Traveling north across the planet, eventually, you’ll run out of forest, a land too harsh for even trees to take root. This is tundra. But with dramatic seasonal changes, it offers rich rewards for those tough enough to take on the challenge.
Like a sea of grass, the savannah, prairie, and meadows are among the most productive habitats on Earth, housing some of the greatest concentrations of big game and the most dramatic interactions of predator and prey.
The FAST radio telescope is the biggest ever built—and can detect signals emitted tens of thousands of light years away. From technological innovations to architectural challenges and first results, follow each step that gave birth to a tool designed to prove we aren’t alone in the universe.
We take our features, our noses, eyes, and ears for granted, but they are pretty weird things until you look at the nose of a tapir or desman, the eyes of a cuttlefish or chameleon, or the ears of a seal or elephant. There is an almost endless variety of designs, and some are downright odd!
Ask what the most dangerous animal is and most will say a lion or tiger, and true, they have the power to kill, but far more people are killed by hippos or buffalo, even domestic cows, pigs, and especially dogs.
Mini oceans inland, lakes are treasure troves of aquatic wonders, each zone, from the depths to the surface, the banks to the mud at the bottom, hosts its own animal communities of predators and prey. Fish, birds, insects, even mammals, enjoy the bounty of their freshwater home.
Some creatures play hard and die young. Small bodies are more susceptible to heat loss need a lot of calories to stay warm. With high metabolisms, creatures like shrews, hummingbirds, and porpoises must devote their lives to eating and might perish between meals.
Ghosts and ghouls go bump in the night, but so do many of the planet's most weird and wonderful creatures. The list of the secret creatures of the dark is endless, fascinating, and bizarre.
What started in the 1970s as a gathering of hippies became what is known as the whitewater industry and Steep Creek Kayaking. Where boaters are pulled underwater by rapids, spit out downstream and come back for more.
It’s tough out in nature, but many creatures are forced or choose to leave it all behind and seek a new life in the urban jungle. For some, it is life on the breadline, while others find a land of opportunity.
Dangerous since 1896" is the saying that shrouds one of the country's most notorious prisons. Tucked in a remote section of the Cumberland Plateau and surrounded by miles of rough terrain, the prison once housed Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassin, James Earl Ray, where he escaped more than once.
They might not look as impressive as wolves, but the little dogs of the world are just as complex and endearing. By following dog families from across the world, we’ll see the similarities and differences in how they live, from how they interact and defend themselves to how they find food.
The mountains of North Carolina and Georgia became the perfect hideout for suspected bomber Eric Robert Rudolph. Relive this warped tale of one man on the run, outwitting some of the most skilled man-trackers in the business. And how the authorities finally brought the Olympic Bomber to justice.
In 1925, one of the greatest legal showdowns in history happened in the quaint town of Dayton, TN where Clarence Darrow squared off against William Jennings Bryan about Darwin’s theory of evolution. One man wasn’t prepared to be swept up in a trial that would change American education forever.
Much loved, clowns of the sea, seals are endlessly fascinating. Agile hunters and graceful in the water, and yet bloated sausages on land, seals entertain us with dramatic courtships, an endless playful sense of curiosity, and some of the cutest fluffy white babies on the planet.
All over the world, while many species are under threat of extinction, raccoons are experiencing an unprecedented expansion. Behind their innocent, cute look hides an outstanding survivor's temperament. When it comes to feeding and defending themselves, raccoons are capable of anything.
This immense embroidery of nearly 70 meters recounts the invasion of the Kingdom of England in 1066 by William, Duke of Normandy. It traces an unparalleled odyssey through a period of major upheavals in History: the end of the Vikings and the beginning of the Knights and the feudal system in Europe.
Give nature more space with rewilding. This new, cost-effective conservation strategy boosts biodiversity and protects the climate by reintroducing “key” animal species and developing larger wilderness areas.
Most visitors to the UK head for London, maybe Stonehenge or ancient cities, but for its tiny size, the UK has surprisingly rich and diverse wild places, and wildlife, hidden from view unless you seek it out.
It’s a pretty tough decision to pick nature's cutest animal - a koala, a penguin, a big-eyed, wobbly-kneed fawn, a fluffy white seal, playing polar bear cubs. It’s a long line-up but expects a lot of oooh’s and awwws while you try to decide!
This talk is given by Steve Brusatte of University of Edinburgh.
All habitats present challenges to life, but few more so than the desert, but still, even here, life abounds, from little foxes to speed lizards and light-footed gazelles to huge camels. Each one finds its own ways to exploit and conserve food and water, creating new dramas every day.
In 1956, the National Guard descended on Clinton, Tennessee, to protect 12 black students enrolled in the newly integrated Clinton High School. Ultimately, the troops weren’t enough to keep the peace. Who were the Clinton 12?
Few animals have more complex societies and interactions than elephants. For these slow-growing, long-lived animals, survival is totally dependent on knowledge passed down from family members and from the constant support of the herd. It’s no wonder we find them so endearing.
