The Research Behind the Documentaries
The vast ocean is home to millions of species that are yet to be discovered, each with several adaptations that are imperative to survival in the big blue. Eight minutes into the fourth episode of season 1 of Blue Planet II, David Attenborough and his colleagues set out to determine what traits the sperm whale... Continue Reading →
In the video The Hunt, Attenborough describes how dolphins work together to concentrate fish together so that they can catch and feed on the fish more easily while preventing the fish from escaping the area. The video shows that dolphins not only use sonar to communicate with each other, but that they also use loud... Continue Reading →
If I were to think of what types of animals hunt in groups, I’d probably say something like wolves, hyenas, lions, maybe even my friend Kevin. That’s why when Season 1, Episode 1 of Frozen Planet depicted killer whales using coordinated and precise hunting techniques, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It turns out that even... Continue Reading →
In Season 1, Episode 7 of Life, David Attenborough claims life in the wild is most intense between predator and prey. In order to survive, one must out smart the other. In this episode, we see three male cheetahs that hunt prey other cheetahs would not dare to go near. Why? Cheetahs typically do not... Continue Reading →
While on the hunt, a supreme awareness of the surroundings can pay off large dividends for an individual. One species that takes advantage of their surroundings is the shark. In Life, a shark quickly reacts to the movements of a school of anchovies by sensing the electrical signals given off by their collective movement, giving... Continue Reading →
A pride of lionesses forms a beautifully-coordinated trap, chasing a giraffe into what appears to be inevitable death; unexpectedly, the hunt ends in failure as the giraffe viciously tramples the lead female and escapes relatively unscathed. David Attenborough states that lion hunts have the highest rate of failure in the desert, which is not surprising... Continue Reading →
According to David Attenborough in Planet Earth II, episode 4 (Deserts), lions are most successful when they hunt and live in groups. But is this always true, and is it worth it? Lions are known to live in large prides, but we don’t always know why. Researchers have discovered that it’s harder for lions to... Continue Reading →
The Evolution of Planet Earth 