The 10th episode of the Planet Earth DVD series surveys the coniferous and deciduous seasonal woodland habitats, the most extensive forests on Earth. Coniferous trees begin sparsely in the Arctic but soon dominate the land, and the taiga circles the globe, containing a third of all the Earth’s trees. The Arctic is an unforgiving climate, and few creatures can survive the cold, but the moose and wolverine are exceptions. 1600 kilometers to the south, on the Pacific coast of North America, conifers have reached their full potential. Some of the world’s tallest trees reside here; the redwoods. Planet Earth shows a pine marten stalking a squirrel and great grey owl chicks take their first flight. Further south still, in the Valdivian forests of Chile, a population of smaller animals exists, including the pudu and the kodkod. During the spring in the European broad-leaved forests, a mandarin duck leads its day-old family to leap from its tree trunk nest to the leaf litter below. Meanwh...
The 9th episode of the Planet Earth DVD series is devoted to the many shallow seas that fringe the world’s continents. Although the represent only 8% of Earth’s oceans, they contain the most marine life. Planet Earth shows a mother humpback whale and her calf returning to their breeding grounds in the tropics. The young humpback whale will take in up to 500 litres of milk a day while its mother starves as they travel back to the poles to feed. This tremendous journey must be undertaken while they both have sufficient energy. Planet Earth episode 8 also shows the coral reefs in Indonesia that are home to the biggest variety of ocean dwellers. Creatures found among the reef include banded sea kraits, which ally themselves with goatfish and trevally in order to hunt. Meanwhile, in Western Australia, dolphins show off their excellent swimming skills as they hydroplane in the shallowest waters to catch a meal. Far away in Bahrain, 100,000 Socotra cormorants rely on shamals that blow sand...