This planet is more theirs than ours. ibid.
They will have to deal with unpredictable animals, and temperamental cameras, set up shooting in three continents, and battle tropical storms. Making David Attenborough’s Micro Monsters, Sky 1 2013
Arthropods includes spiders, insects, and scorpions, and make up more than 80% of the Earth’s animals. ibid.
The cube rig can magnify pictures up to 50,000%. ibid.
Praying Mantis: even in the throes of death the male has succeeded in mating with the female. ibid.
The Mafia of the insect world: the common American cockroach. ibid.
The deadly Sydney funnel-web – a spider so poisonous its venom can kill a human in fifteen minutes. ibid.
Of all the animals that live on our planet one extraordinary group dominates: it has produced the largest, the fastest and the most intelligent creatures that have ever lived. They are known as the vertebrates. David Attenborough’s Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates, BBC 2013
Over five hundred million years they developed the bodily features needed to master the seas, colonise the land and take to the skies. This is the story of the rise of animals. ibid.
China is the new frontier for fossil discoveries. ibid.
More than a hundred and fifty different species of dinosaur have been found in the rocks of China alone, and over a thousand worldwide. ibid.
China: the intriguing link between dinosaurs and birds. ibid.
With the bigger dinosaurs gone, the world was up for grabs. ibid.
The rise of a whole new branch of vertebrate life – the most complex animals yet to appear on Earth. David Attenborough’s Rise of the Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates: Dawn of the Mammals
The first creature with the beginnings of a backbone lived over 500 million years ago. ibid.
Marsupials were once distributed throughout the globe. ibid.
A meteor impact that sent shock waves around the world ... 65 million years ago they disappeared [dinosaurs] from the fossil record. ibid.
The natural world is full of extraordinarily shaped creatures, but how have the stretched bodies of some given them an edge? Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s1e1: Stretched to the Limit, BBC 2013
The chameleon has an extra-long tongue to catch prey, and the giraffe with a neck so long it can reach the top of trees. ibid.
Some species of chameleon – and there are 85 different species in the family – can even fine-tune their camouflage. ibid.
The chameleon has a tongue twice its body length. ibid.
Giraffe: its blood pressure is twice as high as ours. ibid.
The stories of two animals that sent shockwaves through the scientific world. Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s1e2: A Curious Hoax?
It lived along river banks and swam in the water … the platypus seemed to be a concoction of different animals. ibid.
The mystery of the midwife toad … He mates on land. ibid.
Some animals live extremely long lives. But how does their skin help them on their journey to old age? Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s1e3: Young Wrinklies
The elephant and the mole rat are curious creatures: they are both extremely wrinkled. (Animals & Elephant & Rat) ibid.
Elephants: they are the heaviest land mammals alive and the longest lived. ibid.
The naked mole rat … amazingly long-lived. ibid.
The colony would not survive if all its members didn’t work together. ibid.
Naked mole rats never see the light of day. ibid.
Spirals are common in the natural world … The narwhal lives in the cold waters of the Arctic Sea. Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s1e4: A Curious Twist
It’s not a horn at all; it’s an enormous canine tooth. ibid.
The shell of the nautilus and the snail differ in the way they twist. ibid.
Snails … were distant relatives of other shelled creatures that had dominated the seas for millions of the years: they were the ammonites. ibid.
Female Komodo dragons can give birth to live young without having contacted the male. And female aphids can clone themselves to produce thousands of copies. Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s2e1: Virgin Birth
In 1926 an expedition was launched by an America called William Burden to find out more. ibid.
They proved to be more gentle and intelligent than expected. ibid.
In 2012 odd breeding behaviour was noticed in two species of snakes: Copperheads and Cottonmouths. Some females were producing through parthenogenesis. ibid.
Some animals seem to protect themselves with formidable suits of armour. The rhino carries plates of thick hide [inaudible] while the hedgehog is covered in prickly spines. Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s2e2: Armoured Animals
It wasn’t until the 16th century that they [rhinos] made a real mark on Western society. ibid.
Clara became the talk of the town and European heads of state were eager to meet her. She travelled through Europe like a celebrity. ibid.
A hedgehog has over 5,000 spines. ibid.
Two animals that have mastered the problems of life in the dark: the giant squid which lives in the deepest oceans and owls. Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s2e3: Life in the Dark
Owls: they are extremely good at seeing at low-light levels. ibid.
They can rotate their heads nearly all the way round … 270 degrees. ibid.
Some animals have mastered the art of deception … They are cheats and impostors. Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s2e4: Curious Impostors
The call of a killer and a cheat: the cuckoo lays its egg in the nests of other birds and somehow persuades them to treat and it and its chick as if it were their own. ibid.
It [cuckoo chick] now uses vocal deception to trick its foster parents into providing more food. ibid.
The death’s-head hawk moth is an imposter too but it deceives hundreds of bees. ibid.
Some animals acquired frightening reputations almost as soon as they were discovered. Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s2e5: Bad Reputation
Guy [London Zoo] proved to be a gentle giant who won the affection of the public. ibid.
The gorilla was one of the last [apes] to be described by science. ibid.
Most of the time they are mild and peaceful creatures. ibid.
The vampire bat: stories of giant blood-sucking bats have long been part of the culture of South American people. ibid.
They must consume 50% of their own body weight in blood each night. ibid.
There is another gentler side to these bats. ibid.
The freshwater eel is surrounded by legends … The eels were constantly producing electric discharges … I could get a jolt of an astonishing 600 volts which is quite enough to kill me. Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s2e6: Shocking Senses
The electric catfish could also give shocks and they called it the Thunderer of the Nile. ibid.
We think of plants as passive still and silent … They have surprising abilities … Charles Darwin was fascinated by the Venus Flytrap. ibid.
Some plants like animals can actively catch their prey. ibid.
Spiders spin intricate webs using their own silk and birds weave nests from sticks and leaves. Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s2e8: Spinners and Weavers
Weaver birds’ nests … Nest building is largely under genetic control … The only birds that can tie knots. ibid.
Male seahorses play mother and physically give birth … A fish that kept its eggs in a pouch seemed scarcely believable. Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities s2e9: Strange Parents
He may have up to 1,500 eggs in his pouch. ibid.
The female hyena who looks and behaves just like a male … The females dominate the males. ibid.