Key Stage: 2

Description

PAYU Price Code link:  Price Code M

See also: BD0015 Explorers

BD0014 Habitats & Adaptations

Episode length - 15 minutes

Steve Backshall travels around the world to discover wildlife in extreme environments.

1 - Waterfall Drop - Steve travels to Guyana and is the first person ever to look for creatures at the bottom of a roaring waterfall. To get there he must abseil down 240 metres of rope into the roaring unknown around the plunge pool. It is a paradise for frogs and, even though he is hundreds of miles from the ocean, it's a haven for crabs. But Steve also discovers that it is no place for humans. Drenched by freezing spray, he must shelter under a flimsy tarpaulin in the middle of an electrical storm.

2 - River Monster - Steve continues his search in South America, joining a group of scientists, naturalists and film-makers all united by the common goal of saving Guyana's wildlife. They will record every animal they see in the hope of proving these jungles are too precious to be cut down. Steve ventures up unexplored rivers discovering that real-life monsters lurk in the deep - including caimen, sabre-toothed hunters, blood-sucking parasites and a fish totally new to science.

3 - The Big Climb - Steve ventures into Venezuela to undertake one of the deadliest adventures he'll ever face. His mission is to climb a totally unexplored mountain to find out what animals live at the summit. Isolated for millions of years, the top promises to be a lost world inhabited by creatures totally new to science. Steve sleeps the night in a glorified camp bed strapped to the rockface - above him 200 metres of loose rock and below him 200 metres of nothing. They make great progress towards the top, but then Steve loses his grip and falls from the rock, where he is left dangling in thin air, 25 metres above solid ground.

4 - Lost World - Steve continues his adventures in Venezuela to reach the summit of a totally unexplored mountain. Back on the rock after his fall, the team climb right into a mysterious cave which contains the bones of unknown animals. After one more night on the cliff face Steve eventually becomes the first person ever to reach the summit. He finds a lost world with frogs never seen by science and undertakes an epic night of moth, bug and bird surveys culminating in the discovery of a new species of mammal.

5 - Jungle River - Steve travels into the heartland of Papua New Guinea, a lost world covered in thick jungle and teeming with strange wildlife found nowhere else on earth. Working with an international team of scientists and film-makers, Steve's aim is to document the wildlife here and discover new species. On his first mission down river rapids and through tangled forests he discovers a bizarre venomous catfish, comes face to face with a death adder, and stumbles into a forest dripping with thousands of frogs' eggs.

6 - Jungle Cave - Steve pushes deeper into Papua New Guinea's secret world by climbing into a vast and unmapped cave system. This underground world is flooded with raging water, and moving just a few metres is slow, hard work, but it's worth it, as each new step is pure exploration. Together with a team of expert cavers, Steve maps new passages, and discovers alien life - blind crabs and cave crickets with huge antenna. But, miles underground in the darkness, he suddenty falls ill.

7 - Jungle Volcano - Steve continues to search for new animals, this time on Mount Bosavi, an ancient volcano that last erupted 200,000 years ago. Any animals here could be entirely new to science, and so when a tiny skull is found, Steve and his teammates dedicate days and nights to trekking through the crater in search of this mystery animal. Cameras keep watch and live traps are rigged, until finally the team make a discovery that blows everyone away. Steve and the team find a beautiful new type of cuscus, an animal that has evolved in isolation here in the crater. This is a fantastic end to an extraordinary adventure. His team back at base camp have also found over 40 species of frogs, lizards and insects and documented hundreds of bizarre animals - proving that this is a unique wilderness that deserves protection.

8 - River Giant - Steve takes on his most deadly challenge in the swamps of Botswana's Okovango Delta. His aim is to swim with the nile crocodile, a terrifying and effective predator that has outlived the dinosaurs, and is feared today by people and animals alike. As he descends into the dark and eerie world, he encounters an adult female and a huge male crocodile. Creeping close to get a better look, Steve is chased by the male and has to make a quick escape back to the safety of the boat.

9 - Ocean Giants - Steve goes in search of the super-giants of the seas. Starting on the Californian coast he gets too close for comfort with elephant seals, as the huge males battle it out on the beaches, hoping to impress the females. Driven on by a fascination with ocean super-giants he heads to South Africa to witness the deadly tactics of great white sharks as they hunt. And finally, in the Caribbean, he tracks down the loudest animal on the planet - the sperm whale. But by swimming with these monsters of the sea, Steve discovers that they are actually gentle giants.

10 - Borneo Mountain - Steve heads to the jungles of Borneo to track down the wildlife hidden beneath the canopy. Along with a team of international scientists, experts and film-makers, he's on a mission to prove just how special this jungle is, in the hope of protecting it from destruction by loggers. His job is to find out what's living on and around Mount Kuli. But will the dense vegetation and perilous cliff faces prove too much for him and his team?

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