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. This film premiered November 1, 2009.
Photo © Philippe Clement
The clip with the lemur mother exhibiting conscious choice and returning again and again to her abandoned baby was phenomenal. It reminded me of the abortion debate and the argument that “it doesn’t happen in nature”. Well, it wasn’t quite abortion, but the mother still made a choice between risking her own survival (and consequently that of the baby’s) and leaving the baby to die.
I want to purchase the entire episode just for that clip.
People like Mark, as noted above, are a pain in the hindparts. Nature is beautiful and is viewed by humans to give pleasure. I can’t help to think that with an attitude like Marks, he cannot receive or give pleasure. Pity, what a loss. God gave us nature for beauty. food, and warmth. Maybe Mark would be better off if he counted his blessings and not dwell on things he appears to think dribble. Hey Mark, turn you TV onto something more of your liking and not bother us with your opinion.
The greatest disservice has been done to human society in not recognizing itself as a part of the animal kingdom that inhabits the earth, enough to prevent humans from assuming their rightful place as natural animals within the great scheme of reproduction for sustainable life. The misinterpretation of mankind has robbed men of their instinctive understanding of their role in the process (mostly, by distancing them from it), and burdened women by the fictional presumption that human infants do not need 24/7 maternal care – that it is possible to find substitutes willing and capable to undertake those essential duties.
Until humans can recognize within themselves their instinctive role in the development of humanity, the world will continue to frustrate itself with lack of priorities sufficient to produce conflict, violence, and wars.
Reproduction is and has always been rocket science, however brief the period might be for any particular couple. In failing to recognize that vulnerable period of reproductive beginnings and weaning processes, governments bring far greater harm to society and to commerce than is necessary. Making the decision for success should be a human prerogative of a free people with intellect and for general purpose – to provide the scheme within which both reproduction and production and management of resources are both valuable and idealistic, or face extinction.
Saw it the other night, what an amazing program. Watching the penguins grieve was one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen. I have worked with higher primates on several occasions and have observed some truly amazing behaviors myself.
Concur that Mark is a tool.
The primates in to boat, Mom paddling, was sorta jaw dropping.
Can’t believe that no one arrested those elephants for child abuse. Couldn’t believe what I was seeing when that poor little guy kept getting pushed over or kicked in the face!
I, too, could not believe what I was seeing! It was heartbreaking to see the little elephant get kicked by the other elephants. It was even more heartbreaking to see the male lions invade a pride, wounding the dominate lion and driving him away, then killing the baby lions. The look in the mother lion’s eyes said it all. You could see the horror and the anger in her face. But the kicker was the little baby lemur, left to die alone, as the mother struggled with her decision to stay with her weak baby or hurry and join the departing pack. I’m 70 years old. I’ve always been very sensitive. I can only imagine how I would have reacted had I been exposed to REAL NATURE at a young impressionable age. Thank God, I wasn’t. Animals were warm and cuddly. They didn’t kill each other. We had no TV to see these terrible images. I’m writing this to ask parents, please don’t let your young children watch these shows. All the PBS nature shows seem to insist on including the violent side of nature. Thanks to improved technology, we can now hear the crunch of breaking bones, and hear the plaintive cries of an animal as it is being killed. Why the producers seem to think we NEED to see and hear the morbid details of nature in action, is something I would like explained. I think that this kind of programming desensitizes people, and this is one reason why we have soldiers killing civilians in wartime without any remorse. Or why people today accept homelessness as a “fact of life” instead of actually caring about it enough to try to change things. Or why we turn our backs on the poor. And why we treat animals with cruelty [factory farms, puppy mills, etc.] It is the Extreme Paradox that nature is beautiful and life is wonderful. There is beauty all around us, yet underneath it all, killing is constant. Thankfully, most of the time we forget the killing part, and can immerse ourselves in the beautiful peaceful side of Nature.
I’m with you, Catherine. I was waiting for Masterpiece and caught the tail end of this show. I saw the cute lion cubs and then OMG did he just kill them?!!! I love nature, and I know it is harsh, but I really can’t take these shows. I so hope the photographers rescued the little lemur rather than let him die there. What would be the harm in that? I left a comment with the producers and maybe I’ll find out.
What a wonderful TRUE reflection of life. Life is living and dying, joy and sorrow. To keep our children from this reality is a great dis-service. Some choices in life are difficult to make and harder to understand why they were made. God’s creation is awsome and beyond the scope of man’s understanding. Thank you for this most moving look into Nature and the connection we, as humans, fit into it.
loved this show last night, watched it with my daughter who I really want to grow up knowing birth is normal and natural. she was with us when her brother was born at home and I don’t want her to forget.
Judging by the initial comments made over a year ago, I’m a late bloomer in expressing my opinion. I first seen this episode tonight. It was fascinating learning the various parenting styles of the infinite species in the animal kingdom. The maternal spider allowing her young to eat her alive was disturbing and yet intriguing as was the idea that paternal lion males kill lion cubs if they neither recognize them as their own or when they pose a threat to them after the incoming males take over a pride of lions. I don’t subscribe to the assessment of animals by humans which is then followed by the condemnation of their behaviors, most of which is guided by their genes, but I just wanted to remark how engaged this episode stimulated me. I will definitely be making a contribution to PBS.
I caught just some of the show and had to turn the TV off because I just starting crying and crying (a loud wail) about the baby lemur. It was extremely upsetting to me and ruined what was starting out to be a wonderful and peaceful morning. I know nature can be beautiful AND cruel but sometimes I just need to take a break from reality. I’m sorry I turned the TV on. Lots of stress hormones just released into my system and now I need to decompress again. I hope to god that the producers were kind enough to save the baby lemur.
Anyone know when the next “Born to be Wild” is to be showing on the nature chanell?
To the stage and well crafted, I enjoy for the details
JustTTTTTTT Sooooooo Sooooooooooo CutEE BabieS.I LovE TheM AllLLL…..
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Paula, Nicely done! You really have shown how necessary we really are, in and out of the clinical setting !!Well written and well said !!
SHAHID KHAN
I caught part of this program tonight in Houston and thought it was just heartbreaking to see the lemur leave her baby to die alone. Just dreadful. It made me cry and I’m still crying. I know it’s surely against policy for the crew filming this program to intervene in these things, but I hope to God that *someone* comforted the poor little thing in its last moments. Please tell me someone comforted it, even if you have to lie to me. :(
I guess it’s a good thing I’m not involved in the filming of these kinds of programs. There is no way on earth I would’ve just stood by, with that poor baby lying on the ground like that.
This is one cruel world.
I liked the footage–it was beautiful and breathtaking! ‘Nature’ always astounds me with their amazing views of animal world around us :) God has created such beauty.
However, I’ve got to agree with some of the comments here: the narration was annoying and definitely anthropomorphic where it did not need to be. Animals have their own mode of living and its beautiful…we don’t need to make judgements of their lives based on our current human societal norms. But hey, there’s a simple way to fix this problem….turn the sound off and enjoy :)…..J/k!
Good to see fellow Nature enthusiasts :)! And I hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of a beautiful summer!