Trials of the Wild

With the arrival of spring, animals from all over the South Atlantic are suddenly converging on the Falklands. The striated cara-cara is one of the few year-round inhabitants of the islands.

Each year, monarch butterflies undertake a multi-generational migration from Mexico all the way to Canada and back again.

In Africa's vast Serengeti Plain, one million wildebeest are taking a rare pause for the mothers to have their young in a massive birthing event.

When you've got it all, why would you give it all up? We expect animals to take the path of least resistance -- choosing the easiest and surest ways to get food, safety and comfort. But animals aren't always so predictable

The Christmas Island red crab is a land bound crab that still has strong ties to the ocean, the only place where they can give birth to their young.

Ain't love grand? Well, to many animals in the wild, attracting a mate and getting the chance to breed is more like a blood sport. The mating urge drives animals to make long journeys, to let down their guard in the presence of predators, and even to fight each other to the death.

A deadly predator stalks the forests of Costa Rica; it's a super organism made up of half a million tiny individuals -- an army ant colony.

On the edge of the Sahara Desert in Mali, a society of rare desert elephants struggles to survive; more than just a herd of animals, they are a tribe of extended families and comrades with their own unique culture.

In the canopy of the Borneo rainforest, animals swing from branch to branch and leap through the treetops, doing everything without ever touching the ground.

If these animal babies can survive childhood, they can survive almost anything.