Inside Nature's Giants

Scientists study the nature, anatomy and evolution of some of natures most fascinating creatures.

2009 HD 60min TV-14 United Kingdom English

Mark Evans Joy Reidenberg Simon Watt Richard Dawkins

Documentary

animals dissection

S1E1 - The Elephant 2009-06-29

This programme looks at how evolution has overcome the challenges of being as big as an elephant. Elephants feed on plants with very little nutritional value for 18 hours a day, so evolution has given them vast intestines as well as huge teeth and jaw muscles - and an equally gigantic head. But this produces another problem: how to reach food on the ground. The solution is the most versatile limb on the planet - the trunk. Capable of everything from picking up berries to ripping a tree from the ground, the trunk is a wonder of evolution. Its a Just So Story for the Darwinian age.

S1E2 - The Whale 2009-07-06

In this episode experts dissect a 65-foot, 60-ton fin whale - second only in size to its cousin the blue whale - that has died after being stranded off the coast of Ireland. Its a race against time as whale anatomist Joy Reidenberg flies in from New York before the animals decomposition causes it to explode on the beach. Veterinary scientist Mark Evans helps investigate why the animal died and explores its extraordinary anatomy. Using whale-size machinery, Joy and the team set to work amidst gale force winds, driving rain, blood, intestines, evil smells and freezing conditions. Meanwhile, advancing tides threaten to engulf the whale, as the team struggles to complete the operation. Beneath the blubber, the whales unique anatomy holds vital clues to its evolution. Using a combination of dissection and computer graphics, the programme discovers an animal whose closest living relative is the hippo. Meanwhile, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins explains why the whales ancestors may have taken to the water and the evolutionary problems that had to be overcome to transform a land-based mammal into an animal that swims among fish.

S1E3 - The Crocodile 2009-07-13

Veterinary scientist Mark Evans joins experts in anatomy, evolution and behaviour in a bid to get under the skin of the crocodile. Meanwhile evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins explains how little the crocodile has changed since the age of the dinosaurs. The team uncovers the crocodiles incredible jaw muscles, as biologist Simon Watt travels to Florida to test the huge strength of the massive reptiles bite: the most powerful in the animal kingdom. But while crocodiles spiked teeth are excellent for gripping prey as they plunge into a death roll, they are useless for chewing. So how do these animals manage to digest large chunks of raw meat and bone? As the experts dissect the digestive system and inspect the stomach contents for clues, they reveal the bizarre plumbing between the heart and the stomach that might provide the key to this puzzle. And they also solve the mystery of this crocodiles premature death.

S1E4 - The Giraffe 2009-07-20

Veterinary scientist Mark Evans acts as guide as a team of experts investigate the giraffe. Creationists question how this extraordinary creature could have evolved such a long neck, but for evolutionary biologist Professor Richard Dawkins the anatomy of the worlds tallest animal provides some of the best arguments in favour of Darwinian natural selection. For example, one nerve takes a huge detour up and down the long neck, from the voice box to the brain, via the chest - hardly the work of an `Intelligent Designer. And, despite its length, the neck still only has seven vertebrae - the same number as almost all mammals, from mice to humans and whales. But its no wonder the giraffe has the highest blood pressure of any animal; with a heart not much bigger than our own it must pump blood at high pressure around a towering body. It has evolved thick skin that acts as a natural G-suit and a complex circulation system to avoid passing out when raising and lowering its head. And as the dissection team piece together the remarkable evolutionary story of the giraffe, biologist Simon Watt observes them in the field as they eat, forage and fight.

S2E1 - The Great White Shark 2010-06-08

The experts travel to South Africa to dissect a 900kg, 15-foot-long great white shark.

S2E2 - The Monster Python 2010-06-15

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S2E3 - The Big Cats 2010-06-22

The experts dissect a lion and a tiger, and travel to South Africa to see lions in the wild.

S3E1 - The Polar Bear 2011-06-30

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S3E2 - The Sperm Whale 2011-08-07

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S3E3 - The Camel 2011-08-30

The BAFTA-winning Inside Natures Giants team returns for a new series, heading deep into the Australian Outback to explore the ultimate desert survivor: the camel. We dont think of Australia as the home of camels, but in the middle of this vast island there are over a million feral dromedaries roaming around. European settlers introduced them over a century ago to help build Australias railways and explore the Outback. But with the advent of roads, cars and trucks, camels were no longer needed, so their owners released them into the desert. Mark Evans and Joy Reidenberg brave the baking desert to dissect a camel. They uncover the secret of the camels hump and investigate how its elastic legs, stretchy lips and pedestal are among the many surprising adaptations that enable the camel to thrive in such a dry and hostile environment.

S3E4 - The Dinosaur Bird 2011-09-06

The BAFTA-winning series returns to Australia on the trail of a bird thats been described as a living dinosaur and hides in Queenslands tropical rainforests: the Cassowary. The Cassowary is a gigantic bird with a fearsome reputation. It can be taller and heavier than a full-grown man and is armed with five-inch talons that have actually killed humans It has earned the dubious reputation of being the most dangerous bird in the world, yet unless the Cassowary feels threatened it struts quietly around the jungle and occasionally the coastline. It has a bright blue head, adorned with a horn-like crown and red pendulums of flesh dangling from its neck. By any standards this is a bizarre bird. Mark Evans and Joy Reidenberg carry out a dissection on a Cassowary that was hit by a car. Unfortunately, such accidents are quite common on roads that cut through their territory.

S4E1 - Rogue Baboon 2012-01-10

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S4E2 - The Hippo 2012-04-09

So many hippos congregate to feed in Zambias Luangwa Valley that they threaten the survival of other species in the park, so the authorities cull around 200 of them every year. The cull offers veterinary scientist Mark Evans and comparative anatomist Joy Reidenberg the opportunity to dissect one of these magnificent animals.

S4E3 - The Kangaroo 2012-04-16

Mark Evans and Joy Reidenberg head to Australia to dissect its most iconic animal, and find the marsupials reproductive organs to be most surprising - the male genitalia is back to front, while the female has three vaginas. Simon Watt heads into the Blue Mountains with Charles Darwins great-great-grandson in search of other creatures, including a bird that decorates its nest with an assortment of blue ornaments and a primitive mammal that lays eggs like a reptile.

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