face more difficulties than others, while mating for life is rare outside of the human species.
49 mins · Thu, 20 Dec 1990
