Season 6

An exploration into the world of the primates: from apes, to monkeys, to prosimians. How they differ, how to tell them apart, what they have in common.

A closer look at monkeys: the old world and the new world; the biggest and the smallest; the baboons, the guenons, the tamarins.

A fascinating exploration into the world of the four great apes: the gorilla, the orangutan, the chimpanzee, and the bonobo. What do they have in common, how do they differ, and what makes an ape and ape?

All that’s fascinating about birds: from feathers, to flight, to beaks and bills. The biggest, the flightless, the raptors, the nut-crackers. The parrots, the owls, and the ostrich.

An exploration into the world of animals that are not only nocturnal and diurnal, but crepuscular. We look at why animals are awake at one time instead of another, and what special sensory adaptations they have for nocturnal living.

How long do animals live? Which animals live the longest and the shortest lives? How and why does longevity differ from species to species? What does maturity mean in the animal world?

We look at a select few animals as examples of the saying, “you are what you eat.” We’ll look at the giant panda’s wrist-bone “thumb,” a cow’s perfectly long neck, the hippo’s wide mouth, and the elephant’s trunk.

We delve into the secrets of snakes and lizards, alligators and crocodiles, and turtles and tortoises. How are these animals related and how do they differ?

A closer look at the sense of sight. Why is seeing so critical for birds? How do some animals see in the dark? How do animals without eyes still “see”?

A look at the animals living today who were around at the time of the dinosaurs, and even before. We look at how some animals have changed a great deal while others have hardly changed at all, and why these animals survived when the dinosaurs didn’t.

An exploration into the world of schooling fish, from those in the ocean to those in lakes and rivers. We investigate how fish survive, the different ways they swim, from burst swimming to cruising, and why many of them swim, or school, together.

We take a close look at teeth in the animal world and ask, what are the functions of canines, incisors, and molars? We discover that animal teeth will differ depending on what the animal eats. We also look at why sharks grow new teeth and why dolphin’s teeth are all the same.

A wild ride into animal nomenclature. What makes a herd a herd or a flock a flock? What are a chimpanzee troop, a wolf pack and a prairie dog town?

A panoramic look at how all living things are interconnected: green plants need sunlight to create oxygen, while herbivorous animals consume green plants to survive. In turn, carnivorous predators prey on herbivores. We also look at the role that water, sleep, and sunlight play in an animal’s survival. Finally, we discover that how and where an animal lives, and what it eats, influences its appearance and behavior.

A closer look at bones, from animals with a backbone (vertebrates), to those with skeletons made of cartilage (sharks), to those animals who don’t need bones at all (invertebrates). We ask what constitutes an exoskeleton, a hydrostatic skeleton, and a turtle’s carapace.

An exploration into the world of wild animals that live in our human neighborhoods. What makes a habitat livable? We look at how the temperature, plant life, and climate determine where an animal lives.

A panoramic look at animals that live in trees. We ask how they get up there in the first place (climb, fly, leap), what adaptations they have to live as tree-dwellers (claws to prehensile tails), and which animals we can expect to find in trees (birds, monkeys), including those we don’t (kangaroos).

A look at many of the more than 22,000 species of fish, from freshwater, to the deep ocean, to the colorful coral reef. We look at the origin of fish, how they breathe, why they have scales, and how they swim. Plus, we’ll meet a few animals who, despite their names, are not fish (jellyfish, starfish, shellfish).

A wild ride through animal classification! What determines an animal’s species? Why do the same kinds of animals sometimes look different from each other? What makes a subspecies? All in all, who is related to who, and why.

A close look at some one-of-a-kind animals, from the last surviving members of a dwindling species, to some outright unique animals, like the red panda, who has no close relatives in the animal kingdom. We’ll look even closer, to some unique features of certain species, like human fingerprints, tiger and zebra stripes, and the gorilla’s noseprint.

An exploration into the watery life of amphibians, including colorful frogs, toads, newts, salamanders. An examination of what amphibians have in common with other cold-blooded creatures such as fish and reptiles, and what sets them apart. Finally, a trip from an amphibian’s larval stage through its adult stage, and a look at the important role water plays in the amphibian lifecycle.

A look at what’s great and fascinating about the nearly 5,000 species of lizards alive today, from chameleons to iguanas to basilisks. First, an examination of what makes a lizard a reptile, and what these incredible creatures have in common with other reptiles, especially snakes. Next, a look at what is common to all lizards, such as being cold-blooded and scaly-skinned. Finally, a rundown of some amazing facts about specific lizards, such as the ability to lose a tail and grow a new one, and to have 180 degrees of vision.

A panoramic look at animals from Africa, especially the giants, such as elephants, giraffes, hippos, rhinos, and ostriches. A comparison of animals who aren’t native to Africa, such as bears, with animals who are, such as—surprise—penguins. Next, a visit with the birds of Africa. Then, a rundown of the many wild animals with the word “Africa” in their common name. Finally, an examination of the adaptations these animals have to live on the African continent.

An exploration into the diverse world of animal families, from the large “families” that include matriarchal elephant herds, male dominated chimpanzee troops, and prairie dog towns, to the smaller families, like solitary mother orangutans and their offspring. We ask how a biological family differs from the common meaning of family, and what constitutes a single biological family.

A look at how teeth are used for communication, such as a chimp’s grin, and how we might misinterpret what looks like a grin. We examine how different teeth are used for different chewing tasks, whether the teeth are canines, incisors, or molars, and how teeth differ in carnivores and omnivores. Finally, we look at how animals without teeth manage to consume their food, and how beaks work for both turtles and birds.

A panoramic survey of animals found only in South America, such as the world’s largest rodent, the capybara, the web-toed bush dog, the giant anteater, jaguar, and more. We ask what constitutes the “New World” and the Western hemisphere in terms of wildlife, and what animals inhabit the great tropical rainforests in the Amazon basin.