The BEST episodes of Nature
Every episode of Nature ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Nature!
Transport viewers to faraway places ranging from the steamy plains of Africa to the splendors of cold Antarctica. The main focus is on animals and ecosystems around the world.
#1 - Iceland: Fire and Ice
Season 17 - Episode 12 - Aired 2/7/1999
"Iceland: Fire and Ice" is a "wonderland of eternal opposites," where glaciers sit on top of volcanoes. In this land of ice there are no trees, but it is home to Arctic foxes, a large bird population and twice as many sheep as people. Included: footage of ice caves.
Watch Now:Amazon
#2 - The Queen of Trees
Season 24 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/9/2006
Patricia Clarkson narrates this look at the relationship between the sycamore fig tree and the tiny fig wasp, which is so small it could fly through the eye of a needle. The trees, which flourish in Kenya, produce fruit that provides nourishment to more wildlife than any other tree in Africa, but without the pollination the wasp provides, that might not occur. The documentary also examines other creatures that make the trees their homes, including gray hornbills (one of Africa's largest birds).
#3 - The Sagebrush Sea
Season 33 - Episode 17 - Aired 5/20/2015
It’s been called The Big Empty – an immense sea of sagebrush that once stretched 500,000 square miles across North America. Yet it’s far from empty, as those who look closely will discover. In this ecosystem anchored by the sage, eagles and antelope, badgers and lizards, rabbits, wrens, owls, prairie dogs, songbirds, hawks and migrating birds of all description make their homes.
Watch Now:Amazon
#4 - The Cheetah Orphans
Season 26 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/11/2007
Documentarian Simon King raises two orphaned cheetah cubs in Kenya's Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. He's seen bottle-feeding them and---to prepare them for the wild--- teaching the pair to hunt. King narrates.
#5 - Born in the Rockies: Growing Up (2)
Season 40 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/17/2021
Young animals face new challenges as winter envelopes the Rocky Mountains, and spring means the end of childhood. A grizzly mom prepares her cubs for hibernation, a mountain lion raises her kittens and a bison calf must learn to survive the snow.
#6 - Fabulous Frogs
Season 32 - Episode 13 - Aired 6/25/2014
Sir David Attenborough hosts an exploration of the weird and wonderful world of frogs. Firsthand stories, the latest science and cutting-edge technology are used to demonstrate the wide variety of frog anatomy, appearance and behavior.
#7 - Legendary White Stallions
Season 31 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/1/2013
The striking white Lipizzaner stallions of the famed Spanish Riding School in Vienna have been thrilling audiences for centuries. During the winter public performance season, the horses execute breathtaking displays of carefully choreographed and synchronized movements known as high classical dressage. The riding school’s success relies on the strong bonds the animals establish with their riders during years of training; Lipizzaner stallions go through a minimum of six years of practice and preparation before performing publicly. Legendary White Stallions explores how Lipizzaners have developed from horses bred for war in the rugged Atlas Mountains of North Africa into living works of art capturing the hearts of millions in a world-famous court of kings.
#8 - Elsa's Legacy: The Born Free Story
Season 29 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/9/2011
2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of “Born Free” – a book and then a film that changed forever the way we think about wildlife. What has happened to lions since this story? What has happened to the people featured in the film? And what has “Born Free” taught us?
#9 - The Secret World of Sharks and Rays
Season 17 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/18/1998
NATURE lifts part of the veil of mystery shrouding some fascinating — and often fearsome — creatures in The Secret World of Sharks and Rays. Sharks and their biological cousins, the rays, are among the highest-profile denizens of the deep, thanks to the popularity of books and films that have cast them in leading roles — as antagonist, not protagonist.
Watch Now:Amazon
#10 - The Flight of the Condor: Down the Amazon (3)
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/24/1982
The third part of the series is a spectacular visual trip down the fabled river. From the snow-clad summit of the volcano Cotopaxi and others comes the greatest river in the world as melting ice creates a torrent that drops three miles in its first short distance. The river is fed by magnificent waterfalls and is channeled through gorges out into the tropical rain forest where there are more species of birds than anywhere.
Watch Now:AmazoniTunes
#11 - Attenborough's Life Stories: Part One - Life on Camera
Season 31 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/23/2013
Attenborough revisits key places and events in his career and shows how a succession of technical innovations in filmmaking led to remarkable revelations about our planet and the creatures that inhabit it.
Watch Now:Amazon
#12 - Christmas in Yellowstone
Season 25 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/19/2006
NATURE presents a breathtaking look at wintertime deep within Yellowstone, America's first national park.
#13 - River of No Return
Season 30 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/18/2012
Central Idaho's Frank Church--River of No Return Wilderness is the largest contiguous wilderness area in the lower 48 States. Endless rugged mountains, wild rivers, forests and deep canyons define this land--home to numerous species of wildlife, including wolves, who have just returned after 50 years of near absence. A young couple, Isaac and Bjornen Babcock, chose this wilderness for their year-long honeymoon. But what begins as a romantic adventure becomes something much greater for the couple--and a tale of hope and celebration for every life trying to make it in the unforgiving heart of the wilderness.
#14 - Equus: Story of the Horse: Chasing the Wind (2)
Season 37 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/23/2019
The relationship between man and his noble steed is almost as old as civilization itself, allowing our species to explore, conquer and flourish side by side with the horse. Nature traces this revolutionizing partnership with anthropologist Niobe Thompson, who treks around the world in search of the moment when man first climbed into the saddle and explains how the relationship between humans and horses has evolved in today’s modern world. Discover the habits of these majestic animals and their unique biological makeup, which made them a perfect fit for our ancestors. Ride along with the world’s last nomadic tribes, who view the horse not just as an animal, but a means of survival. Witness the return of horses to the wild as mankind preserves the hardest-working animal partners we’ve ever had. Locations in this two-part series include Mongolia, Montana, Kentucky, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Siberia, and Sable Island, Nova Scotia.
Watch Now:Amazon
#15 - Woodpeckers: The Hole Story
Season 41 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/2/2022
Get an intimate look at what makes woodpeckers so special. Explore their unique abilities and intimate stories from around the world.
Watch Now:Amazon
#16 - Clash: Encounters of Bears and Wolves
Season 28 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/17/2010
The wilds of Yellowstone National Park are a world of predators, scavengers and opportunists. In this vast and complex kingdom, two dominant predators reign supreme: the grizzly bear and the wolf. Size and power square off against speed and teamwork, as mighty grizzly bears contend with powerful packs of wolves for control of the food supply. Though these two fearsome hunters would normally rule their ranges uncontested, in Yellowstone they must share resources, or face starvation.
#17 - Invasion of the Giant Pythons
Season 28 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/19/2010
The Everglades’ watery oasis has been invaded by giants. As part of an ever popular international pet trade market, and incidentally along paths of human travel, many exotic animals have been removed from their native lands and landed where they are not necessarily welcome arrivals. Among these invasive species are a growing number of Burmese pythons, which have taken up residence in the wetlands of Florida, courtesy of overwhelmed pet owners and hurricane-hit animal warehouses.
#18 - Yosemite
Season 35 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/29/2017
Yosemite Valley is a land forged in wildfire and sculpted by water; the delicate balance of these two elements is essential to the creatures and trees that call this land home. But with climates changing and temperatures rising, the Sierras are under siege. Scientists, experts and adventurers head into Yosemite to see how these global changes are affecting one of America’s greatest wildernesses.
Watch Now:Amazon
#19 - The Funkiest Monkeys
Season 32 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/29/2014
There is an unusual looking monkey called the crested black macaque that is endemic to rainforests in Indonesia, which includes the island of Sulawesi. These striking black primates, sporting punk hairstyles and copper-colored eyes, first caught the attention and won the heart of wildlife cameraman and biologist Colin Stafford-Johnson 25 years ago. But since then, their numbers have dropped by almost 90 percent, so the filmmaker returns to the island to discover why and how he could help.
#20 - Nature's Miniature Miracles
Season 36 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/22/2017
Uncover nature's biggest little secrets from mini nocturnal monkeys to sand-sculpting puffer fish.
Watch Now:Amazon
#21 - Natural Born Hustlers: The Hunger Hustle
Season 34 - Episode 8 - Aired 1/20/2016
Animals adapt their bodies or behavior to secure their next meal.
Watch Now:Amazon
#22 - Animal Homes: The Nest
Season 33 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/8/2015
Exploring how birds carefully select their materials, and craft their homes for the all-important tasks of protecting their eggs and raising their young.
Watch Now:Amazon#23 - The Flight of the Condor: Ice, Wind, and Fire (1)
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/10/1982
Following the path of the condor, whose ten-foot wingspan enables it to soar effortlessly over the peaks of the Andes mountains, this film starts at the storm beaten rocks of Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America and journeys north to the highest peak in the Americas - Aconcagua. Along the way, we see exotic animals and birds such as the penguin, hummingbird, sea otter, guanaco, ostrich-like rhea, and puma.
Watch Now:iTunes
#24 - A Murder of Crows
Season 29 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/24/2010
Although cultures around the world may regard the crow as a scavenger, bad omen, or simply a nuisance, this bad reputation might overshadow what could be regarded as the crow’s most striking characteristic – its intelligence. New research indicates that crows are among the brightest animals in the world. NATURE’s A Murder of Crows brings you these so-called feathered apes, as you have never seen them before.
#25 - The Alps - The High Life
Season 39 - Episode 7 - Aired 1/13/2021
In Europe’s highest mountain range, discover how Eurasian lynx, griffon vultures, ibex, marmots and more face extreme seasonal fluctuations, from volatile thunderstorms and landslides of summer to avalanches and frozen temperatures of winter. In Part One of the miniseries "The Alps", enjoy the Alps in spring and summertime as newborn animals grow up to face the coming brutal winter.
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