Nature - Season 31 (2012)

There are some 120 species of duck, representing a wide variety of shapes, sizes and behaviors. Some are noisy and gregarious, others shy and elusive. They are familiar animals we think we know. But most of us don't really know these phenomenal, sophisticated creatures at all. This program follows a wood duck family as a male and female create a bond, migrate together across thousands of miles, nurture and protect a brood of chicks, then come full circle as they head to their wintering grounds

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Attenborough reflects on the dramatic impact that we have had on the natural world during his lifetime.

From PBS - For thousands of years, wolves hunted buffalo across the vast North American plains until the westward settlement of the continent saw the virtual extinction of these vast herds and their eternal predators, the wolves. However, this ancient relationship was not lost altogether, and continues uninterrupted in just one location - on the northern edge of the continent's central plains in a place called Wood Buffalo National Park. Today the descendants of those ancient buffalo and wolves still engage in epic life and death dramas across this northern land, as ...

From PBS - Hard core science is effortlessly integrated with a light-hearted look at how plants behave, revealing a world where plants are as busy, responsive and complex as we are. From the stunning heights of the Great Basin Desert to the lush coastal rainforests of west coast Canada, scientist J.C. Cahill takes us on a journey into the "secret world of plants," revealing an astonishing landscape where plants eavesdrop on each other, talk to their allies, call in insect mercenaries and nurture their young. It is a world of pulsing activity, where plants communicate,...

From PBS - Though much of the natural world is discovered and understood, a few great mysteries remain. Consider the eel: snakelike, slimy, with a row of jagged teeth. Aside from these fearsome qualities, we know little about its life -- where it goes, what it does and how it dies. Hailed by poets as the "siren of the North Sea" and "love's arrow on earth," this shadowy creature has fascinated researchers for centuries. Now James Prosek, artist, writer and eminent naturalist, takes on the mystery of the eel, shedding light on the animal and the strange behavior it ...

From PBS - At the famous Spanish Riding School of Vienna, Lipizzaners and their riders have been keeping audiences in thrall for centuries. The school is a unique and elite university, where horses train for years to successfully execute supremely difficult maneuvers. Only a very few will master the artistic and athletic skills required to perform in this ancient court of kings. Those that do earn the right to sire the next generation of stars. The legendary breed can be traced back to the remarkable war horses the Moors of North Africa brought with them when they ...

From PBS - Just a century ago, there were less than a million deer in North America. Today, there are nearly 30 million. No wonder it seems they're moving in right down the block. Nowhere are the deer more at home than in the suburbs. Whitetailed deer live in the boundaries, where our backyards meet the backwoods, and the woodlands meet the roads. From our kitchen windows we spot them, nibbling away at our gardens and shrubs. But how well do we know our neighbors from the natural world? Not very well at all, as it turns out. New investigations into their world reveal ...

From PBS - Each year, far from human eyes, a remote expanse of Botswana's Makgadikgadi salt pans hosts one of Africa's last great spectacles when thousands of striped nomads wander the breathtakingly beautiful but barren landscape. It is only by the grace of isolated summer rains that the zebras can survive here at all. Family groups gather together to follow the rains, driven by a constant search for better grazing on islands of grass that dot the pans. Meerkat families watch the zebras come and go, and families of lions wait for them along their grueling trek, ...