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 is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.
Top Episode Highlight
The best episode of "Natural World" is "Leopard - A Darkness In The Grass", rated 9.7/10 from 23 user votes. It was directed by N/A and written by N/A. "Leopard - A Darkness In The Grass" aired on 10/5/1986 and is rated 0.6 point(s) higher than the second highest rated, "Battle to Save the Tiger".
9.7/10 23 votes#1 - Leopard - A Darkness In The Grass
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 1986-10-05
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
9.1/10 17 votes#2 - Battle to Save the Tiger
Season 26 Episode 2 - Aired 2007-04-11
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
9.1/10 29 votes#3 - Tiger Dynasty
Season 31 Episode 8 - Aired 2012-02-01
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
9.0/10 9 votes#4 - Eye for an Elephant
Season 25 Episode 3 - Aired 2006-11-01
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
8.9/10 49 votes#5 - Jungle Gremlins of Java
Season 31 Episode 7 - Aired 2012-01-25
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
8.8/10 14 votes#6 - Desert Lions
Season 26 Episode 9 - Aired 2007-05-30
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
8.8/10 16 votes#7 - Titus: The Gorilla King
Season 28 Episode 1 - Aired 2008-11-11
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
- 8.8/10 16 votes
#8 - The Super Squirrels
Season 38 Episode 6 - Aired 2018-06-19
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
8.7/10 10 votes#9 - On the Trail of Tarka
Season 25 Episode 2 - Aired 2006-10-25
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
8.7/10 22 votes#10 - Buddha, Bees And The Giant Hornet Queen
Season 25 Episode 8 - Aired 2007-04-25
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
8.7/10 22 votes#11 - Prairie Dogs - Talk of the Town
Season 29 Episode 11 - Aired 2010-02-03
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
8.7/10 52 votes#12 - The Monkey-Eating Eagle of the Orinoco
Season 30 Episode 1 - Aired 2010-07-08
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
8.7/10 7 votes#13 - Growing Up Wild
Season 35 Episode 4 - Aired 2015-03-26
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.7/10 7 votes#14 - Iceland: Land of Ice and Fire
Season 35 Episode 5 - Aired 2015-05-01
In what turns out to be an explosive year, witness Iceland through the eyes of the animals and people that have made this wild island home. An arctic fox family must eke out a cliff-top living, an eider farmer has his hands full playing duck dad to hundreds of new arrivals and Viking horsemen prepare to saddle up for the autumn round up. But nature's clock is ticking, and the constant volcanic threat eventually boils over with one of Iceland's biggest eruptions in more than 200 years. This land of ice and fire will not be tamed.
Director: Andrew Chastney
Writer: N/A
8.6/10 7 votes#15 - Moose on the Loose
Season 26 Episode 3 - Aired 2007-04-18
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
8.6/10 64 votes#16 - Black Mamba, White Witch
Season 29 Episode 4 - Aired 2009-11-19
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
8.6/10 50 votes#17 - Komodo - Secrets of the Dragon
Season 31 Episode 4 - Aired 2011-08-24
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
8.6/10 31 votes#18 - Orangutans: The Great Ape Escape
Season 33 Episode 6 - Aired 2013-10-04
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
8.6/10 13 votes#19 - Galapagos: Islands of Change
Season 35 Episode 3 - Aired 2015-03-10
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.
Director: Stuart Armstrong
Writer: N/A
8.6/10 29 votes#20 - Ghost Bear Family
Season 35 Episode 9 - Aired 2015-07-23
In the vast Canadian wilderness, there lives a very special bear family. Just out of hibernation, two black cubs have a pure white mother. She's not a polar bear or albino - locally she's known as a ghost bear. This far north, winter is never far away, and this unusual family must work hard to find enough food to see them through. They will also need to avoid other large predators, but being so different could bring them unwelcome attention.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.6/10 75 votes
#21 - Supercharged Otters
Season 37 Episode 5 - Aired 2017-06-20
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
- 8.5/10 12 votes
#22 - The Wonderful World Of Dung
Season 10 Episode 3 - Aired 1991-12-08
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/10 11 votes#23 - Gabon - Forests of the Future
Season 26 Episode 10 - Aired 2007-06-06
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
8.5/10 16 votes#24 - Cork - Forest in a Bottle
Season 28 Episode 5 - Aired 2008-12-09
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
8.5/10 19 votes#25 - Victoria Falls - The Smoke that Thunders
Season 29 Episode 2 - Aired 2009-11-04
Wildlife documentary. A tale of life on the Zambezi River, set against the epic backdrop of Victoria Falls. The story is told from the point of view of a local fisherman, Mr White, who has fished these waters for 69 years, and whose riverside companions are elephants, baboons, hippos and kingfishers. Follow the fortunes of these animals through his eyes, and learn how their lives are ruled by the moods of the river and the rains.
Director: Jamie McPherson
Writer: N/A