Human mutation has always been fascinating. From the ruthless ‘dime’ museums of the nineteenth century to today’s reptile collectors willing to pay thousands of dollars for oddly mutated specimens. Beyond the spectacle is science: research is uncovering how mutation works and how mutants may benefit medicine in finding cures for life-threatening diseases.

More than those of any other primate, the lives of humans and macaques are intertwined. We both trace our origins to Africa and, after humans, macaques are the most widespread primate group on earth. Find out why macaques have become the world’s most successful monkeys, and how they play a part in human cultures everywhere.

Still hunted, the dwarf minke whales found on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef could hold the key to a cold-war mystery. Are they responsible for the strange mechanical sounds thought to have been enemy submarines? A team of biologists strives to understand these unique sounds and discover what makes these intriguing animals so different from other whale species.

The dunes of the Namib Desert, the oldest on earth, extend inland for some sixty miles and stretch for three hundred miles along the South West African coastline. Only in the Namib has a community of animals evolved which can live in its constantly shifting sands. Survival in such a hostile environment has intrigued scientists for years.

Climate change is the biggest ever environmental crisis and seems to have been caused by our unsustainable approach to living. This film is a call to humanity, telling us that there are ways to adapt to and overcome this crisis, highlighting groundbreaking examples of sustainable development all over the world, inspired by the examples of Africa and the natural world.

These fascinating specials celebrate some of the most intriguing, exciting and adorable animal babies. Growing up can be fun for these cuties but it also has its traumas. We see how at every stage of a baby animal’s development it learns to fend for itself. Just how well it copes with each encounter dictates its ultimate success.

Treacherous natural death traps have killed animals since life began – and have preserved their victims so we can learn their stories. Skilled paleo-detectives are unlocking the secrets of these natural traps from the Arctic to Australia to shed light on age-old mysteries.

Some of nature’s most remarkable feats are revealed in this collection of awe-inspiring five-minute documentary programmes. Nature is undisputedly laden with amazing events and Nature’s Greatest Moments is all about such events on land, at sea, in summer, in winter and on all continents.