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'Life' the follow-up to Planet Earth, narrated by David Attenborough

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subzero9285

Banned
Epic Baboon war

baboon.jpg


Two troops of baboons have been filmed going to war, with hundreds of monkeys entering into a pitched battle.The fight, filmed by the BBC Natural History Unit, appears to be triggered by male baboons attempting to steal females from the harems of rivals. Usually, the two troops live relatively peacefully alongside one another on a 1km-long cliff in the Awash National Park in Ethiopia.

But they violently clash in a sequence broadcast as part of the series Life. "The scale of the fight and the way the males are so dominant is just unparalleled in primate society," says Miss Rosie Thomas, a member of the Life production team who filmed the sequence.

Baboons live in complex male-led societies. Scientists have identified four levels at which baboons organise themselves. At the smallest level, a dominant male baboon will control a harem of females. A number of these one-male units, as scientists call them, may organise into clans of monkeys.

Units and clans can gather into much larger social groupings, which are called bands. The monkeys within each band coordinate their activities, acting as a cohesive social unit. Many bands also hang out as part of a huge troop. A single troop of Hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas) can contain several hundred individuals.

At a site called Filoha in the Awash National Park of lowland Ethiopia, scientists including Dr Mathew Pines have been studying how the interactions between these different groups of baboons play out. A film crew from the BBC Natural History Unit spent five weeks at the site recording the action, alongside Mr Pines and other researchers working for the Filoha Hamadryas Baboon Project.

Four baboon troops live at the cliff in Filoha. Two are relatively small and are difficult to follow and study as they are not habituated to the presence of researchers. However, two troops that live alongside one another are huge, with over 200 monkeys in each. These troops occasionally clash as they move down from the cliff upon which they sleep to find water, researchers have discovered.

It is the demand for females that usually triggers inter-troop warfare. Male baboons are either dominant, controlling a harem, or they are 'followers' - helping to protect the harem in exchange for occasional access to the females and mating rights. However, a number of young males are solitary, having no access to females. They cannot steal them from the dominant males in their troop.

"If they are trying to steal them from within their group, they have to overthrow the dominant male to keep them, or the dominant male will just steal them back," says Miss Thomas.

"But if they can see an opportunity to steal them from another group, it is much more difficult for the male to steal the female back."

And when these males raid another troop, it sparks a pitch battle. Once the fight is over, the females often suffer further. Males will often attack females in their harem for having considered the attentions of interloping solitary males.

"Baboons are one of the most aggressive primates out there," says Miss Thomas.

"What's interesting about hamadryas baboons is the way they control their social structure through aggression. Just seeing some of the males disciplining their females - it really is quite nasty," she says.

Such huge troops form for a number of reasons. They offer the baboons protection against predators such as lion, leopard and hyena, researchers believe. Large amounts of doum palms in the region also allow such large groups of baboon to live together.

When food becomes scarce, the monkeys then split into smaller bands and units. The complexity of baboon society is also reinforced by a study published last month in the American Journal of Primatology.

Dr Amy Schreier of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and Dr Larissa Swedell of the City University of New York in Flushing, New York have discovered more about a fourth level of social organisation among the baboons. As well as troops, bands and single-male units, Drs Schreier and Swedell have confirmed that baboons organise themselves into clans, a discovery first made in the 1970s by researcher Jean-Jacques Abegglen at another site, Erer Gota.

The researchers cannot yet be sure, but they suspect that clans are collections of related males. When a band splits up, usually because of scare food, males tend to break away along clan lines, forming inter-related groups, say the researchers. Clan members are also more likely to secure access to females. The hamadryas baboons at Filoha are only the second population of hamadryas known to organise into clans, though Dr Swedell says it is likely that all hamadryas baboons likely also form clans.

"Baboon wars" is broadcast within the Primates episode of the BBC series Life at 2100GMT on BBC One on Monday 14 December.
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Link


The final episode.
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Quoted for the new page.
 
H

Hootie

Member
U K Narayan said:
Probably not. Which is a real damn shame. Who the fuck wants to listen to Sigourney Weaver or Oprah Winfrey narrating this stuff?
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I dunno why but I actually like Sigourney Weaver's narrations. It gives off a very chilled out and calming vibe.
 
P

panda21

Member
wait so there are still episodes being broadcast on TV? but the blu-ray is already out, i saw it on saturday. does the blu-ray not have all the episodes?!

U K Narayan said:
So, is there any word that Sony will be fixing the 50hz issue with the PS3?
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what is this? does this mean if you put it in UK ps3 will it only play at 50hz?
 
R

Rubezh

Member
The plants episode was probably one of my favourites so far. Might have to look into buying the collection whenever it's out. I just don't get what's up with the lame "making of" segments they tacked onto the end.
 
O

Orgun

Member
Finally got around to watching the Plant episode. That first time lapse section ,which they explain at the end is immense, they should receive some kind of award for that.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Rubezh said:
The plants episode was probably one of my favourites so far. Might have to look into buying the collection whenever it's out. I just don't get what's up with the lame "making of" segments they tacked onto the end.
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They've been integrated into BBC series since Planet Earth. It all started with a small behind the scenes segment in the Blue Planet (2001), people rather enjoyed getting a look at how these fascinating documentaries are made, so the Natural History Unit made it a priority to have these segments in all of their nature series. These behind the scene segments aren't going away any time soon.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
_leech_ said:
Faaak. Are there any plans to release the BBC version of Life in North America? Or will I have to settle for the Oprah abomination? Ugh.
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According to a press release, the US will get a Blu-ray release to coincide with the US premiere in March, but the version is unknown, it might be the BBC version or could be the Discovery version narrated by Oprah. Just have to wait and see.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Titchy tarsiers

Tarsiers.jpg


The tiny spectral tarsier, one of the shortest primates in the world, has been filmed hunting at night in the jungle of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The tarsier stands 13cm (five inches) tall and has massive eyes that enable it to see in the dark. It belongs to the only group of carnivorous primates. Tarsiers have evolved little in the past 45 million years and may have separated early from other primates.

A BBC team filmed the tiny tarsier for the natural history series Life. Tarsiers are completely carnivorous, eating insects and occasionally small bats and birds. They have eyeballs that are bigger than their brains, and are believed to have the largest eye to body-size ratio of all mammals. Their eyes are so big that they cannot move in their sockets, so the tarsier has to move its head to look around.

Unlike many nocturnal animals, a tarsier's eyes lack a structure called the tapetum lucidum which reflects light shining on it. Because of that, the animals' eyes do not light up when a torch is shone upon them, which makes it difficult for researchers to spot tarsiers in the trees. However, cameraman Justin Maguire managed to film a group of spectral tarsiers foraging around the tree they sleep in.

This tree was actually the aerial roots of a strangler fig. Researchers have discovered that spectral tarsiers (Tarsius tarsier or T. spectrum) are quite social. Not only do groups of tarsiers reside in the same "sleeping tree" each night, they also prefer to forage near to one another. It is not clear why, because their foraging is less successful when other tarsiers are present. But each tarsier may be able to put its huge eyes and sensitive ears to a use other than hunting: keeping a look-out for predators such as snakes. At just 13cm tall, the spectral tarsier is one of the shortest primates in the world.

An even shorter primate, the pygmy or lesser spectral tarsier (T. pumilus), was thought to be extinct until it was accidently rediscovered by Indonesian scientists in 2000, who trapped and killed one while catching rats. In 2008, scientists from Texas A&M University, US, studied live pygmy tarsiers, which stand just 10cm (4 inches) tall, for the first time in over 80 years.

The smallest primate of all is thought to be Berthe's mouse lemur (Microcebus berthae) of Madagascar, which averages 9cm (3.6 inches) long and weighs just over 30g (1oz). Lemurs are a separate group of primates from tarsiers, and are also considered to be relatively primitive.

"Tiny tarsiers" is broadcast within the Primates episode of the BBC series Life at 2100GMT on BBC One on Monday 14 December.
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Link
 
Rentahamster

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
All that work put into that one time lapse plant shot is phenomenal. Simply amazing. Just a few screwups or miscalculations, and months of work is down the toilet.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Rentahamster said:
All that work put into that one time lapse plant shot is phenomenal. Simply amazing. Just a few screwups or miscalculations, and months of work is down the toilet.
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Yep, an astonishing feat, pushing the boundaries of filming is what makes the Natural History Unit so well respected around the world. Their documentaries are always highly anticipated, and "Life" was no exception.
 
Rentahamster

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
subzero9285 said:
Yep, an astonishing feat, pushing the boundaries of filming is what makes the Natural History Unit so well respected around the world. Their documentaries are always highly anticipated, and "Life" was no exception.
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Indeed, I wonder how many people can actually respect and realize just how impossibly hard that undertaking was. Seriously...holy fucking shit.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Rentahamster said:
Indeed, I wonder how many people can actually respect and realize just how impossibly hard that undertaking was. Seriously...holy fucking shit.
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It's one of the reasons why the making-off segments have been added to these series, to give viewers an idea of how difficult the filming process is, therefore increasing their appreciation of the people who undertake these mammoth tasks.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Final Episode - Primates

Intelligence and adaptability allow primates to tackle the many challenges of life, and this is what makes our closest relatives so successful. This resourcefulness has enabled primates to conquer an incredible diversity of habitat.

Hamadryas baboons live on the open plains of Ethiopia in groups up to 400 strong. Strength in numbers gives them some protection from potential predators. But, should their path cross with other baboon troops, it can lead to all-out battle, as males try to steal females from one another, and even settle old scores.

Japanese macaques are the most northerly-dwelling primates and they experience completely different challenges. Some beat the freezing conditions by having access to a thermal spa in the middle of winter. But this privilege is only for those born of the right female bloodline.

For western lowland gorillas, it's the male silverback that leads his family group in the rich forests of the Congo basin. He advertises his status to all with a powerful chest-beating display.

Most primates are forest dwellers, and one of the strangest is the tarsier – the only purely carnivorous primate. As it hunts for insects the tarsier leaps from tree to tree in the dead of night, using its huge forward-facing eyes to safely judge each jump.

Good communication is essential for success in primate society.

Phayre's leaf monkeys have bright orange babies to alert other group members that they need looking after.

Ring-tailed lemurs of Madagascar use their sense of smell for seduction, wafting their perfumed tails at each.

But the most important type of communication is the passing on of knowledge.

Sumatran orang-utan mothers spend up to nine years teaching their infants about the complex forest world about them – what to eat, where to travel safely, how to build a nest and even how to deal with the regular downpours!

Primates have found some extraordinary ways to improvise, especially dealing with challenges beyond their physical means. The biggest breakthrough in primate evolution has been the ability to use tools to get food.

Clams are normally too strong for white-faced capuchins in Costa Rica to open with their hands and teeth. So these intelligent monkeys repeatedly hammer them to weaken the clam's muscle.

A close relative of theirs in Brazil has learned how to use hammer stones to smash open palm nuts.

And nowhere is the imaginative use of tools more vividly displayed than by the chimpanzees in the forests of Guinea, West Africa. They have learned to dip for ants, pound and soften palm hearts using leaf stalks and to hammer nuts with precision and efficiency. So valuable are their tools, they will even share them with one another.

As the majority of primates live in tropical forest and spend a lot of time up in the trees – or concealed behind leaves – filming them is a tough challenge.

The Life team had to use all their primate intelligence, forward-thinking, field craft and hand-eye co-ordination to succeed.

Camerawoman Justine Evans, primatologist Tatyana Humle and their field assistants filmed chimpanzees using tools in the forests of Guinea, West Africa. It took a month of intense effort for Justine to capture some unforgettable behaviour, and earn the trust of our closest living relatives.
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S

subzero9285

Banned
A fascinating insight into the lives of our closest relatives in the animal kingdom, and a fitting end to what has been a brilliant follow-up to Planet Earth. I've thoroughly enjoyed this series and I'm looking forward to people outside of the UK viewing the whole thing. I'll keep this thread updated with any news related to the US premiere and the Blu-ray release.

Also, I'm pretty surprised by the amount of views and replies this thread has received, it's good to know that people are interested in nature documentaries. This certainly isn't the end, there's a whole new selection of series from the BBC coming soon, so keep a lookout.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Ratings for the final episode, all in all a ratings hit for the BBC, considering the stiff competition faced by "Life".

Monday 14th December

Code: 
[B]BBC One[/B]

8.30pm Panorama 3.36m (13.6%)
9pm Life 4.96m (21.9%)

[B]BBC Two[/B]

8pm University Challenge 3.04m (12.7%)
8.30pm Miranda 2.58m (10.5%)
9pm School Of Saatchi 870k (3.8%)

[B]ITV1[/B]
8pm Countrywise 3.19m (13.4%)
9pm Out Of My Depth 4.09m (18%)

[B]Channel 4[/B]

8pm Christmas At River Cottage 1.75m (7.2%)
9pm Man On Earth 1.27m (5.6%)

[B]Five[/B]

8pm Gadget Show: Gadget Of The Decade 1.22m (5%)
9pm Bad Santa 1.65m (8.3%)
 
M

Mr. Wonderful

Member
My Facebook status:

Ripping Planet Earth on Blu-ray for Mike, which, in itself, is a crime, but hearing David Attenborough's soothing narration again makes the fact that Oprah is doing Life's narration for the US version so much more painful.
I can see it now:
"Ducks are wonderful. And each member of the viewing audience will find their own duckling under their seats. Coming up: He's a straight amphibian trapped in a gay reptile's body. We'll be right back."
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Final run down of the series' ratings compared to Planet Earth.

Challenges of Life - 6.84 million
Reptiles and Amphibians - 4.93 million
Mammals - 5.55 million
Fish - 4.56 million
Birds - 4.33 million
Insects - 3.80 million
Hunters and Hunted - 4.04 million
Creatures of the Deep - 3.95 million
Plants - 4.18 million
Primates - 4.96 million

From Pole to Pole - 9.41 million
Mountains - 8.57 million
Fresh Water - 8.83 million
Caves - 8.98 million
Deserts - 9.23 million
Ice Worlds - 6.37 million
Great Plains - 6.72 million
Jungles - 7.04 million
Shallow Seas - 7.32 million
Seasonal Forests - 7.42 million
Ocean Deep - 6.02 million
 
O

Orgun

Member
Only just got around to watching the final episode, I always find Chimp's fascinating.

The tool use video was amazing to watch, never seen them share tools before.
 
J

jorma

is now taking requests
subzero9285 said:
Ratings for the final episode, all in all a ratings hit for the BBC, considering the stiff competition faced by "Life".

Monday 14th December

Code: 
[B]BBC One[/B]

8.30pm Panorama 3.36m (13.6%)
9pm Life 4.96m (21.9%)

[B]BBC Two[/B]

8pm University Challenge 3.04m (12.7%)
8.30pm Miranda 2.58m (10.5%)
9pm School Of Saatchi 870k (3.8%)

[B]ITV1[/B]
8pm Countrywise 3.19m (13.4%)
9pm Out Of My Depth 4.09m (18%)

[B]Channel 4[/B]

8pm Christmas At River Cottage 1.75m (7.2%)
9pm Man On Earth 1.27m (5.6%)

[B]Five[/B]

8pm Gadget Show: Gadget Of The Decade 1.22m (5%)
9pm Bad Santa 1.65m (8.3%)
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Very nice. I hope this ensures a "planet earth 3" sooner rather than later!
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
jorma said:
Very nice. I hope this ensures a "planet earth 3" sooner rather than later!
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That'll be "Frozen Planet", which will be the Natural History Units next flagship series and Sir David's very last series, he'll do a few episodes of the the long running Natural World series shown exclusively in the UK, but after that it's over for him. Stephen Fry and Bernard Hill are likely candidates for the job. I personally think Charlotte Uhlenbroek could do a fantastically good job as a replacement for Sir David. She's a very accomplished naturalist.

Here's the preview of Frozen Planet,

The Frozen Planet is a forthcoming nature documentary series, produced by the BBC and filmed by the BBC Natural History Unit. Other production partners are the Discovery Channel Canada, ZDF (Germany), Antena 3 (Spain) and Skai TV (Greece).The production team, which includes executive producer Alastair Fothergill and series producer Vanessa Berlowitz, were previously responsible for the award-winning series The Blue Planet (2001) and Planet Earth (2006), and The Frozen Planet is being billed as a sequel of sorts. David Attenborough will return as narrator, and as with Planet Earth, the series will be shot entirely in HD.

The six-part series will focus on life in the Arctic and Antarctic. The production team were keen to film a comprehensive record of the natural history of the polar regions, because climate change is affecting landforms such as glaciers, ice shelves, and the extent of sea ice.

Filming is currently underway, and will focus particularly on the challenges facing polar bears and Arctic wolves in the north and adelie penguins and wandering albatross in the south, although storylines are still being developed. After an introductory episode, the next four episodes will depict the changing seasons at the poles, before a final episode focusing on mankind’s activities there.Filmmakers will be working in new locations, including Antarctica’s active volcanoes and the Russian Arctic. Sequences already captured include migrating eider ducks and footage of a fur seal colony from the air. The aerial photography will again use the Cineflex and Gyron cameras pioneered on Planet Earth, which enable steady footage to be captured from long-range without disturbing the animals.

From late April to early May 2009, BBC crews were in Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada filming the annual breakup of the river of the same name, which flows into Great Slave Lake.

The Frozen Planet is due to be broadcast on BBC One in autumn 2011, with the US broadcast on Discovery following in spring 2012. Some reports suggest that the series will run to eight episodes in the US.
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The ultimate portrait of the earth's Polar Regions.

The Arctic and Antarctic remain the greatest wildernesses on Earth. The scale and beauty of the scenery and the power of the elements - the weather, the ocean and the ice - is unmatched anywhere else on our planet.

The Poles are also home to many of the most charismatic animals from polar bears to emperor penguins and from wolves to wandering albatrosses. Using the latest camera technology on land, from the air and underwater, Frozen Planet will capture the drama of their lives in the most intimate detail.

Four years in the making, the programme makers have embarked on the most ambitious polar expedition of our age, enlisting international logistics on an unprecedented scale. Russian nuclear submarines take them deep under the ice, Royal Naval helicopters air-lift them into giant ocean swells, and US ice-breakers voyage further into the frozen seas then ever before. Once there, they must endure the biggest seasonal change on our planet from flesh-freezing polar winters to the unpredictable dangers of the summer 'melt' as they struggle to film animal behaviour and landscapes that have never been seen before.

Both Poles are melting fast - this may be the last chance to see these great wildernesses before they change for ever.

Frozen Planet will be broadcast in 2011 on BBC One.
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R

Reno7728

Member
I'm not too bothered who they pick as i'm sure they will be brilliant (i'd go with the mighty Fry) but it did feel weird having the female cameraman narrating during primates for a few minutes, so i'll definitely take some time to get used to no attenbourgh
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Reno7728 said:
I'm not too bothered who they pick as i'm sure they will be brilliant (i'd go with the mighty Fry) but it did feel weird having the female cameraman narrating during primates for a few minutes, so i'll definitely take some time to get used to no attenbourgh
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Yeah, it'll be difficult to adjust at first, because David really has been synonymous with nature documentaries for the past 30 years or so, not just just for people in the UK but the whole world, but alas it had to end sometime. I also think Stephen Fry would be good for the job, he has the perfect voice for narration.
 
S

SCULLIBUNDO

Banned
I'm up to the last disc of Life and can I just say how much it pisses me off when I run into retreads in many different episodes. Too many times have I been watching a new episode and I'll think 'Hey this look familiar - Oh thats because I've seen this entire fucking animal bio before' and then have to fast forward 10 mins.
 
S

subzero9285

Banned
Scullibundo said:
I'm up to the last disc of Life and can I just say how much it pisses me off when I run into retreads in many different episodes. Too many times have I been watching a new episode and I'll think 'Hey this look familiar - Oh thats because I've seen this entire fucking animal bio before' and then have to fast forward 10 mins.
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That's mostly to do with the introductory episode revealing far too much, far too soon, the repeated scenes are expanded upon, but it would of been nice if they had taken a different route. This wasn't really a problem with Planet Earth, as the first episode had a clear theme and didn't feel like an introductory episode, except the opening sequence.
 
R

Robin

Member
Scullibundo said:
I'm up to the last disc of Life and can I just say how much it pisses me off when I run into retreads in many different episodes. Too many times have I been watching a new episode and I'll think 'Hey this look familiar - Oh thats because I've seen this entire fucking animal bio before' and then have to fast forward 10 mins.
Click to expand...
I think the first episode of the series gave a lot away as it was almost showing you what to expect from the following episodes. It was a shame that they reused a lot of material from that episode.
 
Rentahamster

Rentahamster

Rodent Whores
Yep, a bit too much repeated footage for my tastes, but at least the narration was different.

I would like to point out, however, that I liked the repeat of the brown Brazillian nut smashing capuchin in the Primates episode because it used that new footage of the monkey bashing nuts with the sunset in the background.

The other retreads pretty much used the exact same footage. Oh wait, I think the venus flytrap part had lots of extra footage with lots of cool fly death wailing.
 
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