Life

7:30pm – Sunday, September 26 on ABC1

Primates are uniquely intelligent, engaging in problem solving, communication, tool use and intimate social interplay. In the Congo, meet a tightly bound group of western lowland gorillas led by an ancient silverback, whose chest-beating sends shockwaves more than a mile through the undergrowth.

See grey Phayre’s leaf-monkey mothers in Thailand battling for the privilege to babysit bright orange newborns. Encounter the violent disputes of a thousand hamadryas baboons, and join chacma baboons shark egg hunting on the coast of South Africa.

Key animal characters: � Gorillas � Orang-utans � Chimpanzees � Snow monkeys � Tarsiers Final

7:30pm – Sunday, September 19 on ABC1

The drama of the plant world is impossible to view with the naked eye. But using the latest time-lapse technology, all is revealed: how a Venus flytrap snaps shut and imprisons its prey; how the animal-like grasping hooks of the cat’s claw creeper and the sticky pads of the Boston ivy help in their fight for light.

Fly with the seed that inspired the design of gliders and watch the fastest growing plant on Earth rocket up two feet a day. Discover the water-trapping abilities of the bizarre dragon’s blood tree, which oozes red sap from its branches.

Key characters: � Venus flytrap � Dragon’s blood tree � Bamboo � Cat’s-claw creeper

7:30pm – Sunday, September 12 on ABC1

Using specially developed underwater tracking time- lapse techniques, Life takes a journey to the uncharted corners of the ocean. It is here that the newest discoveries are being made and the strangest creatures live, from huge spider crabs which gather in their thousands, seeking safety in numbers as they shed their protective shell, to cross-dressing giant squid.

Join a pack of Humboldt squid, 250 strong, hunting; see the ultimate self-sacrifice of a Pacific giant octopus mother who starves to death tending her young; and dive under the permanent ice of Antarctica to see a seething carpet of starfish as they devour a seal pup carcass.

Key animal characters: � Humboldt squid � Pacific giant octopus � Australian giant cuttlefish � Spider crabs

7:30pm – Sunday, September 5 on ABC1

Every day, in the jungles, grasslands, deserts and frozen wastelands, battles are won, fought and lost between carnivores and their prey.

See cheetahs join forces to bring down an ostrich; a tiny stoat take on a rabbit ten times its size; elephant seal pups snatched from their nursery pool by a killer whale; the antics of a squirrel as it outwits a rattlesnake; and at an amazing 2,000 frames per second, the strike of a bulldog bat flying at 100 kph.

Key animal characters: � Cheetahs � Stoats � Killer whales � Greater bulldog bat � Ethiopian wolves � Star-nosed moles

7:30pm – Sunday, August 29 on ABC1

Insects are the most diverse animal group on the planet. The key to their success is their unique ability to reshape themselves. They possess fearsome weapons, yet can display surprising tenderness and sophisticated behaviour.

Take to the skies with millions of monarch butterflies in Mexico; see a beetle spray boiling chemicals at its enemies; witness giant bees fight to the death over females; join the marching columns of grass cutter ants; and spend a jeopardy-filled day with damselflies.

Key animal characters: � Monarch butterflies � Damselflies � Grass cutter ants � Dawson’s bees � Bombardier beetles

7:30pm – Sunday, August 22 on ABC1

Birds are supremely adaptable, capable not only of flying at phenomenal speeds and covering great distances, but of displaying a murderous nature, running on water in pursuit of love and even of building intricate structures.

Using aerial camera techniques, Life flies with the birds and explores their incredible diversity and behaviour: dodging the piratical frigate birds; soaring with the lammergeyers; dancing with a thousand flamingos in the lakes of Africa; and witnessing the extraordinary displays of spatule-tailed hummingbirds, western grebes and bowerbirds as they attempt to attract a mate.

Key animal characters: � Flamingos � Lammergeyers � Western grebes � Bowerbirds

7:30pm – Sunday, August 15 on ABC1

Fish are the most varied and diverse backboned creatures on the planet. To date, 28,000 species of fish have been discovered. From pregnant males, to fish that fly, and fish that have a top speed faster than a cheetah, the diversity of fish is amazing.

From the open ocean to coral reef and storm-ravaged surf to the freshwater springs of Kenya, swim with sharks, mudskippers and convict fish. See ‘sarcastic fringe-heads’ fighting for their homes; hunt with sailfish; glide with flying fish; enter the secret world of courting sea-dragons; and even join the epic journey of the tiny, cliff-climbing gobies.

Key animal characters: � Weedy sea dragons � Sailfish � Flying fish � Sharks � Hawaiian goby

7:30pm – Sunday, August 8 on ABC1

Mammals dominate our planet and can be found in every habitat, except the very deepest ocean. Their success lies in more than just the unique physical traits of fat, fur and warm blood. What makes the mammals stand out is the care they lavish on their young.

New filming techniques reveal behaviour that was previously impossible to capture in extreme locations.

Fly amongst one of the largest migrations on Earth, as more than ten million fruit bats leave the Congo basin and converge in a few special trees in Zambia to feed. Sprint with the tiny, extraordinary- looking sengis as it escapes a predatory lizard. See 30 polar bears gather to feed on a bowhead whale carcass. And witness the biggest fight on Earth…male humpback whales battling for a female.

Key animal characters: � Straw coloured fruit bats � Sengi � Polar bears � Humpback whales

7:30pm – Sunday, August 1 on ABC1

From icy wastes to arid deserts, reptiles and amphibians have used their ancient, cold-blooded body plan along with sophisticated behavioural innovations to master the harshest environments on the planet.

Using their ruthless hunting abilities, extraordinary camouflage, guile and downright physical toughness, they thrive where mammals and birds fear to tread.

This week see Komodo dragons hunting buffalo; sea snakes with one of the most toxic venoms in the world which breed in caves; the seemingly suicidal leaps of a waterfall toad; the tender giant African bull frog that digs water channels to save not only its own young, but that of others too; and lizards that can walk on water.

Key animal characters: �Komodo dragons �Sea snakes �African bullfrogs �Basilisk lizards

7:30pm – Sunday, July 25 on ABC1

Narrated by Sir David Attenborough and packed with excitement, revelation and entertainment – with stunning screen ‘firsts’ – this breathtaking ten-part blockbuster brings you 130 incredible stories from the frontiers of the natural world.

Discover the glorious variety of life on Earth and the spectacular and extraordinary tactics animals and plants have developed to stay alive. This is evolution in action; individual creatures under extreme pressure to overcome challenges from adversaries and their environment, pushing the boundaries of behaviour. Cutting edge cinematic techniques capture unprecedented, astonishingly beautiful sequences across the series – birds running and dancing on the water’s surface in dazzlingly intricate displays of courtship and fidelity; fish outwitting predators by using their fins to take flight; and flies competing in a mesmerising eyeball inflation contest.

In episode one experience the extraordinary things animals and plants must do in order to survive and reproduce. Witness amazing sights, captured at 1,000 frames per second: capuchin monkeys smashing open palm nuts with stone ‘hammers’, hippos launching from the water into the air and chameleons stealing prey from a spider’s web. Sprint with cheetahs as they band together to tackle ostriches, watch dolphins form perfect rings of silt to trap fish, and swim with a seal as it struggles to escape attacking killer whales amongst the ice of Antarctica.

More than four years in the making, filmed over 3000 days across every continent and in every habitat, this is Life – as you’ve never seen it before.