This episode explores nature’s deadliest killers. From a tiny but deadly insect, to a pod of hungry Orca’s, predators come in all sizes, and are found on every continent on earth. Chasing, stalking, ambushing or using camouflage, the way each predator hunts, catches and kills food is determined by many factors, including the anatomical adaptations of both the predator and the prey.

Whether by wing, fin or hoof, epic migrations are among nature's most awe-inspiring events. Animals undertake these arduous journeys, for many reasons: to find a mate, to give birth, or to move to new feeding grounds. And danger lurks at every turn. In this episode we discover the lengths they go to in order to survive.

For every baby animal born, billions don’t make it. Drought, flood, famine and predation; babies are born into a harsh world. The odds are so heavily stacked against some animals that it’s a miracle any of their youngsters survive at-all. In this episode we discover the incredible lengths that nature’s parents go to in order to ensure their progeny’s survival.

The instinct to secure a mate is one of the most powerful that there is. The lengths to which animals will go through in the search for a mate range from the beautiful to the bizarre. Body parts grow bigger, plumage more colourful, and dances get more and more exotic. And for some, mating can even mean death, just for the chance to breed and pass their genes down to the next generation.

From meerkats to monkeys, and from bees to colonial spiders, many survival tactics have evolved to enable animals to survive and thrive in packs, pods and colonies. This episode explores the nuances these social animals, and reveals the surprising and incredible behaviours that have evolved in response to cohabitation.

Many animals have evolved chemicals to enhance their chance of survival: some scorpions literally drug their potential mates, others use their poisons to defend or kill. The world of venoms and poisons, the apparatus designed to deliver the payload and the strategies that animals employ to use them most effectively is a rich and varied example of natural selection and evolution in action.

In nature, competition for territory is so extreme that some animals have resorted to living in incredible hostile conditions. From brutal cold, to extreme heat, from the ocean depths, to the driest of deserts, this episode showcases some incredible survival stories in the world’s most inhospitable environments.

This episode showcases some of nature’s most incredible animals, whose brains demonstrate high intelligence. Some display surprising foresight, planning hunting strategies, learning new skills or even using tools. Others have highly developed social and even emotional skills and may even have developed a distinct culture, in a similar way to human beings.

In this episode we explore animal communication revealing the incredible adaptations that enable animals to ‘talk’ to each other.. From signals and body language, to the most complex vocalisations, communication is vital in the animal world. Helping to find a mate, locate food or teach young animals how to avoid danger, communication is the key to guaranteeing the survival of these species.

In this episode we explore why and how animals fight and reveal the ways in which they are programmed to survive at all costs. Most animals will defend themselves against predators, but many also do battle with members of the same species. Animals fight for two main reasons: for a mate or to defend their young or territory. And when animals fight, it can often be to the death.