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The Seven Wonders of the World (or the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) refers to remarkable constructions of classical antiquity listed by various authors in guidebooks popular among the ancient Hellenic tourists, particularly in the 1st and 2nd centuries BC. The most prominent of these, the versions by Antipater of Sidon and an observer identified as Philo of Byzantium, comprise seven works located around the eastern Mediterranean rim. The original list inspired innumerable versions through the ages, often listing seven entries. Of the original Seven Wonders, only one—the Great Pyramid of Giza, the oldest of the ancient wonders—remains relatively intact.
Here with Watch Documentaries 360 in this documentary Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
[- Planet Earth - Seven Wonders of the Ancient World -]
BBC - Science
Planet Earth Episode 11 Ocean Deep - BBC Documentary - Sir David Attenborough
The final instalment concentrates on the least explored area of the planet—the deep ocean. It begins with a whale shark used as a shield by a shoal of bait fish to protect themselves from yellowfin tuna. Also shown is an oceanic whitetip shark trailing rainbow runners. Meanwhile, a 500-strong school of dolphins head for the Azores, where they work together to feast on scad mackerel along with a flock of shearwaters. Down in the ocean's furthest reaches, some creatures defy classification.
On the sea floor, scavengers such as the spider crab bide their time, awaiting carrion from above. The volcanic mountain chain at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean also sustains life through the bacteria that surround its sulphide vents. There are thought to be around 30,000 undersea volcanoes, some of them taller than Mount Everest. Their sheer cliffs provide anchorage for several corals and sponges. Nearer the surface, the currents that surround these seamounts force nutrients up from below and thus marine life around them is abundant. Ascension Island is a nesting ground for frigate-birds and green turtles.
Off the Mexican coast, a large group of sailfish feed on another shoal of bait fish, changing colour to signal their intentions to each other, allowing them to coordinate their attack. The last sequence depicts the largest animal on Earth—the blue whale, of which 300,000 once roamed the world's oceans. Now fewer than 3% remain. Planet Earth Diaries shows the search in the Bahamas for oceanic whitetip sharks.
Here with Watch Documentaries 360 in the series of Planet Earth in this episode Ocean Deep.
[- Planet Earth - Ocean Deep -]
BBC - Nature - Planet Earth - Science
Planet Earth Episode 10 Seasonal Forests - BBC Documentary - Sir David Attenborough
The penultimate episode surveys the coniferous and deciduous seasonal woodland habitats-the most extensive forests on Earth. Conifers begin sparsely in the subarctic but soon dominate the land, and the taiga circles the globe, containing a third of all the Earth's trees.
Few creatures can survive the Arctic climate year round, but the moose and wolverine are exceptions. 1,600 kilometres (990 mi) to the south, on the Pacific coast of North America, conifers have reached their full potential. These include some of the world's tallest trees: the redwoods. Here, a pine marten is shown stalking a squirrel, and great grey owl chicks take their first flight.
Further south still, in Chile's Valdivian forests, a population of smaller animals exist, including the pudú and the kodkod. During spring in a European broad-leafed forest, a mandarin duck leads its day-old family to leap from its tree trunk nest to the leaf litter below. The Bialowieza Forest typifies the habitat that characterised Europe around 6,000 years ago: only a fragment remains in Poland and Belarus.
On a summer night on North America's east coast, periodical cicadas emerge en masse to mate—an event that occurs every seventeen years. After revisiting Russia's Amur leopards in winter, a time-lapse sequence illustrates the effect of the ensuing spring on the deciduous forest floor. In India's teak forests, a langur monkey strays too far from the chital that act as its sentinels and falls prey to a tiger. In Madagascar, mouse lemurs feed on the nectar of flowering baobab trees. Planet Earth Diaries explains how aerial shots of the baobab were achieved by the use of a cinebulle, an adapted hot air balloon.
Here with Watch Documentaries 360 in the series of Planet Earth in this episode Seasonal Forests.
[- Planet Earth - Seasonal Forests -]
BBC - Nature - Planet Earth - Science
Planet Earth Episode 9 Shallow Seas - BBC Documentary - David Attenborough: This programme is devoted to the shallow seas that fringe the world's continents. Although they constitute 8% of the oceans, they contain most marine life. As humpback whales return to breeding grounds in the tropics, a mother and its calf are followed. While the latter takes in up to 500 litres of milk a day, its parent will starve until it travels back to the poles to feed-and it must do this while it still has sufficient energy left for the journey.
The coral reefs of Indonesia are home to the biggest variety of ocean dwellers. Examples include banded sea kraits, which ally themselves with goatfish and trevally in order to hunt. In Western Australia, dolphins "hydroplane" in the shallowest waters to catch a meal, while in Bahrain, 100,000 Socotra cormorants rely on shamals that blow sand grains into the nearby Persian Gulf, transforming it into a rich fishing ground. The appearance of algae in the spring starts a food chain that leads to an abundant harvest, and sea lions and dusky dolphins are among those taking advantage of it.
In Southern Africa, as chokka squid are preyed on by short-tail stingray, the Cape fur seals that share the waters are hunted by the world's largest predatory fish-the great white shark. On Marion Island in the Indian Ocean, a group of king penguins must cross a beach occupied by fur seals that do not hesitate to attack them. Planet Earth Diaries shows the difficulties of filming the one-second strike of a great white shark, filmed by Simon King.
Here with Watch Documentaries 360 in the series of Planet Earth in this episode Shallow Seas.
[- Planet Earth - Shallow Seas -]
BBC - Nature - Planet Earth - Science
On March 20, 1995, the Tokyo Metro was infected with dangerous sarin nerve gas, which was planted by 5 members of a terrorist group called Aum Shinrikyo. A total of 13 people were killed.
Here with Watch Documentaries 360 in the series of Zero Hour in this episode Terror in Tokyo.
[- Zero Hour - Terror in Tokyo -]
BBC - Discovery Channel
Planet Earth Episode 8 Jungles - BBC Documentary - David Attenborough: This episode examines jungles and tropical rainforests. These environments occupy only 3% of the land yet are home to over half of the world's species. New Guinea is inhabited by almost 40 kinds of birds of paradise, which avoid conflict with each other by living in different parts of the island. Some of their elaborate courtship displays are shown.
Within the dense forest canopy, sunlight is prized, and the death of a tree triggers a race by saplings to fill the vacant space. Figs are a widespread and popular food, and as many as 44 types of bird and monkey have been observed picking from a single tree. The sounds of the jungle throughout the day are explored, from the early morning calls of siamangs and orangutans to the nocturnal cacophony of courting tree frogs. The importance of fungi to the rainforest is illustrated by a sequence of them fruiting, including a parasite called cordyceps. The mutual benefits of the relationship between carnivorous pitcher plants and red crab spiders is also discussed.
In the Congo, roaming forest elephants are shown reaching a clearing to feed on essential clay minerals within the mud. Finally, chimpanzees are one of the few jungle animals able to traverse both the forest floor and the canopy in search of food. In Uganda, members of a 150-strong community of the primates mount a raid into neighbouring territory in order to gain control of it. Planet Earth Diaries looks at filming displaying birds of paradise, focusing mainly on the filming of the six-plumed bird of paradise.
Here with Watch Documentaries 360 in the series of Planet Earth in this episode Jungles.
[- Planet Earth - Jungles -]
BBC - Nature - Planet Earth - Science
Planet Earth Episode 7 Great Plains - BBC Documentary - Sir David Attenborough: This episode deals with savanna, steppe, tundra, prairie, and looks at the importance and resilience of grasses in such treeless ecosystems.
Their vast expanses contain the largest concentration of animal life. Over Africa's savanna, a swarm of 1.5 billion Red-billed Queleas are caught on camera, the largest flock of birds ever depicted. In Outer Mongolia, a herd of Mongolian gazelle flee a bush fire and is forced to find new grazing, but grass self-repairs rapidly and soon reappears.
On the Arctic tundra during spring, millions of migratory snow geese arrive to breed and their young are preyed on by Arctic foxes. Meanwhile, time-lapse photography depicts moving herds of caribou as a calf is brought down by a chasing wolf. On the North American prairie, bison engage in the ritual to establish the dominant males.
The Tibetan Plateau is the highest of the plains and despite its relative lack of grass, animals do survive there, including yak and wild ass. However, the area's most numerous resident is the pika, whose nemesis is the Tibetan fox. In tropical India, the tall grasses hide some of the largest creatures and also the smallest, such as the pygmy hog. The final sequence depicts African bush elephants that are forced to share a waterhole with a pride of thirty lions. The insufficient water makes it an uneasy alliance and the latter gain the upper hand during the night when their hunger drives them to hunt and eventually kill one of the pachyderms. Planet Earth Diaries explains how the lion hunt was filmed in darkness using infrared light.
Here with Watch Documentaries 360 in the series of Planet Earth in this episode Great Plains.
[- Planet Earth - Great Plains -]
BBC - Nature - Planet Earth - Science
Planet Earth Episode 6 Ice Worlds - BBC Documentary - David Attenborough: The sixth programme looks at the regions of the Arctic and Antarctica. The latter contains 90% of the world's ice, and stays largely deserted until the spring, when visitors arrive to harvest its waters.
Snow petrels take their place on nunataks and begin to court, but are preyed on by South Polar skuas. During summer, a pod of humpback whales hunt krill by creating a spiralling net of bubbles. The onset of winter sees the journey of emperor penguins to their breeding grounds, 160 kilometres (99 mi) inland. Their eggs transferred to the males for safekeeping, the females return to the ocean while their partners huddle into large groups to endure the extreme cold.
At the northern end of the planet, Arctic residents include musk oxen, who are hunted by Arctic foxes and wolves. A female polar bear and her two cubs head off across the ice to look for food. As the sun melts the ice, a glimpse of the Earth's potential future reveals a male polar bear that is unable to find a firm footing anywhere and has to resort to swimming-which it cannot do indefinitely. Its desperate need to eat brings it to a colony of walrus. Although it attacks repeatedly, the herd is successful in evading it by returning to the sea. Wounded and unable to feed, the bear will not survive. Meanwhile, back in Antarctica, the eggs of the emperor penguins finally hatch.
Planet Earth Diaries tells of the battle with the elements to obtain the penguin footage and of unwelcome visits from polar bears.
Here with Watch Documentaries 360 in the series of Planet Earth in this episode Ice Worlds.
[- Planet Earth - Ice Worlds -]
BBC - Nature - Planet Earth - Science
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