Natural History

Broadcast (2010) Earth teems with a staggering variety of animals, including 9,000 kinds of birds, 28,000 types of fish and more than 350,000 species of beetles. What explains this explosion of living creatures, 1.4 million different species discovered so far, with perhaps another 50 million to go? The source of life's endless forms was a mystery until Charles Darwin's revolutionary idea of natural selection, which he showed could help explain the gradual development of life on Earth. But Darwin's radical insights raised as many questions as they answered.

Three part documentary series covering the evolution of human civilisation - from Ice Age hunter-gatherers through to farming communities and large towns. (www.youtube.com)

Broadcast (2011) Dr Alice Roberts reveals how your body tells the story of human evolution. The way you look, think and behave is a product of a 6 million year struggle for survival. We have uncovered the secrets of the atom and travelled to the moon. But how did humans come to be so successful? This series explores the anatomical changes that have given us, and our ancestors, the edge. Everything from the way that we walk, to the shape of our jaw and even the way our thumbs move connects us intimately to the struggles and triumphs of our ancestors.

Broadcast 2012. In this episode, Chris travels to North America to witness the annual miracle of the temperate forest: the destruction of its ecosystem in winter, followed by it rebuilding itself in spring. Chris Marvels at the exquisite timing that is necessary in two particularly wonderful stories - the story of how the Canada lynx depends for its prey on a caterpillar high up in the canopy, and the story of why the giant trees of the north-west are dependent on bears and salmon. (www.youtube.com)

Europe: A Natural History is a four-part BBC nature documentary series which looks at the events which have shaped the natural history and wildlife of the European continent over the past three billion years. (www.wikipedia.org)

Broadcast (2011) Dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago and we have hardly ever found a complete skeleton. So how do we turn a pile of broken bones into a dinosaur exhibit? Dr Alice Roberts finds out how the experts put skeletons back together, with muscles, accurate postures, and even - in some cases - the correct skin colour.Here's a conundrum. Most dinosaur skeletons are incomplete, so how do you create museum exhibits that are realistic?

Broadcast (2007) In a story blooming with beauty and scientific mystery, this program explores the incredible truth that lies behind the ravishing flowers we so love to behold: that humans could not have existed or evolved without them. "First Flower" probes the controversial discovery of Archaefructus, a Chinese fossil scientists believe is the earliest evidence of a flower yet found on Earth.

Broadcast (1998) Geologists who study the Earth seek to understand the processes that have shaped our planet throughout its history, creating the world we see around us. To do so they must reconstruct the Earth's past. How can we tell what happened in distant epochs when there were no witnesses to record events? Around 200 years ago scientists first began to realize that clues to the past lay all around them, in the rocks that make up the Earth's surface. As they learnt how to read these rocks, they began a journey back through time which geologists continue to this day. (www.youtube.com)

Broadcast (1996) David Attenborough turns his life long fascination with amber into a time travelling detective story that spans 150 million years. Examining and identifying the contents of this unique material , he opens a window into prehistoric tropical rainforests and unravels detailed stories about the plants and animals that lived there. The episode shows Attenborough searching for the identities of preserved creatures inside a piece of Baltic Amber that was given to him by his adoptive sister when he was twelve years old.

Broadcast (2012) During construction at a Colorado ski resort, a bulldozer dug up something strange: a tooth so huge it had to be held in two hands. Racing to the scene, scientists from the local Denver museum could scarcely believe what they found: a vast trove of fossils from the depths of the Ice Age 100,000 years ago, when North America teemed with incredible beasts: massive mastodons, saber tooth cats and camels, giant bison with six-foot horns, and ground sloths as big as elephants with huge claws. (www.youtube.com)