Strange Islands
Documentary looking at the fauna of the South Pacific islands. Why do animals perfectly adapted to island life often give up the ghost when new species arrive?
Flightless parrots, burrowing bats, giant skinks and kangaroos in trees; on the isolated islands of the South Pacific, the wildlife has evolved in extraordinary ways. But island living can carry a high price, for when new species arrive all hell breaks loose. And there lies a puzzle - why do animals perfectly adapted to island life simply give up the ghost? The answer is revealed by the remarkable stories of some unlikely animals that survived on tiny islands off the coast of New Zealand. The human history of the region is further evidence that, however idyllic it may appear, life on a South Pacific island may never be very far from catastrophe.
Last on
Clip
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Flightless but fancy
Duration: 04:15
Credits
Role | Contributor |
---|---|
Narrator | Benedict Cumberbatch |
Producer | Jonathan Clay |
Series Producer | Huw Cordey |
Composer | David Mitcham |
Broadcasts
- Sun 7 Jun 2009 20:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Yorkshire
- Mon 8 Jun 2009 19:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Yorkshire
- Tue 9 Jun 2009 20:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Tue 16 Jun 2009 01:05Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One except Scotland & Wales
- Tue 16 Jun 2009 01:35Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One Scotland
- Tue 4 Aug 2009 20:00
- Sun 20 Sep 2009 22:55Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Thu 2 Dec 2010 19:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Fri 3 Dec 2010 00:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Sat 4 Dec 2010 18:30Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ HD
- Sat 12 Feb 2011 19:00
- Sat 12 May 2012 19:00
- Sun 13 May 2012 03:40
- Sat 4 May 2013 19:00
- Sun 5 May 2013 02:45
- Fri 4 Oct 2013 16:15Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two except Yorkshire
- Mon 8 Oct 2018 20:00
- Tue 9 Oct 2018 02:00
- Sat 14 Mar 2020 20:00
- Wed 7 Sep 2022 20:00
- Thu 8 Sep 2022 01:15
- Sat 9 Mar 2024 20:00
- Sun 10 Mar 2024 02:40