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Nature Season 27 Episodes
Season 27 Episode Guide
13 Episodes 2008 - 2009
Episode 1
White Falcon, White Wolf
Sun, Oct 26, 2008 57 mins
The 27th-season opener focuses on gyrfalcons, wolves and other denizens of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic, where winter lasts nine months. Included: raising offspring in a harsh environment.
Episode 2
Clever Monkeys
Mon, Nov 10, 2008 57 mins
A look at monkeys and their sophisticated societies. Included: the capuchins of Costa Rica, which make use of an antiseptic plant to ward off insects; African baboons, which suffer from stress and depression; diverse breeds that move together through the jungle canopy and can understand each other's alarm calls.
Episode 3
American Eagle
Sun, Nov 16, 2008 57 mins
A year in the life of bald eagles. The majestic creatures can sport a wingspan of up to 8 feet, and are strong enough to carry away a deer fawn.
Episode 4
The Wolf That Changed America
Sun, Nov 23, 2008 57 mins
The story of how the interaction between a wolf, Lobo, and naturalist Ernest Thompson Seton (1860-1946) helped lead to the national park system and the creation of the Boy Scouts of America. Archival footage and reenactments drawn from Seton's writings detail how, in 1893, Seton set out to kill the leader of a wolf clan in New Mexico. The experience led him to promote hunting restrictions and anti-poaching measures, advocate for a national-park system and, eventually, help found the Boy Scouts.
Episode 5
The Dragon Chronicles
Sun, Jan 11, 2009 57 mins
Reptile expert Romulus Whitaker searches for the real-life inspirations for the mythical dragons of yore. The journey takes him to Slovenia, where he finds cave-dwelling salamanders called olms that were once believed to be baby dragons; to India's Western Ghats, where he encounters flying lizards; and to Indonesia's Komodo Island, where he observes wild Komodo dragons.
Episode 6
Is That Skunk?
Sun, Jan 25, 2009 57 mins
The intriguing world of skunks is explored. Here, the cute---if odorous---mammals are tracked in California, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Ohio and Martha's Vineyard to show how they feed, forage, mate and raise babies. The secret to their stinky defense system is also explained.
Episode 7
Drakensberg: Barrier of Spears
Sun, Feb 8, 2009 57 mins
The challenges facing the wildlife of Africa's 11,000-ft.-high Drakensberg Mountains are explored. Every spring, rain destroys the grasslands at the base, sending animals up cliffs of volcanic rock in search of the food found on the plateau. Included: baboons, whose agility makes the journey easier that it is for most; elands, whose spindly antelope legs make it a difficult trip.
Episode 8
Why We Love Cats and Dogs
Sun, Feb 15, 2009 57 mins
Why people adopt cats and dogs and, in many instances, see them as furry pals, family members and/or soul mates. Included: interviews with animal behaviorists, who shed light on the types of relationships people have with pets, and cat and dog owners, who discuss their experiences with their four-legged friends. Also: a theory on the biological connection between humans and their cats or dogs; the little-known theory that cats are as trainable as dogs.
Episode 9
Kilauea: Mountain of Fire
Sun, Mar 29, 2009 60 mins
Kilauea, an active volcano on Hawaii's Big Island that's believed to be about 100,000 years old, is examined. It's been spewing lava continuously since 1983, creating 500-plus acres of new land and destroying more than 200 homes. The episode highlights the LIDAR, a 3-D-imaging device scientists use to uncover the volcano's hydraulics, explores the pockets of life known as kipukas (parcels of land surrounded by lava flows), and features footage of lava entering the ocean.
Episode 10
Frogs: The Thin Green Line
Sun, Apr 5, 2009 57 mins
An examination of the extinction threat faced by frogs, which have hopped on Earth for some 250 million years and are a crucial cog in the ecosystem. Scientists believe they've pinpointed a cause for the loss of many of the amphibians: the chytrid fungus, which flourishes in high altitudes. Unfortunately, they don't know how to combat it. Included: an isolated forest in Panama that has yet to be touched by the fungus, thus enabling frogs to live and thrive as they have for eons.
Episode 11
The Loneliest Animals
Sun, Apr 19, 2009 57 mins
Efforts to preserve endangered species are detailed. Among the featured creatures is Lonesome George, a giant Galapagos tortoise that's the last of its subspecies; the only known male and female Yangtze rafetus turtles; a Sumatran rhino from the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary that's paired with a Cincinnati Zoo-born Sumatran rhino; the once near-extinct black-footed ferret, which is being reintroduced into northern Colorado; and lemurs native to Madagascar that were born at Duke University.
Episode 12
Eagles of Mull
Sun, May 3, 2009 57 mins
Wildlife filmmaker Gordon Buchanan returns to his home, the Scottish isle of Mull, to explore the creatures and landscapes found there. Among the sights are white-tailed sea eagles, which have 8-foot wingspans, the smaller golden eagles, bottle-nosed dolphins, basking sharks, minke whales and a mother otter and its cubs.
Episode 13
Victoria Falls
Sun, May 17, 2009 57 mins
The world's largest waterfall, Victoria Falls, is explored through the eyes of a 74-year-old fisherman who's lived near the 350-foot wonder, located on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, for all of his life. During the rainy season (November to April), much of the wildlife that depend on the river for subsistence dissipate into the savanna. The rest of the year, however, it attracts baboons, eagles, elephants, hippos, kingfishers and quelea finches, among other creatures.