The Life Collection

Meat-Eaters (7x5)

Ausstrahlung: Dez 18, 2002

This programme is devoted to carnivorous mammals. Attenborough starts in the English countryside, where, besides humans farming sheep, a stoat chases and catches a rabbit. Meat is one of the most energy-rich foods there is, and there are several groups that eat it exclusively. Among the most prolific to do so are cats and dogs. Canine adaptations are varied, and are illustrated by the differences between fennecs and Arctic foxes. Meanwhile, the biggest concentration of meat occurs on the plains of Africa, and African hunting dogs are shown capturing a wildebeest with efficient teamwork. However, the largest wild canid is the wolf, and Attenborough successfully communicates with a pack of them in North America before they embark on an exhausting hunt for elk. Back in Africa, infrared cameras are used to examine the nocturnal activities of lions, which bring down a zebra. During the day, a solitary cheetah — the fastest animal on four legs — swiftly overtakes an impala and despatches it. One of the most adaptable of the big cats is the leopard, and infrared technology is again used to spot one of them as it searches an Indian village for domestic goats. As it does so, it comes dangerously close to the hut where Attenborough sits with his observation equipment. Finally, Attenborough visits the frozen North to witness the animal kingdom's most powerful predator, the Siberian tiger, albeit one that is held in captivity.