Ocean of Islands
Documentary looking at the remote South Pacific islands, which are inhabited by some of the most curious and precarious examples of life found on earth.
The South Pacific islands are the most remote in the world. Their extraordinary isolation has created some of the most curious, surprising and precarious examples of life found anywhere on earth; from giant crabs that tear open coconuts, to flesh-eating caterpillars that impale their prey on dagger-like claws.
Human culture is different too. The men of Pentecost Island celebrate their annual harvest by leaping from 20-metre high scaffolds, with only forest vines to break their fall. And on the tiny island of Anuta, possibly the most remote community of people on the planet, the locals survive entirely on what they can grow and catch.
The South Pacific's innumerable islands look like pieces of paradise, but the reality of life here is sometimes very different, with waves the size of buildings, brutal tropical storms, and, in the far south, even blizzards. This is the real South Pacific.
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Carnivorous caterpillars
Duration: 02:22
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South Pacific giants
Duration: 02:27
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Presenter | Benedict Cumberbatch |
Producer | Huw Cordey |
Executive Producer | Fiona Pitcher |
Broadcasts
- Sun 10 May 2009 20:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Yorkshire
- Mon 11 May 2009 19:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Yorkshire
- Tue 12 May 2009 20:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Tue 19 May 2009 01:10Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One except Scotland
- Tue 7 Jul 2009 20:00
- Sun 23 Aug 2009 23:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Sat 6 Mar 2010 18:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Sat 3 Apr 2010 16:20Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Tue 15 Jun 2010 14:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Fri 26 Nov 2010 19:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Sat 27 Nov 2010 01:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Sat 15 Jan 2011 19:00
- Sat 14 Apr 2012 19:00
- Sun 15 Apr 2012 01:45
- Sat 6 Apr 2013 19:00
- Mon 30 Sep 2013 16:15Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Yorkshire
- Mon 10 Sep 2018 20:00
- Sat 15 Feb 2020 20:00
- Wed 10 Aug 2022 20:00
- Thu 11 Aug 2022 01:50
- Sat 10 Feb 2024 20:00
- Sun 11 Feb 2024 01:40