NaN/100 votes#1 - The Lost Elephants of Timbuktu
Season 20 Episode 1 - Aired 10/7/2001
David Attenborough narrates this documentary following young research student Anne Orlando as she sets out on an unforgettable adventure, hoping to solve the mysteries surrounding a herd of elephants that inhabit the desert south of the fabled city of Timbuktu. How do they survive the arid conditions? Why do they disappear for two months each year? And why do they make an annual journey across the desert?
Director: David Allen
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votes#2 - Yellowstone: America's Sacred Wilderness
Season 20 Episode 2 - Aired 10/14/2001
Park ranger Paul Schullery presents a personal account of life in America's Yellowstone Park. After wolves were reintroduced to the park, he watched the natural order establish itself, as wolves hunted down elk parents and grizzly bears stalked their fawns.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#3 - Wild Nights
Season 20 Episode 3 - Aired 10/21/2001
Simon King attempts to win the trust of shy and elusive night-time animals including badgers, foxes and owls, in an attempt to reveal the natural world on our doorstep.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votes#4 - Hotel Heliconia
Season 20 Episode 4 - Aired 11/4/2001
The Heliconia plant provides food and shelter for a wide variety of jungle creatures and also produces some of the most stunning flowers on earth
Director: Philip Savoie
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#5 - Night Stalkers
Season 20 Episode 5 - Aired 11/18/2001
This documentary introduces us to the variety of bats found in the rainforests of Central America. Fringe-lipped, Fishing, fruit and the notorious vampire bat are amongst the line up.
Director: Richard Foster
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#6 - Treasure Islands
Season 20 Episode 6 - Aired 11/25/2001
Documentary on the wildlife of the Channel Islands.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votes#7 - Leopard Hunters
Season 20 Episode 7 - Aired 12/2/2001
Wildlife documentary featuring the Asiatic leopards of Yala in the south of Sri Lanka. This unique and revealing film shows the secretive spotted cats fighting crocodiles and bears, and three cubs surviving the perils of growing up in the jungle.
Director: Mike Birkhead
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votes#8 - War Wrecks of the Coral Sea
Season 20 Episode 8 - Aired 12/9/2001
Exploring shipwrecks in the Solomon Islands and Truk Lagoon that have been transformed into spectacular living reefs following the destruction of World War Two. Featuring the testimony of those involved in the conflict
Director: Crispin Sadler
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#9 - The Alps
Season 20 Episode 9 - Aired 12/16/2001
Documentary focusing on the wildlife of the European Alps, a spectacular wilderness area in the heart of the world's most densely settled continent. Carved by ice-age glaciers and invaded by animals adapted to life in harsh conditions, such as bears, wolves, golden eagles and ibex, the region is much more than a vast arena of ski slopes. Narrated by Andrew Sachs.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votes#10 - A Wild Dog's Story
Season 20 Episode 10 - Aired 1/20/2002
Documentary following Newky, an African wild dog, over five years. Told through the personal recollections of wild-dog researcher Dr 'Tico' McNutt and set against the spectacular wilderness of Botswana's Okavango delta, Newky's story is a poignant tale of survival against the odds for one of the world's most endangered and fascinating creatures.
Director: Mike Holding
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#11 - Killer Whales of Monterey Bay
Season 20 Episode 12 - Aired 1/27/2002
Andrew Sachs narrates a programme focusing on the killer whales of Monterey Bay, fierce and nomadic hunters capable of taking down prey as big as a grey whale. As well as capturing the killers in their natural habitat, underwater film makers Paul and Gracie Atkins also uncover a secret that may threaten the whales' existence.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.2/1010 votes#12 - The Canine Conspiracy
Season 20 Episode 13 - Aired 2/24/2002
The programme follows a puppy through the first year of its life and its willful destruction of the owner's property : which nearly led to the rebellious hound's expulsion from the family home. Producer Mark Flowers reveals the manipulative nature of the mutt and how the four-legged beast may have manipulated people for thousands of years, casting doubt on the notion of the dog as man's best friend. Have humans unwittingly become victims of a canine conspiracy?
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votes#13 - The Cat Connection
Season 20 Episode 14 - Aired 3/3/2002
The secret life of the cat, examining the Jekyll and Hyde nature of the feline, which is a ruthless predator in the wild. Filmed in several countries, the programme explains what place the creature has in history, asking why it's the most popular domesticated pet in Britain and the USA.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#14 - Top Bat
Season 20 Episode 15 - Aired 3/10/2002
Rebecca Hosking presents an insight into the world of vampire bats, observing them in their natural habitat. She reveals that despite their dark reputation, they possess amazing abilities, including seeing in the dark and echo-location - technology which could benefit humans with impaired vision
Director: Phil Chapman
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#15 - Amazon: Super River
Season 20 Episode 16 - Aired 3/17/2002
A look at the biggest river system on the planet, the Amazon, which rises as a small stream high in the Andes and ends over 6,000 miles away in the Atlantic Ocean. Holding a fifth of the Earth's river water, the Amazon floods an area larger than England and supports an unbeatable array of wildlife. The Amazon Basin is home to thousands of types of fish, including air-breathing species and the deadly piranha.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- NaN/100 votes
#16 - Rhinos: Built to Last?
Season 20 Episode 17 - Aired 3/24/2002
Robert Lindsay narrates a documentary which focuses on the plight of the rhino, a notoriously feisty and well-armoured animal that is both revered and feared by humans. Hunted for its horn to the verge of extinction in the last century, this programme looks at whether the rhino is capable of staging a comeback
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Natural World Season 20
Every episode of Natural World Season 20 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Natural World Season 20!
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
Season 20 Ratings Summary
"The Lost Elephants of Timbuktu" is the best rated episode of "Natural World" season 20. It scored N/A/10 based on 0 votes. Directed by David Allen and written by N/A, it aired on 10/7/2001. This episode is rated NaN points higher than the second-best, "Yellowstone: America's Sacred Wilderness".