Life on Discovery Channel - Episodes Seven and Eight

Life, the nature documentary show by BBC, was shot entirelyin high definition and gives viewers an absolutely astounding view of nature upclose. The BBC series ran from October to December 2009 and now Discovery Channel hasbrought it to the United States. The series consists of ten 50 minute episodes,each with its own theme of animals. The US is late compared to other countriesin showing this series, as it has already been shown in Canada and LatinAmerica. This is the third week of episodes featuring "Birds" and"Insects," each 50 minutes long and full of amazing video clips ofinteresting creatures. Each episode is narrated by the famous Oprah.

Life, the nature documentary show by BBC, was shot entirely in high definition and gives viewers an absolutely astounding view of nature up close. The BBC series ran from October to December 2009 and now Discovery Channel has brought it to the United States. The series consists of ten 50 minute episodes, each with its own theme of animals. The US is late compared to other countries in showing this series, as it has already been shown in Canada and Latin America. This is the fourth week of episodes featuring "Hunters and Hunted" and "Creatures of the Deep," each 50 minutes long and full of amazing video clips of interesting creatures. Each episode is narrated by the famous Oprah.

Filming

Life is rumored to have been given the largest budget of any previous documentary: 10 million pounds (or at its current conversion, 15.29 million US dollars). The first year of production for the film involved researching places that the camera crew could shoot and what animals would be interesting to observe. Then, the crew spend the next three years doing over one hundred and fifty shoots on all seven continents. The use of new filming techniques and technologies such as the ability to make steady shots from moving vehicles and use high speed cameras helped to create amazing results for the crew.Episode 7: "Hunters and Hunted"

The episode begins by revisiting the cheetah hunt from the first episode. Then, above the dead sea, an ibex kid escapes from a hunting fox by bounding across the mountain side. Mammals have diverse strategies to help them both be great hunters and great at avoiding becoming the hunted. Slow motion footage shows the greater bulldog bat snatching fish out of the water in Belize. Brown bears demonstrate their ability to catch salmon, heading up stream to spawn. Young stoats also demonstrate their instincts as they play with one another to practice their hunting skills for when they are older and must hunt down rabbits, which are much larger than they are. We see the lives of a wolf pack, including the feeding of pups by the alpha female while the male wolves hunt for rats outside. The star-nosed mole demonstrates how its strangely shaped nose help it to hunt underground. Finally, we follow a killer whale mother taking young elephant seals from their "nursery" pool. She could easily get stuck on the beach by being in such shallow water, but she takes the risk to get an easy meal for her and her calf.

Episode 8: "Creatures of the Deep"

The further down we go, the stranger creatures become to us. Marine Invertebrates are the most abundant creatures in the ocean. They are the result of over a billion years of evolutionary history. Humboldt squid attack at the darkest time of day to collectively capture sardines. Beneath the permanent Antarctic Ice, sea creatures like sea urchins, nemertean worms, and red sea stars feed on the corpse of a seal. The incredible fried egg jellyfish spears its prey, aurelia, with its harpoon-like tentacles. In South Australia, spider crabs gather to collectively shed their shells in a molting frenzy. Giant cuttlefish are known for their comparatively large brains and complex mating habits. Males use flashing stroboscopic colors and their brute strength to attract and win a mate. Smaller males, however, use this color changing ability to imitate female colors, thereby being able to sneak close to females already claimed and mate without the knowledge of nearby males. Both techniques work perfectly, yet in radically different ways.

Excellent episodes! I can't recommend this series highly enough.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_%28BBC_TV_series%29