7pm SHARKS: The Big Five - Nature
Explore five of the ocean's biggest and most intimidating predators in SHARKS: THE BIG FIVE. This gripping documentary dives deep into the waters off the African coast to provide an insightful look at tigers, sand tigers, bulls, hammerheads and great whites. By laying out the facts and debunking Hollywood myths, the documentary reveals a new side of these prehistoric and oft-maligned “villains” of the sea, showing why sharks play such a vital role in their environment.
8pm NATURE: Natural Born Hustlers: Staying Alive - When it comes to the most important goals in the animal kingdom, learning how to survive and raising the next generation are right at the top of the list. This may seem clear cut, but the lengths to which some animals go to achieve these objectives can often be downright devious.
The first episode, Staying Alive, offers stories about unusual survival techniques. Cuttlefish, for example, elude their many predators with a kind of invisibility cloak. They completely transform themselves to match the colors and patterns of their surroundings. But what is truly remarkable is that they do this despite being color-blind. The secret to how they do it is hidden in their skin, which can sense and possibly even “see” color using a protein usually found only in eyes. And these great illusionists have another trick that no other animal can do. Their skin can also morph from a flat surface to a three dimensional one in order to complete the camouflage. Other ruses revealed include: why burrowing owls, who live underground, mimic the sounds of rattlesnakes; how imitation may not just be the sincerest form of flattery, it can also save your life; and what deception the regal horned lizard employs as a last resort to keep a menacing coachwhip snake at bay.
http://youtu.be/HSCrAgAQrG0
9pm FORCES OF NATURE - Science/Nature - Forces of Nature illustrates how we experience Earth’s natural forces, including shape, elements, color and motion in each of its four episodes. Although we can’t immediately feel the motion of Earth’s fundamental forces, we witness the consequences, such as tidal bores surging through the Amazon rainforest or the intense and ruinous power of hurricanes.
IN THIS EPISODE: Shape - We can’t directly see the forces that govern Earth, but we can see their shadows in the shapes of nature that surround us. If we understand why these shapes exist, we can understand the rules that bind the entire universe.
http://youtu.be/G1Z9yASOEzU
