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(This program is no longer streaming). Sixty-six million years ago, an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs in a fiery global catastrophe. But we know little about how their successors, the mammals, recovered and took over the world. Now, hidden inside ordinary-looking rocks, an astonishing trove of fossils reveals a dramatic new picture of how rat-sized creatures ballooned in size and began to evolve into the vast array of species—from cheetahs to bats to whales to humans—that rule our planet today.

Amazing fossils reveal how mammals took over after an asteroid wiped out the dinosaurs.

Rise of the Mammals

From singing whales and squeaking bats to thumping spiders and clicking dolphins, the world is filled with the exotic sounds of our fellow creatures. What are they saying? While we believe language sets us apart, some animals demonstrate they can learn our language—like Chaser the dog, who recognizes hundreds of words, and Kanzi the bonobo, who appears to have a sophisticated understanding of spoken English. But can we decode their own communications? NOVA Wonders follows researchers around the globe who are deciphering an amazing array of clues that reveal how animals share information critical to their survival. Will we one day be able to write the bat dictionary or decode the hidden sign language of chimps? And what can these findings tell us about the roots of our own language?

Can we crack the code of animal communication?

What Are Animals Saying?

(This program is no longer available for online streaming.) A seven-mile-wide asteroid collided with Earth 66 million years ago, triggering a chain of events that coincide with the end of the dinosaurs. But experts have long debated exactly what happened when the asteroid struck and how the giant beasts met their end. Now, scientists have uncovered compelling new clues about the catastrophe—from New Jersey to the wilds of Patagonia—and an international expedition of scientists has drilled into the impact crater off the coast of Mexico, recovering crucial direct evidence of the searing energy and giant tsunami unleashed by the asteroid. Join NOVA as scientists piece together a chillingly precise unfolding of the Earth’s biggest cataclysm, moment by moment, and discover how our early mammalian ancestors managed to survive and repopulate the Earth. (Premiered December 27, 2017)

Experts drill into the impact crater of an asteroid that created a worldwide cataclysm.

Day the Dinosaurs Died

Can Dogs Talk?

Do speech buttons really allow dogs to talk to us? Scientists investigate.
Imagine a world where your furry best friend could tell you exactly what they&#x27;re thinking. A growing number of dog owners claim this is already happening, thanks to innovative word buttons that seem to unlock a new realm of canine communication. But are these dogs truly understanding what we’re saying — and talking back? Are they really thinking creatively, applying words in new contexts? Or is this just clever conditioning? To find out, scientists are conducting the largest animal communication study in history, analyzing millions of button presses from thousands of dogs worldwide. Witness astonishing moments that challenge our assumptions about animal intelligence, from dogs that seemingly engage in conversations to those who learn new words with incredible speed. Prepare to question everything you thought you knew about the minds of dogs and discover just how far their linguistic abilities might stretch. (Premieres February 4, 2026 at 9 pm on PBS.)

Do speech buttons really allow dogs to talk to us? Scientists investigate.

Interview: De-Extinction, Dire Wolves, and Jurassic Park with Beth Shapiro

Can we really bring extinct species back? Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro says yes — and she’s here to tell us how.

Interview: Extremophiles, the Deep Sea, and Alien Life with Peter Girguis

Dive into how Earth’s weirdest microbes could help us spot extraterrestrial life with marine biologist Peter Girguis.

Erich Jarvis headshot on Particles of Thought background

Interview: The Animal Translator With Erich Jarvis

Can animals talk? Neuroscientist Erich Jarvis reveals why some species might be closer than we think.

The Surprising Power of a Bird Brain

Bird brains may be tiny, but they pack in as many—or more—neurons as much larger animals.
Similar to humans and other animals with higher intelligence, the executive center of a bird&#x27;s brain allows them to strategize and organize ideas.
The Surprising Power of a Bird BrainPublished: August 28, 2025NARRATOR: Compared to other birds, parrots and crows have large brains in relation to their body size. And scientists believe that may be one reason why they can work out solutions to problems they don&#x27;t encounter in the wild. Most bird brains are small, but they have one critical area in common with humans and other animals with higher intelligence.JOHN MARZLUFF: The executive center of the bird&#x27;s brain really allows them to make plans and strategies and organize ideas.NARRATOR: Bird brains may be tiny, but for their size they seem to contain more brain cells or neurons than many other animals.JOHN MARZLUFF: The number of neurons is a better indication of brain power than the physical size of the brain. And this is an interesting thing we&#x27;ve learned recently that bird brains actually pack a lot more neurons into a particular area than do mammal brains. So even though they&#x27;re physically very small in size, they have a lot of punch in that size.

Bird brains may be tiny, but they pack in as many—or more—neurons as much larger animals.

These Birds Are Smarter Than You Think

Can these birds solve the puzzle and claim their prize?
When birds crack a puzzle in more than one way, they’re showing the kind of flexible problem-solving once thought uniquely human. Could intelligence be more widespread in nature than we realized?
These Birds Are Smarter Than You ThinkPublished: August 19, 2025NARRATOR: This experiment is designed to compare how New Caledonian crows and kea solve problems. Wek represents the crows, and for the kea parrots, this is Kermit. Their reward: a peanut. Their challenge is called a multi-access box. The first time both birds see the puzzle, they make the same choice. They just pull the string. Then the researchers take that solution away to see what they&#x27;ll do next. Wek uses the stick to poke the nut free, but this isn&#x27;t a surprise.AUGUSTE VON BAYERN: New Caledonian crows are very special because they&#x27;re the only crow species that use tools in the wild. They obtain a lot of their diet by using tools.NARRATOR: Kea parrots don&#x27;t use tools in the wild, but Kermit figures out a solution with the ball and chute. Again, the researchers remove the option that&#x27;s been used. For Wek, the hole for the stick is taped over. Wek has to try something else, so she tries the ball and chute. With two choices left, Kermit just opens the door, reaches inside, and takes the peanut. But Wek won&#x27;t take this approach.JOHN MARZLUFF: The last thing a crow wants to ever do is stick its head in something. They&#x27;re extremely vulnerable if they do that and to stick their head inside that box, it could trap them in it.NARRATOR: Wek still opens the door, but rather than put her head inside, she pokes the nut free with a stick. Kermit&#x27;s last option is the stick. His curved beak makes it very hard to hold, but he still sees this as a potential solution, even though it&#x27;s not easy. Both birds found four different solutions to the puzzle, showing they&#x27;re able to think flexibly.

Can these birds solve the puzzle and claim their prize?

The Next Big Earthquake Could Sink Parts of the Pacific Northwest

A massive earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone could unleash a tsunami and sink parts of the Pacific Northwest by several feet.
A 2025 study suggests that when the next &quot;Big One&quot; hits, coastal land could sink by up to 6 feet. That sudden drop could instantly double the number of people, homes, and roads exposed to flooding.
The Next Big Earthquake Could Sink Parts of the Pacific NorthwestPublished: August 4, 2025NARRATOR: In this region, a massive earthquake is pretty much inevitable. This is the Cascadia Subduction Zone. It&#x27;s one of the top hazards on the planet. Here, the ocean floor is slowly diving under North America. Massive earthquakes are expected here every 500 years or so, and the last one was in 1700.WENDY BOHON: So it&#x27;s not a matter of if, it&#x27;s just a matter of when.NARRATOR: A 2025 study suggests that the quake could suddenly sink part of the Pacific Northwest and climate driven sea level rise would only make it worse. So why is the Cascadia Subduction Zone so dangerous and when will the next big one happen? The Cascadia Subduction Zone is a major fault line that spans Vancouver Island in Canada to Northern California, but it&#x27;s not really a line at all. It&#x27;s a crack where two massive tectonic plates meet. It&#x27;s where one of the largest earthquakes in the history of North America happened more than 325 years ago. in January of 1700. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of nine, and it caused a tsunami. A graveyard of trees that fell victim to flooding are still in the area. The subduction zone has been pretty quiet ever since. The last magnitude nine earthquake on Earth was caused by a subduction zone known as the Japan Trench in 2011. It spurred a tsunami and caused widespread devastation, including a nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Subduction zones produce the biggest earthquakes in the world. They happen where one tectonic plate is sliding down another plate.WENDY BOHON: In Cascadia, you have one plate diving down beneath another. This section gets locked and it pushes this part up. When the fault ruptures, when the amount of stress overcomes the friction, it bounces back, which lifts up the water above it and causes that water to flow out in all directions. And that water flowing out in all directions is the tsunami.NARRATOR: The inevitable earthquake in the Pacific Northwest is what&#x27;s called &quot;the big one,&quot; and it would absolutely be devastating to a number of coastal communities. But the Cascadia Subduction Zone is not actually one continuous fault line. It has ruptures in it that form at least four major segments. It&#x27;s possible that an earthquake in one zone might not trigger an earthquake in the others, but the longer the segment, the bigger the quake. One segment runs from Vancouver Island to the Oregon border. Some scientists think that this is the most dangerous section and could spark the biggest earthquakes. So when will this happen? Unfortunately, earthquakes often happen without any clear warning signs, and scientists haven&#x27;t yet identified reliable predictors. The United States Geological Survey even says that, &quot;Neither the USGS nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake,&quot; and that they do not expect to know how to predict earthquakes in the foreseeable future. Whoa. Even if scientists can&#x27;t predict when an earthquake will strike, they can use analytical models to study the potential effects. Some researchers found that if the Cascadia earthquake were to strike today, the coastline could suddenly sink by up to six feet raising the sea level. And more than doubling the number of people, buildings, and roads currently exposed to coastal flooding risks. Sea levels are already rising across the globe. But the Pacific Northwest coast has seen much slower rise than other parts of the US coastline because of the subduction zone. It&#x27;s slowly pushing the coastline up almost as fast as the sea level is rising in some areas. But a massive earthquake could quickly reverse that. According to one projection, by the year 2100 sea levels along the Pacific Northwest could rise by almost three feet. Combined with a Cascadia quake, that&#x27;s a sea level difference of nearly nine feet compared to today. And don&#x27;t forget that when the earthquake strikes, it will trigger a tsunami, which could bring waves over 50 feet high in some locations. For now, some communities are taking action against these deadly threats by creating high ground. A tsunami could come only 15 minutes after an earthquake, and experts say it&#x27;s imperative to get to high ground ASAP. The thing is that in many low lying coastal communities, that isn&#x27;t an option. So vertical evacuation structures like towers and platforms where people can get to high ground without traveling, great distances are essential. Right now, there are three vertical evacuation towers in the Pacific Northwest, a tsunami evacuation tower built by the Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, an elementary school gym that was rebuilt with a fortified foundation to withstand massive earthquakes and a new roof built to hold more than a thousand people, and an Oregon State University marine sciences building. There are more vertical evacuation structures planned for the Pacific Northwest, but one study found that many more are needed. The trouble is we don&#x27;t know how much time we have until the next big one.

A massive earthquake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone could unleash a tsunami and sink parts of the Pacific Northwest by several feet.

Topic: Nature

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