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'Life' the follow-up to Planet Earth, narrated by David Attenborough

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S

subzero9285

Banned
Pelicans gobbling Gannets

pelican.jpg


In a bizarre reaction to dwindling fish stocks, great white pelicans have turned to eating live gannet chicks. This adaptive behaviour, first revealed by biologist Marta de Ponte Machado, has now been captured on film by a BBC natural history camera crew.

On the island of Malgas in South Africa, the pelicans attack any gannet chick that is left undefended by its parents and is small enough to swallow. As a result, entire gannet colonies are in danger of being destroyed. The predatory behaviour is captured for the BBC natural history series Life.

Cape gannets and pelicans are members of the same bird family. Cape gannets (Morus capensis) have a wingpsan of up to 1.8m when fully grown and can live for up to 25 years. The species breeds in just six places, of which one is Malgas island in South Africa. Due to people overfishing sardine and anchovies off the coast of Southern Africa, the population of gannets has dwindled.

Falling fish numbers are having another deadly impact, however. Great white pelicans, which can have a 3m wingspan, are starving too, and their hunger is driving them to eat their smaller gannet relatives. Around 700 pairs of great white pelican nest on the nearby island of Dassen.

Once the pelicans cooperated to hunt freshwater fish, but a decline in fish stocks and habitat destruction is altering their food preferences. Each day, hoards of the pelicans fly across to Malgas and wander through the gannet colony.

Each day, hoards of the pelicans fly across to Malgas and wander through the gannet colony. The pelicans target chicks up to 2kg in weight, picking up any that will fit inside their massive bills and aren't defended by parents. Because of the fish shortage, often both gannet parents leave their chicks to forage at sea, leaving their offspring particularly vulnerable.

"This unusual behaviour shows how adaptable and opportunistic pelicans need to be," says Patrick Morris, a producer of the Life series who oversaw the filming.

BBC cameramen Justin Maguire filmed the brazen bird behaviour at ground level, while Simon Werry took the aerial shots. The predatory actions of the pelicans were first revealed by Marta de Ponte Machado, a doctoral student with the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

She has spent many years studying these birds and helped the BBC camera crew with its filming. As well as plundering gannet chicks, the great white pelicans have developed a taste for live chicks on their own nesting island, Dassen, feeding on colonial breeders such as Cape cormorants, kelp gulls, swift terns and even African penguins.

"Pelicans gobbling gannets" is broadcast within the Birds episode of the BBC series Life at 2100GMT on BBC One on Monday 9 November.
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Link
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Life is averaging about 5-6m a week, which is impressive for a nature documentary, and its rating are superior to Planet Earth after 4 episodes. I'm pretty impressed with the British public.

Code: 
[B]Monday 2nd November 2009[/B]

[B]BBC One[/B]

20:30 - Panorama: 3.3m (13.1%)
[B]21:00 - Life: 4.6m (18.1%)[/B]
22:00 - BBC News at Ten: 4.7m (23.6%)

[B]BBC Two[/B]

20:30 - Into the Storm: 2.5m (9.8%)
22:00 - Have I Got News for You: 1.6m (8.1%)
22:30 - Newsnight: 1m (7.5%)

[B]ITV1[/B]

20:30 - Coronation Street: 9.7m (38.3%)
21:00 - Murderland: 5.5m (22%)
22:00 - News at Ten and Weather: 2.8m (14.8%)
22:35 - FILM: Escape from New York: 900,000 (9.9%)

[B]Channel 4[/B]

20:00 - Is It Better To Be Mixed Race?: 800,000 (3.3%)
21:00 - The Great Escape: The Reckoning: 1.3m (5.3%)
22:00 - Ugly Betty: 700,000 (3.7%)

[B]Five[/B]

20:00 - The Gadget Show: 1.6m (6.2%)
21:00 - FlashForward: 2.7m (10.8%)
22:00 - America's Toughest Prisons: 900,000 (5.5%)
 
M

mclem

Member
subzero9285 said:
Life is averaging about 5-6m a week, which is impressive for a nature documentary, and its rating are superior to Planet Earth after 4 episodes. I'm pretty impressed with the British public.
Click to expand...

It's worth mentioning that there's also a repeat on Sundays with pretty healthy ratings too; a little under half the first-run ratings. Total reach would be more like 7M+
 
K

KimiNewt

Scored 3/100 on an Exam
Something I've noticed about the show in the recent episode especially is the very laymen way they put everything. They were constantly talking about the fish "flying" when they're very obviously just gliding for a very short period of time.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
This has become a sort of Life plus other nature related stuff thread, so I'll post these quite stunning images taken in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Whale shark

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Bats emerging from Kantemo cave

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Cozumel Emerald Hummingbird

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Flamingos feeding in Laguna Rosada

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Painted treefrog

5.png


Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve beach

6.png


A sinkhole in Yucatan

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BBC Earth
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Episode 5 - Birds

From the equator to the poles, birds have found the most ingenious ways to overcome the many challenges of life. Everything revolves around their unique attribute – feathers.

Few go to greater extremes than the male marvelous spatule-tail hummingbird. His tail feathers are so long that he can barely lift off. But still he performs the most extraordinary aerial displays, using fast-beating wings and super-long tail feathers, adorned with iridescent discs.

Lammergeyers soar across the Ethiopian highlands on their nine-foot wingspan, searching for carrion. They use precision flying to find, and then smash, bones into a size they can comfortably swallow.

Red-billed tropicbirds depend on extreme speed and manoeuvrability to escape from piratical frigate birds.

And red knots use extreme endurance to migrate 10,000 miles every spring from their wintering grounds in Argentina to their nesting sites in Canada. But they can only achieve this by making a crucial fuel stop on the east coast of America, to feed on the eggs of spawning horseshoe crabs. Timing is everything.

During the nesting season, birds are grounded for extended periods. It's the toughest time of their lives.

Lesser flamingos must build their nests in highly-caustic soda lakes, which can become a lethal quagmire for their chicks.

Chinstrap penguins, which fish far offshore in the icy waters of Antarctica, have to make an exhausting climb up the steep flanks of a volcano to get food back to their chicks.

When it comes to power parenting, few birds beat the great white pelicans. These fish-eaters have learned how to supplement their natural catch by plundering live gannet chicks.

Birds also use their feathers, together with colour, song and ingenuity to win the hearts of their mates.

Clarke's grebes perform a mesmeric courtship dance which climaxes with the pair running on water in perfect synchrony.

Male sage grouse advertise their virility by rubbing their wings against their chest feathers, making bizarre popping sounds.

And the male Vogelkop bowerbird crafts a giant bower around a central sapling which he decorates with flowers, beetles, fungus and even deer dung to try and impress a female. Should it catch her interest, he backs off into the darkness of his bower and calls to her with an impressive repertoire of song.

But perhaps the most dazzling courtship spectacle is of that of the lesser flamingo on Kenya's Lake Bogoria. In a sea of pink, up to a thousand birds promenade side by side with neck feathers ruffled and heads held high.
Click to expand...
 
K

Kaako

Felium Defensor
Day 1 purchase on Blu-ray. I haven't seen any of the episodes just so I can see them for the first time in all their HD glory. I love and tremendously respect David Attenborough and his team for these amazing documentaries. These are in my opinion more valuable and profound than any Hollywood movie/tv show. It is a shame that getting big budgets to make documentaries like this are almost impossible because of the whole attitude "science won't sell."


I'd also like to recommend another amazing documentary which I've been watching recently:

17251.jpg


Even though some may think it's kinda dated cause it was filmed in 1973, this documentary easily dazzles and amazes more so than most recent documentaries. I cannot believe that I hadn't seen it before and I recommend it to anyone. I would put this documentary up the with the Cosmos (my favorite documentary). Simply awe-inspiring. You owe it to yourself to watch this. Trust me on this one.

Edit: Why isn't there an official thread for The Ascent of Man btw? It certainly deserves it.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
The length that Bowerbird's goes to impress the opposite sex is seriously astonishing, also love the fact that it can mimic other birds, in a similar way to the infamous Lyre Bird.

Really looking forward to next episode featuring insects.
 
Evolved1

Evolved1

make sure the pudding isn't too soggy but that just ruins everything
Thanks for this thread... been a nice diversion today.
 
G

gofreak

GAF's Bob Woodward
Birds was great.

Baby flamingos = awwww. Stay out of the mud, little ones!

Penguins, awesome as always. Like the shared responsibility.

Pelicans are fucking vile.

The dive-bombing birds were awesome.

The 'martha stewart' bird was totally great. Had no idea they could make such intricate and impressive structures. Seems a shame it's just a bachelor pad, though, I mean it seems like it'd be a great nest to raise kids.

The 'dancing' oregon birds were cool. Seem like they're just waiting for Disney to make a movie about them or something.
 
W

Walshicus

Member
I think birds are probably the type of animal I'm *least* interested in watching. I'd like to see more deep sea creatures and insects.
 
D

dustytruly

Member
Sir Fragula said:
I think birds are probably the type of animal I'm *least* interested in watching. I'd like to see more deep sea creatures and insects.
Click to expand...
yeah there really needs to be a huge documentary just for insects... i'd LOVE that

birds are always kinda meh to me... they all seem the same... only their colors change
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Sir Fragula said:
I think birds are probably the type of animal I'm *least* interested in watching. I'd like to see more deep sea creatures and insects.
Click to expand...
dustytruly said:
yeah there really needs to be a huge documentary just for insects... i'd LOVE that

birds are always kinda meh to me... they all seem the same... only their colors change
Click to expand...
You'll both be well catered for with episodes 6 and 8; whole episodes dedicated to insects and the creatures of the deep.
 
A

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
Loved the behind the scenes segments after tonight's show. It's rough on those camera people. I wish they had an episode devoted just to big cats, but it looks like no dice.
 
D

Dizzan

MINI Member
Just ordered it on BD for 82 Aussie dollars. (45 pounds). Love the strong Aussie dollar. Shame I only have a 32 inch 720p tv.

Cant wait!
 
J

jorma

is now taking requests
speculawyer said:
Better be filled with evolution info since that is what created all that life and explains it all,
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Its a EU product. Evolution is assumed
(or would the correct term be "implied"?)
and does not really need to be explained.

At no point will Atterborough exlaim that "gods creation is truly great", would that work for you? I can't speak for Oprah though :)

About the Bowerbird: i loled so hard. Years of preparation for a 3 second mount. Awesome!
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
alr1ghtstart said:
Loved the behind the scenes segments after tonight's show. It's rough on those camera people. I wish they had an episode devoted just to big cats, but it looks like no dice.
Click to expand...
The guys filming Komodo dragons had it far worse; not only the danger presented by the Komodo dragons, but the harrowing nature of what they were filming.


Komodo's - Life on location (The equivalent of Planet Earth's diaries).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EsoIxlpp2o&feature=related


The scene itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLUwGoRdaWc
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Looking eye-to-eye with the creature that's hunted you and is close to consuming you, as your life slowly drains away.

Komodo.png


Such a powerful scene.
 
T

Tannhauser

Neo Member
falconzss said:
yes i am. this is without a doubt a nice deal :)
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Don't forget 7.5% cashback from Quidco or better, 9.5% from TopCashBack (they take no fees). You can also pick up Planet Earth for £17.88 now @ Amazon.. but hurry before the stock depletes and it goes back up to £24.99. I ordered mine yesterday, and will wait for December for Life.
 
M

Macam

Banned
If it's been asked before, I haven't seen it, so sorry for asking again if that's the case, but does anyone know if this is headed to the US anytime soon?
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Macam said:
If it's been asked before, I haven't seen it, so sorry for asking again if that's the case, but does anyone know if this is headed to the US anytime soon?
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March 2010 on the Discovery channel. Here's the press release and the US marketing poster;

Nov. 2, 2009 (Silver Spring, Md.) — Global media leader and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey will narrate Discovery Channel's all-new 11-part series LIFE, set to premiere in March 2010. The series reveals the most spectacular, bizarre and fascinating behaviors that living things have devised in order to thrive. Many of these were captured for the first time using the latest in state-of-the-art high-definition filming techniques.

As one of the most influential voices of our time, Winfrey will lend her talent to some of the most compelling imagery ever captured on film. From strange creatures, such as the star-nosed mole that hunts underwater using bubbles to smell its prey, to epic spectacles, including millions of fruit bats darkening the Zambian sky, each episode tells mind-blowing stories of survival with drama, humor and suspense.

"We are honored to have Oprah Winfrey tell the story of what is already a visual masterpiece," stated John Ford, President and General Manager of Discovery Channel. "The stories capture your imagination, curiosity and emotion as you see animals and plants up close and personal — each story more amazing. Ms. Winfrey will be the perfect complement to this blue-chip natural history television event."

More than four years in the making, filmed over 3,000 days, across every continent and in every habitat, this is life as no one has ever seen it before.

LIFE is produced for Discovery Channel by the BBC. Mike Gunton is the executive producer for the BBC. Susan Winslow is the executive producer for Discovery Channel. Discovery Channel and the BBC also created the award-winning natural history series PLANET EARTH and BLUE PLANET.
Click to expand...
Link

Banner.png
 
S

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Is this gonna suck like Planet Earth? I got the blue rey because I thught it was goin to have explosions and cool fx and shit. All it was was a bunch of animals walking around on the snow or a fish or whatever.

waste of time
 
K

Kaako

Felium Defensor
OuterWorldVoice said:
Is this gonna suck like Planet Earth? I got the blue rey because I thught it was goin to have explosions and cool fx and shit. All it was was a bunch of animals walking around on the snow or a fish or whatever.

waste of time
Click to expand...
Transformers 2 on BD is that way, chief.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Alucrid said:
Oprah? Fuck that, I'm importing it for David Attenborough.

edit: It has been confirmed as region free, right?
Click to expand...

Just assumptions so far, based on previous precedents. The BBC's high-def nature series always tend to be region free, so there's no reason to think why Life shouldn't be.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Kaako said:
Day 1 purchase on Blu-ray. I haven't seen any of the episodes just so I can see them for the first time in all their HD glory. I love and tremendously respect David Attenborough and his team for these amazing documentaries. These are in my opinion more valuable and profound than any Hollywood movie/tv show. It is a shame that getting big budgets to make documentaries like this are almost impossible because of the whole attitude "science won't sell."


I'd also like to recommend another amazing documentary which I've been watching recently:

Even though some may think it's kinda dated cause it was filmed in 1973, this documentary easily dazzles and amazes more so than most recent documentaries. I cannot believe that I hadn't seen it before and I recommend it to anyone. I would put this documentary up the with the Cosmos (my favorite documentary). Simply awe-inspiring. You owe it to yourself to watch this. Trust me on this one.

Edit: Why isn't there an official thread for The Ascent of Man btw? It certainly deserves it.
Click to expand...

I'm in total agreement with you Kaako, The Ascent of Man is a profound documentary.


On side note, I'd recommend Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life, presented not just narrated by David Attenborough to you, it's just a one-off single episode documentary, but it's a riveting hour of content. It's also just been released in the US, it's not high-def, but definitely worth owning.

Synopsis.
A personal insight from the world's favourite naturalist into Darwin's theory of evolution.

This special documentary was made to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of ‘On The Origin Of Species’.

Darwin's great insight – that life has evolved over millions of years by natural selection – has been the cornerstone of all David Attenborough’s natural history series. In this documentary, he takes us on a deeply personal journey which reflects his own life and the way he came to understand Darwin’s theory.

By visiting Darwin’s home and tracing the voyage of the Beagle across the world, David Attenborough explains how the great naturalist revolutionised our understanding of the natural world. New and spectacular wildlife footage of fascinating animal behaviour brings the theory to life and fresh evidence and new discoveries reveal how Darwin’s work is endorsed and expounded by today’s cutting–edge science.

A labour of love for a man who has been at the forefront of natural history programming for decades, this fascinating programme explores why Darwin’s theory is more important now than ever before.
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http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MIK0UI/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 
K

Kaako

Felium Defensor
Subzero is absolutely right. Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life is an excellent documentary and definitely recommended.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Frenzied bees enter deadly combat

bee2.jpg


It is rare for any species of animal to regularly kill its own in combat. However, male Dawson's bees, one of the world's largest bee species, are so aggressive that they kill each other en mass in a bid to mate with females. The bees enter a frenzy of fighting, and by the time their deadly combat is over, every male bee is either killed or has perished. The extreme behaviour, which can lead to even females being killed, is caught on film by a BBC natural history crew.

Dawson's bees (Amegilla dawsoni) are large burrowing bees that nest in the baked soil of the Australian outback. Each year, males emerge from their burrows earlier than females. The male bees are adapted to pursue one of two tactics for securing a mate.

Smaller, minor males patrol either flower patches where females forage, or around the periphery of the entrances to female's burrows. However, much larger major males patrol the entrance sites for emerging females, seeking to mate with them as soon as they appear. Up to 90% of all females are mated by major males immediately upon their emergence.

But it is a far from straightforward, or even safe act. The scent of the female bees inflames the major males, which are built for fighting. As a female emerges, the male bees turn on one another, competing intensely to get access to her. Bundles of male bees form, with each trying to bite and sting another to death.

The result is mass murder, with whole generations of male bees wiping each other out to mate with females. This frenzy of killing has been filmed by a BBC camera crew producing the landmark natural history series Life.

Usually one male will emerge from the fighting frenzy to carry a female away to be mated. But sometimes the males are so aggressive they they kill the females they are attempting to meet. Another irony is that for most of the year, Dawson's bees form extremely harmonious communities. That is because once the mating season is passed, all the males have either killed each other or since perished, leaving an all-female community to produce the next generation. Dawson's bees belong to the genus Amegilla, which includes around 250 species of large-bodied bee.

Some of its members are important agricultural pollinators in Australia and other tropical and sub-tropical areas. One member, the blue-banded bee, uses vibration to obtain pollen, a process known as buzz pollination. The bees land on a flower and beat their wings so frequently that its shakes the pollen loose. Another is the cutely-named teddy bear bee, another solitary species whose hair wears off as it ages, leaving bald patches on its body.

The "Dawson's bee battle" is broadcast within the Insects episode of the BBC series Life at 2100GMT on BBC One on Monday 16 November.
Click to expand...
Link
 
P

Puck

Banned
Dizzan said:
Just ordered it on BD for 82 Aussie dollars. (45 pounds). Love the strong Aussie dollar. Shame I only have a 32 inch 720p tv.

Cant wait!
Click to expand...
Where did you order from?

Btw, Oprah's voice is definitely not something i would want to hear when i am watching a relaxing / educational show with beautiful scenes. Her voice is ugly.
 
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