The Best Episodes of Natural World
#1 - A Killer Whale Called Luna 10.00
Season 29 - Episode 9
This is the emotional story of one young killer whale's quest for companionship after he was separated from his family. Luna was just two years old when, alone and confused, he found himself on the rugged, wild coast of Vancouver Island. Following his tumultuous life, the film records the human friendships he developed and the trouble this led him into. From death threats, to numerous capture attempts by the government, the film-makers watched as people tried to determine his fate. Luna shows us how quickly our lives can once again cross with the natural world.
Directors: Suzanne Chisholm
#2 - Meet the Monkeys 9.00
Season 33 - Episode 5
Peanut, Hero and Tarzan are three cheeky monkeys. They live on the paradise Indonesian island of Sulawesi with the rest of their gang of crested black macaques. These very special primates are found nowhere else in the world. Twenty-five years ago, wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson visited Sulawesi for the first time and now he's returned. Fascinated by the monkeys, Colin hopes to reveal their sometimes violent, often playful and, just like our own, highly political world. What he discovers leads him on a much bigger journey than he was ever expecting.
Directors: Rob Sullivan
#3 - Galapagos: Islands of Change 8.70
Season 35 - Episode 3
From enormous tortoises and deep-diving lizards to fish-eating snakes and birds that hunt giant venomous centipedes, the wildlife of the world-famous Galapagos Islands is unique and bizarre. This wilderness once inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, but it is currently undergoing a human revolution, with tourism driving a population boom. David Attenborough narrates this modern-day story of the Galapagos and reveals whether, in this ever-changing world, its animals can still thrive.
#4 - The Himalayas 8.67
Season 30 - Episode 4
The Himalayas look beautiful and lifeless, unable to give anything, not even enough air. Yet this powerful film reveals the Himalayas provide many gifts - water and food for animals, and for people too, rice and religion, or pets and perfumes.
Directors: Mark Fletcher
#5 - Lobo: The Wolf that Changed America 8.67
Season 27 - Episode 10
Ernest Thompson Seton rode into the wilds of New Mexico just before the turn of the century to kill a wolf named Lobo. The book he wrote inspired many generations of naturalists.
#6 - Snow Leopard - Beyond The Myth 8.50
Season 27 - Episode 1
The Snow Leopard, one of the most beautiful of all big cats is also one of the rarest. Natural World visits a hidden lair and lifts the veil on this elusive predator.
#7 - Nature's Misfits 8.38
Season 34 - Episode 4
Bill Bailey introduces a delightfully eccentric cast of creatures that have chosen to do things differently. Odd, unconventional and unusual - these are animals that don't normally grab the limelight. From the parrot that has forgotten how to fly, to the bear that has turned vegetarian, a chameleon that is barely bigger than an ant, and a penguin that lives in a forest. Nature's Misfits reveals the extraordinary and rarely seen lives of these evolutionary oddballs, their strange habitats, unusual forms, and the incredible hurdles they overcome.
Directors: Gavin Boyland
#8 - Honey Badgers: Masters of Mayhem 8.36
Season 34 - Episode 2
Record books describe the honey badger as the most fearless animal on the planet; although barely a foot tall, they have a reputation for attacking just about anything - from venomous snakes to full-grown lions. In South Africa, an eager scientist, a tenacious beekeeper and a patient conservationist all have a soft spot for these so called 'bad boys' of the animal kingdom, and each of them wants to discover if the honey badger's bite really is as big as its hype.
Directors: Steve Gooder
#9 - Meerkats: Secrets of an Animal Superstar 8.33
Season 33 - Episode 7
Meerkat pups Squirt and Weeny belong to one of the most famous animal families on the planet, animals that are now stars of screens both big and small. These furry celebrities are also part of the longest running animal behaviour study ever, now in its 20th anniversary year. David Attenborough tells the full story of the study - from its pioneering days when it was a challenge to even get close to a meerkat, to the very latest revelations about these animals and their complex lives. For Squirt and Weeny, the study means very little, as they are facing up to the challenge of a drought and one of the toughest years in their family's history.
Directors: Virginia Quinn
#10 - Iceland: Land of Ice and Fire 8.29
Season 35 - Episode 5
#11 - Growing Up Wild 7.87
Season 35 - Episode 4
A look at the challenges young animals face, from their first steps through to leaving home. For any animal, the early days of life are often the most difficult. Finding food, avoiding predators and generally learning life's essential skills is tough. However, with a little parental guidance growing up can be an adventure. By following some special tiger cubs in India, an adolescent mountain gorilla in Uganda and two nervous polar bear cubs in the high Arctic, the trials and tribulations of growing up wild are revealed.
#12 - Africa's Giant Killers 7.75
Season 34 - Episode 1
Africa's largest herd of elephants and a fearless pride of young lions come face to face in an epic fight for survival. Rarely do their worlds collide, until now. This is no chance conflict; nature has played its part. Drought has weakened the elephants and the lions are desperately hungry. The dawn of the giant killers has arrived.
Directors: Brad Bestelink
#13 - Penguin Post Office 7.20
Season 34 - Episode 7
Welcome to the Penguin Post Office, a little bit of Britain in the heart of Antarctica. Inside, the post office has everything you'd expect; a postbox, stamps, postcards and some dedicated staff. Outside, things are a little bit different. Neighbouring the post office are 3,000 gentoo penguins. They are there to raise a family but their lives are far from picture postcard as adultery and robbery are rife. The post office and its penguins attract thousands of visitors. Whilst they come and go, the penguins must keep up with daily chores to ensure their chicks make it to sea before the Antarctic winter starts to bite.
Directors: Andrew Graham-Brown
#14 - Himalaya 7.00
Season 15 - Episode 7
Documentary about the geological and natural history of the Himalayas, the highest and youngest mountain range in the world. The landscape is home to a remarkable diversity of wildlife, including red pandas, snow leopards and iridescent pheasants.
Directors: Pelham Aldrich-Blake#15 - Among The Wild Chimpanzees 0.00
Season 3 - Episode 1
#16 - Plight of the Bumble-Bee 0.00
Season 2 - Episode 1
The programme is about bumble bees in the forests of New England. We follow a queen bumble bee as she emerges from hibernation to find a suitable nest site and establish a colony from the eggs she has carried over the winter. She duels with a rival queen. Honey bees, bee mites and wax moths also feature in her life story.
Directors: Keenan Smart#17 - Ice Pack 0.00
Season 7 - Episode 1
Documentary on the wolf packs of Arctic Canada.
Directors: Robin Hellier#18 - Running For Their Lives 0.00
Season 9 - Episode 1
#19 - Spirits Of The Forest 0.00
Season 6 - Episode 1
#21 - The Orangutan King 0.00
Season 24 - Episode 1
Documentary about Kusasi, the world's most famous orangutan. His rise to power was meteoric, from orphaned baby to 20 stone king of the swingers - the fearless ruler of the orangutans in the Camp Leakey sanctuary and in the wild jungles of Borneo beyond. Now 30- years-old, his power could be starting to wane, and his life takes a new direction with the arrival of a challenger for his throne.
#22 - Gorillas In The Midst Of Man 0.00
Season 8 - Episode 1
An intimate and touching glimpse into the lives of these gentle, highly intelligent creatures, it follows a team of scientists and volunteers as they continue the research of the late ethologist Dian Fossey.
Directors: Adrian Warren
#23 - The Last Lions of India 0.00
Season 25 - Episode 1
Documentary about Asiatic lions, which are completely different from African lions in both appearance and behaviour but are thriving in India. Their refuge is the Gir forest in Gujarat, and in the last 100 years their numbers have grown from 20 to over 300. They are now spreading out beyond the protection of the National Park, reclaiming lost territory and colonising new habitats. It's a rare conservation success story but one that brings new challenges to lions, naturalists and forestry staff.
Directors: Laura Marshall#24 - Leopard, A Darkness In The Grass 0.00
Season 5 - Episode 1
#25 - Toki's Tale 0.00
Season 26 - Episode 1
Two years ago Simon King made Cheetahs – Fast Track to Freedom a film about his attempt to return two orphaned cheetah cubs to the wild. The film ended tragically with the cub Sambu being killed by lions, but his brother Toki survived. Simon's new film follows the equally dramatic twists and turns of his continuing story.
Directors: Simon King