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The Dragon Chronicles: Introduction

tanner vea — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:59:28 +0000

As a young boy, renowned reptile expert and conservationist Romulus (”Rom”) Whitaker dreamed of finding dragons. Years later, the successful herpetologist decided to set out to discover the real-life origins of these mythical monsters.

Rom’s snake park and crocodile bank in India, where he works to conserve and breed reptiles in the wild, were the first of their kind when he created them. Now he travels the world in search of modern day dragons. In the caves of Slovenia, he encounters the peculiar creature known as the olm, a cave-dwelling blind salamander once believed to be a baby dragon. In the rainforests of India’s Western Ghats, Whitaker handles flying lizards, belonging to the species called Draco. When threatened or courting, the males extend the bright yellow flaps on their necks. Whitaker captures one and gently stretches out its amazing wings. Finally, Rom’s quest leads him to Indonesia’s Komodo Island, where he sees a wild Komodo dragon for the first time.

The Dragon Chronicles follows Rom as he journeys around the world, reimagining the lines between fact and fantasy, in search of the fabled beasts’ contemporary counterparts.

The Dragon Chronicles premieres Sunday, January 11 on PBS (check local listings).

To order a copy of The Dragon Chronicles, please visit the NATURE Shop.

Photo © WNET.ORG/Icon Films

The Cheetah Orphans: Introduction

admin — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:00:31 +0000

Veteran wildlife filmmaker Simon King takes on a new role in The Cheetah Orphans — that of surrogate mother. After their cheetah mother is killed by a lion, Simon assumes the parenting responsibilities for the cubs, Toki and Sambu — a life changing experience that Simon describes as “privileged, humbling and enriching.”

Hand-rearing the brothers, teaching them the life skills cheetahs need to survive, and observing the cubs as they pass through key stages of their development, Simon’s efforts to rehabilitate the cheetahs and reintroduce them to the world of wild cheetahs is filled with delight but also sadness. Simon becomes more deeply attached to the orphans, making difficult, yet critical decisions that determine their fate. When tragedy strikes, Simon is overcome with emotion, but has to make clear decisions for the welfare of Toki.

To order a copy of The Cheetah Orphans, please visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for The Cheetah Orphans was originally posted November 2007.

Fellowship of the Whales: Introduction

tanner vea — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:23:50 +0000

In Hawaii, where new land is born as volcanic rock, another birth takes place. A baby humpback enters the world and joins the 3,000 or more whales that congregate in the warm waters off Hawaii each winter to mate and give birth. This is the story of her first year of life. Over twelve months she will learn many skills from her mother, and eventually they will make the several-thousand-mile journey together to Alaska’s southeast coast.

Humpbacks travel between Hawaii and Alaska every year, guided by their internal compass. The krill-rich waters of Alaska’s Alexander Archipelago are the whales’ summer feeding grounds, an environment very different from the calving grounds they have left behind in Hawaii. Here, more than the water temperature changes, the behavior of the whales changes, as well. While fiercely competitive in the breeding season in Hawaii, fighting for mates and protecting young, the opposite is true in Alaska. Whales cooperate, working in teams to gather food in the most efficient way possible. When the summer ends and the food is gone, mother and baby will head back to Hawaii again.

The young humpback calf has only a year to learn the subtleties of whale society before she is left by her mother to continue her education on her own, learning from observation and experience. It’s an incredible journey between two strikingly different environments that reveals the true complexity of the fellowship of the whales.

NATURE’s Fellowship of the Whales premieres Sunday, November 15 at 8pm (check local listings).

Black Mamba: Introduction

tanner vea — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 13:49:21 +0000

The black mamba is Africa’s deadliest snake. Untreated, its bite has a fatality rate of 100 percent, making it a killer among killers on a continent where it is thought that nearly 20,000 people die of snake bites each year, and the residents of Swaziland in southern Africa have suffered losses for generations. With essentially no access to anti-venom, many people turn to traditional healers for help, but their herbal remedies always fail, leaving Swazis feeling fearful and defenseless against one of their nation’s most infamous killers.

Swaziland resident Clifton Koen doesn’t really care for snakes, but his wife, Thea Litschka-Koen, is crazy about them. With her husband’s sometimes reluctant help, she has endeavored to change attitudes about black mambas and other snakes found in the area. In addition to starting the nation’s only reptile park, devoted to educating the public and providing a refuge for the animals, the two have become the region’s go-to experts for safe, humane snake removal from homes, schools, resorts and workplaces. In the course of catching and relocating any number of snakes per day, Thea and Clifton give impromptu lessons about the snakes, covering fact and fiction, and do their best to prevent any unnecessary casualties – human or reptile.

In addition to their other efforts, Thea and Clifton developed a program designed to track black mambas in the wild for the first time and to gain new insights into their behavior. With the help of a snake expert from Johannesburg, they were able to surgically insert radio transmitters in a number of captured black mambas, allowing them to follow the snakes after their release. If their research pays off, they may be able to show that their relocations are working, successfully removing snakes from residential areas for the long term, and thereby bringing some relief to the locals and some respite for the snakes.

NATURE’s Black Mamba premieres Sunday, November 8 at 8pm (check local listings).

Photo by Andrew Yarme © Tigress Productions

Born Wild: The First Days of Life: Introduction

tanner vea — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:45:29 +0000

Enter the Baby Animal Photo Contest for a chance to win this program on DVD!

Across the animal kingdom, some of the most essential lessons — and the most extreme challenges — occur in the first moments of life. From ostrich to orangutan, egg sac to live birth, infanticide to matricide, the diversity of behaviors between parent and progeny is as great as the diversity of life on our planet.

As animal parents struggle to help their young survive their first days in the wild, they face seemingly insurmountable odds. Penguins travel literally the ends of the Earth to protect their infants, facing Antarctic blizzards while they incubate their eggs. Amaurobius spider mothers offer their own bodies for their newborns to feast on. Orangutan mothers face up to eight years of single parenthood raising their infants.

Understandably, the process of birthing and raising young is one of the most stressful experiences an animal can endure. And it is in these very trials that the most extraordinary glimpses of life in the wild come to light.

NATURE’s Born Wild: The First Days of Life premieres Sunday, November 1 at 8pm (check local listings).

Photo © Philippe Clement

Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions: Introduction

tanner vea — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:49:46 +0000

Acclaimed wildlife filmmaker Ginger Kathrens has been filming the life of the remarkable wild stallion, Cloud, since the day of his birth in 1995, allowing NATURE viewers to watch as he grew from tiny foal to the powerful leader of the largest band of wild horses in the Arrowhead Mountains that he is today. Along the way, much has been learned about wild horse society and the importance of family and loyalty in their dangerous and unpredictable world.

In this chapter of his story, Cloud is one of two fathers who bring up each other’s sons. Bolder is Cloud’s son by birth – beautiful and golden, but raised by Shaman, a rival band stallion. Flint, dark and determined, was sired by Shaman, but became Cloud’s adopted son. The two sons mature and progress from playful youths into valid contenders for mares and bands of their own. Will one of them rise to take Cloud’s place?

This poignant and engrossing chronicle explores the challenges presented not only by ambitious sons, but also by the harsh mountain weather, deadly mountain lion attacks, and the changing relationships within and between bands of wild horses in the mountains.

The film also touches upon the effect of the on-going efforts of the Bureau of Land Management (the BLM) to administer a program of population control, including infertility drugs and bait trapping, to remove animals from the mountains. It is yet another hurdle that Cloud and his family and the rest of the horses in the Arrowheads must overcome in the day-to-day efforts to survive in the wilderness.

Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions premieres Sunday, October 25 (check local listings).

You can follow the developments of Cloud’s family, along with updates about the BLM measures to control horse population at the Cloud Blog.

If you missed the first two installments, watch Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies and Cloud’s Legacy: The Wild Stallion Returns online.

Rhinoceros: Introduction

admin — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:47:18 +0000

Among the most ancient of animals, rhinoceroses thrived for millions of years before meeting their most deadly enemy: humans.

During the past century, the rhinos of Africa and Asia have been pushed out of their habitats and hunted nearly to extinction for their horns, which are believed — erroneously — to possess healing properties. Now, thanks to the efforts of conservationists and scientists, the rhinos are on their way back.

With NATURE’S Rhinoceros, wildlife filmmaker Nigel Marven brings you face-to-face with the world’s five species of rhino, each struggling, with varying degrees of success, for their continued survival. For some rhinos, the future may rely on breeding programs, such as at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens, where Sumatran rhinoceros Emi is now nearing the end of her third successful pregnancy, having already given birth to Andalas and Suci, the only two Sumatran rhinos ever to be born in captivity.

Raptor Force: Introduction

admin — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 14:30:43 +0000

NATURE takes flight on an exhilarating ride with elite winged predators in Raptor Force.

Humans have had a unique relationship with raptors, nature’s aerial killing machines, for more than four thousand years, first through the ancient sport of falconry, and, more recently, as scientists and engineers have turned to these mighty birds — from golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, and turkey vultures, to great gray owls and the peregrine falcon — as the inspiration for the latest in aircraft design. Using the tricks and tactics of raptors as their model, engineers have devised fighter jets with unprecedented maneuverability and stealth.

In Raptor Force, you’ll learn the secrets of these astonishing aerialists, and how they’ve mastered, more than any other type of bird, the art of soaring. And with the help of engineer and falconer Rob MacIntyre’s ingenious miniature television station — a camera, transmitter, and battery small enough to be harnessed onto the backs of raptors — you’ll see for yourself what it’s like to fly with these deadly aces.

Online content for Raptor Force was originally posted February 2007.

To order a copy of Raptor Force, please visit the NATURE Shop.

Supersize Crocs: Introduction

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 14:41:26 +0000

Crocodiles instill fear in most people at any size. But crocodile conservationist, Romulus Whitaker’s fear is that the most colossal of these creatures might no longer exist. Rom suspects that human hunting may have selectively killed off crocs surpassing 20 feet in length. A sad fact considering the sophisticated adaptations and body design of crocodiles have helped them outlast even dinosaurs.

In Supersize Crocs, Rom takes viewers along as he sets off on his own hunt to find the last of the leviathans. Venturing to Ethiopia’s Lake Chamo, the riverbanks of India’s northern border with Nepal, and to the Adelaide River of Australian outback, Rom hits the hotspots of supersize croc habitats as he searches for signs of life among the brackish waters. Rom will share with viewers his insight and fascination with the cryptic world of crocs. Along the way, viewers will learn about ancient croc survival skills as well as how crocs are ideally designed to be the most successful freshwater predator.

Will he find his supersize croc among the three titans of the croc world: the Nile crocodiles, saltwater crocodiles and gharials? Tune in to find out.

To order a copy of Supersize Crocs, please visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for Supersize Crocs was originally posted February 2007.

A Mystery in Alaska: Introduction

admin — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:36:04 +0000

Unexplained declines in many wildlife species have created A Mystery in Alaska.

The Steller’s sea lions that populate the Alaskan coastline are powerful, playful, and sometimes rowdy creatures who bump and jostle each other on land but acquire a sublime gracefulness in the water. They are also the subject of a strange and tragic mystery: Steller’s sea lions are rapidly disappearing from one of the last great wildlife strongholds of the world, and no one knows why.

Naturalist filmmaker Shane Moore, who has been working in the Alaskan wilderness for much of the past 10 years, brings a sense of urgency and new understanding to this puzzle in A Mystery in Alaska.

As scientists and environmentalists race the clock to find answers, pressure has been growing on Alaska’s fishing industry to suspend most of its pollock fishing, on the suspicion that it is robbing Steller’s sea lions of an important source of food. But new research illustrated in this film shows that a broad combination of factors could be responsible for the sea lions’ plight.

To order a copy of A Mystery in Alaska, visit the NATURE Shop.

Online content for A Mystery in Alaska was originally posted May 2003.