9.7/1023 votesLoading...#1 - Leopard - A Darkness In The Grass
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 10/5/1986
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
9.1/1018 votesLoading...#2 - Battle to Save the Tiger
Season 26 Episode 2 - Aired 4/11/2007
The Indian tiger is in deep trouble. Thirty years ago India set aside over 30 tiger reserves controlled by Project Tiger. Initially it was hailed as a great success, but in the last few years hundreds of tigers have been poached from under officials' noses according to WPSI (Wildlife Protection Society of India) run by Belinda Wright. This film, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, looks at the controversy surrounding the plight of the tiger. Can they come back from the brink of extinction again?
Director: Mike Birkhead
Writer: N/A
9.0/109 votesLoading...#3 - Eye for an Elephant
Season 25 Episode 3 - Aired 11/1/2006
Martyn Colbeck has spent 15 years scouring Africa for the ultimate images of the world's largest land creature- the African Elephant. Along the way he has learned how to read elephant minds, gain unsurpassed levels of trust and, so, achieve pictures of spectacular beauty and insight. An Eye For an Elephant charts the journeys Colbeck has made since he first became entranced by the magic and mystery of elephants after he arrived in Amboseli National Park in 1990 and met Echo, a young matriarch. His work on an eventual trilogy about Echo and her family resulted in scenes of elephant life and behaviour never seen on screen before - and inspired him to seek out and film other herds, including the forgotten elephants who struggle for survival in the parched deserts of Namibia and the dense confines of the Congolese jungle. The story of his personal and wildlife discoveries is told by inter-cutting new footage and Colbeck’s recollections with archive treasures and a selection of the powerful still images that helped him to win the title International Wildlife Photographer of the Year. As the story unfolds, viewers experience the intensity of the camerman’s relationship with the elephants he views almost as family, and gain a sense of why they deserve his affection.
Director: Martyn Colbeck
Writer: N/A
9.0/1030 votesLoading...#4 - Tiger Dynasty
Season 31 Episode 8 - Aired 2/1/2012
A young tigress is chosen to found a new dynasty. Airlifted from her home in an Indian park to life in a new reserve, Baghani the tigress must fight with leopards for territory and learn to hunt dangerous wild boar. Also released is Rajore, a hot blooded young male. For two years every aspect of their lives are followed by the camera. Will they mate and start a family, or will they be killed by poachers?
Director: Nalla
Writer: N/A
8.8/1014 votesLoading...#5 - Desert Lions
Season 26 Episode 9 - Aired 5/30/2007
Many years ago lions thrived in the deserts of Namibia's Skeleton Coast, until they were exterminated by man. Six years ago maverick biologist Flip Stander discovered a tiny remnant population alive and well in nearby mountains, and started to study them. Their numbers have grown and they are now returning to the desert in increasing numbers. But if these lions are to continue roaming here, Flip will have to persuade local people that these lions are worth more alive than dead.
Director: Amanda Barrett, Owen Newman
Writer: N/A
8.8/1016 votesLoading...#6 - Titus: The Gorilla King
Season 28 Episode 1 - Aired 11/11/2008
Abandoned as a baby, removed from normal gorilla family life as a youngster - so profound were the misfortunes that Titus suffered in his early years that no gorilla scientist could have predicted his eventual rise to power. His moving life story is pieced together here for the first time, based on archive film and the memories of field workers who have studied the mountain gorillas since Dian Fossey's pioneering work more than 40 years ago. At 33 years of age, Titus is not just one of the most powerful Silverbacks in Rwanda's Virunga Mountains, he is possibly the most remarkable gorilla ever known. His life story is as full of drama, intrigue and tragedy as any human soap opera. Against a stunning backdrop of misty volcanic peaks cloaked in bamboo and giant lobelia, Titus has successfully steered his family group through thick and thin. Now he is under pressure again. With his ally-turned-rival, Kuryama, jockeying for position, is the final chapter in Titus's extraordinary reign about to occur?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.8/1050 votesLoading...#7 - Jungle Gremlins of Java
Season 31 Episode 7 - Aired 1/25/2012
The slow loris is the real-life gremlin, extremely cute but with a venom that can kill. Now it's also a YouTube superstar with millions of hits. Dr Anna Nekaris travels to the jungles of Java to solve the riddle of its toxic bite, but a shocking discovery awaits.
Director: Stephen Gooder
Writer: N/A
8.7/1010 votesLoading...#8 - On the Trail of Tarka
Season 25 Episode 2 - Aired 10/25/2006
Filmmakers Charlie Hamilton-James and Philippa Forrester went in search of otters on a short stretch of the River Torridge in Devon, immortalised 80 years ago by Henry Williamson in his famous novel Tarka the Otter. Over months of patient fieldwork they got to know and film a family of wild otters. The result is both a lyrical portrait of these shy creatures and a tribute to Williamson's skills as a writer and naturalist.
Director: Charlie Hamilton James, Philippa Forrester
Writer: N/A
8.7/1022 votesLoading...#9 - Buddha, Bees And The Giant Hornet Queen
Season 25 Episode 8 - Aired 4/25/2007
The Giant Japanese Hornet is the fiercest looking insect on earth, and one of the deadliest. This film follows the remarkable life of one giant hornet queen, as she emerges from hibernation and starts to build up a colony in an old temple garden. Her army of warriors terrorise the beautiful mountain valley in their constant struggle to find food for their hungry grubs. In a series of dramatic pitched battles, the giant hornets massacre thousands of bees, but victory isn't always assured - one local honeybee fights back thanks to a remarkable defensive strategy, and suddenly it is the hornets that are dying. A beekeeper monk bears witness to the rising power of the giant hornet colony, and despite the hornet's attacks on his own bees, he reveals a deep respect for these incredible predators.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.7/1054 votesLoading...#10 - The Monkey-Eating Eagle of the Orinoco
Season 30 Episode 1 - Aired 7/8/2010
The harpy eagle is the most powerful bird of prey in the world, plucking monkeys from the branches of the jungle canopy. Rare and elusive, they are seldom seen, but with the discovery of a harpy nest in the remote Orinoco rainforest of Venezuela, wildlife film-maker Fergus Beeley has a unique opportunity to follow the life of a chick from birth to adulthood. Fergus ascends high into the canopy to reveal a stunning world of colour and sound, following the trials of the harpy eagle's newly hatched chick as it grows up. Fergus becomes just another member of the dazzling community of birds and animals surrounding the harpy nest and develops an unexpectedly close bond with the chick.
Director: Fergus Beeley
Writer: N/A
- 8.7/1017 votesLoading...
#11 - The Super Squirrels
Season 38 Episode 6 - Aired 6/19/2018
The squirrel family is one of the most widespread on earth, so what is the secret to their success? There are squirrels that can glide through the air, outwit rattlesnakes and survive the coldest temperatures of any mammal. We uncover the extraordinary abilities of these cheeky characters, putting their problem solving to the test on a specially designed assault course. We team up with some of the world's top squirrel scientists who are making groundbreaking discoveries - from the fox squirrel who can remember the location of 9,000 nuts to the grey squirrel whose tree-top leaps are the basis of new designs in robotics. We also see the world through the eyes of an orphan red squirrel called Billy, as he grows up and develops all the skills he will need to be released back to the wild. It is time to meet the animal family we should never underestimate - the supersquirrels.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.6/1017 votesLoading...#12 - Cork - Forest in a Bottle
Season 28 Episode 5 - Aired 12/9/2008
Every time we weigh up which bottle of wine to buy, we hold the fate of nightingales, rare black storks, secretive wild cats and one of the world's most remarkable trees in our hands. It has all to do with the stopper. If it is cork, it probably came from the bark of one of the ancient cork oak trees from the Montados, in the Alentejo region of Portugal.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.6/1065 votesLoading...#13 - Black Mamba, White Witch
Season 29 Episode 4 - Aired 11/19/2009
In the small African kingdom of Swaziland, the black mamba is a snake both feared and revered. During summer, these elegant yet lethal snakes turn up everywhere - in homes, schools and cars - and people are bitten every week. Enter Thea Litschka-Koen, a mum and hotel manager who has become known affectionately as the white witch. She and her husband are on call 24 hours a day to rescue and release black mambas when they get too close for comfort. But what everyone wants to know is will they come back again? We follow Thea and her team as they set up a pioneering new scientific project: to track the black mambas they release back into the wild, and find out just how these deadly snakes spend their lives.
Director: Jo Scofield
Writer: N/A
8.6/1023 votesLoading...#14 - Prairie Dogs - Talk of the Town
Season 29 Episode 11 - Aired 2/3/2010
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.
Director: Stephen Dunleavy
Writer: N/A
8.6/1086 votesLoading...#15 - Echo - An Unforgettable Elephant
Season 30 Episode 2 - Aired 8/5/2010
A celebration of the life and legacy of Echo, the world's most famous elephant, who was born in 1945 and died in 2009, and who Natural World followed for the last 20 years of her life. The timing of Echo's death could not be worse. The wise old matriarch had guided her family for half a century but the cruellest drought in living memory devastated her home under the shadow of Kilimanjaro. Will her 38-strong band of relatives and descendants overcome the loss of their leader, hunger and poachers to survive?
Director: Mike Birkhead
Writer: N/A
8.6/1050 votesLoading...#16 - Komodo - Secrets of the Dragon
Season 31 Episode 4 - Aired 8/24/2011
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.
Director: Stephen Dunleavy
Writer: N/A
8.6/1032 votesLoading...#17 - Orangutans: The Great Ape Escape
Season 33 Episode 6 - Aired 10/4/2013
Leonora is no ordinary orangutan, she is a pioneer. With her three year old son in her arms, she is about to set off on an epic journey back to the wild - the great ape escape. It is a long way from what she is used to. After being orphaned as a baby, she has spent the majority of her life in a rescue centre. She is leaving behind 600 other orangutans, all of whom are relying on her for their chance at freedom. If Leonora can make it, they could too.
Director: Annie Backhouse
Writer: N/A
- 8.6/1077 votesLoading...
#18 - Supercharged Otters
Season 37 Episode 5 - Aired 6/20/2017
Otters are playful, adaptable and champion swimmers - they've captivated cameraman Charlie Hamilton James for the last 25 years. He's filmed them more than anyone else and now, through the eyes of three orphaned river otters, a set of ground-breaking experiments and some incredible wild encounters, Charlie wants to reveal their survival secrets and exactly why he believes they're so special.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1012 votesLoading...
#19 - The Wonderful World Of Dung
Season 10 Episode 3 - Aired 12/8/1991
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/108 votesLoading...#20 - Moose on the Loose
Season 26 Episode 3 - Aired 4/18/2007
Anchorage capital city of Alaska is the wildest city on Earth thanks to its dramatic wildlife. Alongside 260,000 people are up to 1,000 moose, 200 black bears and 60 grizzlies as well as large numbers of beavers, ravens and eagles. Managing this urban menagerie is all in a day's work for rangers Rick and Jesse. They believe that people and large dangerous animals can live in one city and through the groundbreaking Alaska Fish and Game project they're determined to prove it.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/1011 votesLoading...#21 - Gabon - Forests of the Future
Season 26 Episode 10 - Aired 6/6/2007
In a region of Africa more often in the news for human suffering and civil war, the state of Gabon is a stable democracy that is devoting itself to protecting wildlife. Over 10% percent of the country's rainforest is protected in a series of national parks that are home to elephants, gorillas, chimps and giant troupes of mandrills.
Director: Stella Cha
Writer: N/A
8.5/1016 votesLoading...#22 - Queen of the Savannah
Season 31 Episode 12 - Aired 3/29/2012
The queen African honeybee rules the savannah - even elephants panic at the buzzing of her hive. This recreates the life of the queen and her colony as they fight to survive. Ground-breaking close-up photography shows a bee-eye view of their world, from the queen murdering her sisters to fighting off giant invaders and eventually migrating across the savannah to the great Mount Kenya. Accompanied by short film Safe in the City with Dr George McGavin on the growth of the urban beekeeper.
Director: N/A
Writer: Verity White
8.5/107 votesLoading...#23 - Jaguars - Born Free
Season 32 Episode 6 - Aired 1/21/2013
In this Natural World special, three tiny orphaned jaguar cubs are discovered in a Brazilian forest. A family decide to take the place of their mother and train them to become wild again. Over two years they must learn to climb trees, swim, and hunt for their dinner. If they can be successfully released, it will give new hope to these rare animals. Narrated by Zoe Wanamaker.
Director: Rob Sullivan
Writer: N/A
8.5/1016 votesLoading...#24 - Leopards: 21st Century Cats
Season 33 Episode 1 - Aired 5/17/2013
Leopards are built for strength rather than speed, hunting in the shadows and ambushing their prey. In an ever shrinking world, their lives are colliding with people - attacks are reported regularly and hundreds of these big cats are stoned, trapped or shot.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/1037 votesLoading...#25 - Africa's Giant Killers
Season 34 Episode 1 - Aired 4/11/2014
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.
Director: Brad Bestelink
Writer: Rob Sullivan
The Best Episodes of Natural World
Every episode of Natural World ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Natural World!
Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It...
Genre:Documentary
Network:BBC Two
Best Episodes Summary
"Leopard - A Darkness In The Grass" is the best rated episode of "Natural World". It scored 9.7/10 based on 23 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 10/5/1986. This episode scored 0.6 points higher than the second highest rated, "Battle to Save the Tiger".