About this season
Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.
Episodes (18)
1. South Georgia: an Island All Alone
Aired 11 October 1998
Focusing on the wildlife of the remote island of South Georgia in the South Atlantic.
2. Capybara: Swamp Hogs
Aired 18 October 1998
This is the story of one Capybara group,whose territory spans a patchwork of of wildlife-rich swamp,grassland & forest in Venezuela's Orinoco flood plain -the "Llanos".
3. Secret Sharks
Aired 25 October 1998
Includes footage of the gentle whale shark, and the perilous birth of a baby horn shark.
4. Mountain of the Sea
Aired 1 November 1998
Wildlife documentary about South Africa's Table Mountain, home to a huge variety of animals, from black eagles at its peak to penguins at its shore-lined foot.
5. Orangutans: the High Society
Aired 8 November 1998
Wildlife documentary series. Featuring the orangutans of Sumatra's Leuser National Park.
6. The Fatal Flower
Aired 15 November 1998
This programme looks at orchids, the `femmes fatales' of nature, combining beauty and deceit in a way which ignites human and animal passions.
7. Vanishing Pools of the Zambezi
Aired 22 November 1998
Herds of elephant, buffalo and impala graze on rich green grass by pools formed by the meandering Zambezi. But the short rainy season soon ends, and the battle for survival begins.
8. Manu: Amazon Paradise
Aired 29 November 1998
The forest-dwelling creatures of the Amazon region of Manu, a treasure-trove of rare species, from jaguars and giant otters : which have earned a reputation for ferocity : to sloths and 13 different types of monkey.
9. Impossible Journeys
Aired 6 December 1998
Using microscopy & animation,we journey into worlds previously beyond our reach.The familiar world hides incredible secrets that are revealed here.
10. Cheetahs in a Hot Spot
Aired 13 December 1998
A look at the world's largest population of cheetahs - and their enemies - in Namibia, southern Africa.
11. Dolphins: The Wild Side
Aired 17 January 1999
Explores the varied behaviour of wild dolphins around the world.
12. Year of the Jackal
Aired 24 January 1999
This film, shot over the course of the year at the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania, reveals some surprising facts about jackals.
13. Everglades: to Hell and Back
Aired 31 January 1999
Wildlife documentary looking at some of the many species of life found in the Florida Everglades and the threat to the environment posed by nearby Miami.
14. Tough Ducks
Aired 21 February 1999
Film revealing that there's more to the placid-looking duck than meets the eye. Including those that live in the Arctic and the Australian desert.
15. The Man-Eaters of Tsavo
Aired 28 February 1999
Documentary about the lions of the Tsavo National Park in Kenya, and their current and future co-existence with humans.
16. Islands of the Vampire Birds
Aired 14 March 1999
Wildlife documentary looking at the finches of the Galapagos Islands which have evolved to not only to eat seeds and pick ticks off tortoises but also to drink the blood of the latter.
17. The Farm That Time Forgot
Aired 21 March 1999
Visits the Hosking family's farm in Devon where they farm traditionally and so help preserve local wildlife, especially in retention of old stone buildings and hedgerows.
18. Iran: Secrets of the North
Aired 28 March 1999
The first of two programmes exploring the wildlife inhabiting this vast country, a natural crossroads that is home to animals from Asia, Europe and Africa.