The BEST episodes directed by Stephen Dunleavy
#1 - Komodo - Secrets of the Dragon
Natural World - Season 30 - Episode 4
The Komodo dragon was discovered one hundred years ago, yet the true nature of the biggest lizard in the world is only just being uncovered. Using hi-tech tools to take a fresh look at this prehistoric beast, Dr Bryan Fry discovers there is a lot more to the dragon than meets the eye - from hidden venom glands to its secret origins.
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#2 - Attenborough and the Giant Elephant
BBC Documentaries - Season 2017 - Episode 318
David Attenborough investigates the remarkable life and death of Jumbo the elephant - a celebrity animal superstar whose story is said to have inspired the movie Dumbo. Attenborough joins a team of scientists and conservationists to unravel the complex and mysterious story of this large African elephant - an elephant many believed to be the biggest in the world. With unique access to Jumbo's skeleton at the American Museum of Natural History, the team work together to separate myth from reality. How big was Jumbo really? How was he treated in captivity? And how did he die? Jumbo's bones may offer vital clues. Arriving in London Zoo in 1865, Jumbo fast became a firm favourite of Queen Victoria and her children, and was nicknamed the Children's Pet. Yet behind the scenes, this gentle giant was living a double life - smashing his den, breaking his tusks and being pacified by large amounts of alcohol given to him by his keeper, Matthew Scott. Scott had no human friends but had a deep empathy for animals, developing a particularly strong and near mystical bond with Jumbo. Then, quite suddenly, London Zoo caused public outrage by selling Jumbo to PT Barnum's circus in America where he travelled with his devoted keeper to start a new life. But while his time in America turned him into star with 20 million people coming to see him, his life ended tragically and mysteriously. As well as Jumbo's skeleton, Attenborough explores the lives of wild elephants to explain Jumbo's troubled mind, and he discovers how our attitude to captive elephants has changed dramatically in recent years.
#3 - Prairie Dogs - Talk of the Town
Natural World - Season 28 - Episode 11
Prairie Dogs are America's answer to the meerkat - small, sociable and exceptionally cute. This offbeat film narrated by Rob Brydon takes us to the Wild West where prairie dogs live in huge colonies known as 'towns'. Like meerkats they are comical to watch, but there is a whole lot more to prairie dogs than just being cute - they can talk. For 30 years Professor Con Slobodchikoff has been recording their calls in response to predators like coyotes, hawks and badgers. He believes he has discovered a language second only to humans in its complexity. It's a bold claim but is he right? Con has devised a series of cunning field experiments to help prove his point.