The Future is Wild

Tropical Antarctica (1x8)

Air date: May 21, 2002

Tropical Antarctica is set in Antarctica, 100,000,000 years into the future. The episode focuses on five species. Roachcutter - a descendant of an undisclosed sea bird and one of the first species to colonise Antarctica. It feeds on the insects of the forest and flies incredibly fast and with brilliant agility. Spitfire Bird - a descendant of an undisclosed sea bird which collects chemicals from flowers of the Beech Burner which it then spits at enemies. Falconfly - a descendant of the wasp which feeds on birds Spitfire Beetle - a beetle that gathers in groups of four to take on the appearance of a Beech Burner flower. They then pounce when a spitfire bird gets close. False Spitfire Bird - a bird that looks almost identical to the spitfire bird but cannot fire chemicals. At this point in the future, Antarctica has moved so far north it is now on the equator and has grown a jungle. It shows how the seabirds have evolved to deal with the new dangers of the jungle. Oxygen levels have also allowed insects to grow big again.