Animals The Inside Story

Fight for Life reveals the true cost of staying alive as hunter or hunted. How do predators set up an attack and how does their prey take evasive action? Look inside a tiger's brain as the hungry predator spies a deer and is triggered into action. A peregrine falcon mounts a 200-mile-an-hour attack on its pigeon prey, relying on aerodynamics and an ingenious nasal system to make its breathtaking approach. Go inside the mouth of the largest animal in the world, the blue whale, to see how they eat one of the smallest creatures of the sea.

New Lives unravels the mysteries of animal reproduction from courtship and mating through to the creation of new life. The virtual world of the elephant womb allows us to see a baby elephant develop over 22 months. Emperor penguins produce eggs in the harshest climate on earth. Go inside this life support capsule and see how the shell is made and the chick grows. Metamorphosis is one of nature's miracles. From the inside, watch a total transformation as a land-based caterpillar becomes a graceful aerial athlete.

Extreme Lives explores the limits of animal endurance. A polar bear uses its thick fur coat to turn light into heat and survive the Arctic cold. Hibernation is one way to endure winter but the rare Vancouver Island Marmot is on a knife edge between life and death. Wood frogs enter a state of suspended animation, freezing 65% of their bodies to stay alive. The camel survives extremes of desert heat with amazing blood cells and a nose designed to conserve every drop of moisture.