The wonder of animals. Series 1, Episode 3, Big cats / producer and director, Emily Taylor ; series producer, Aaron Paul ; BBC Earth.

London, England : BBC Worldwide, 2014.

1 streaming video (30 minutes)

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There are more than 10 million species on the planet, but why have some thrived where others have failed? The Wonder of Animals celebrates the most successful animal groups on Earth - from apes to elephants, ants to bears. Discover why, despite appearing clumsy and comical, penguins actually have an anatomy that is perfect for their environment and how the dominance of big cats is down to more than just their brawn. New science is combined with the very latest animal behaviour research and extensive BBC natural history HD archive footage to build a complete picture of each animal, revealing how its unique characteristics have contributed to its success. Chris Packham delves beneath the skin of the big cats to explore what makes them such good hunters, and he reveals that it is not all about brawn. New scientific research shows how subtle adaptations in their anatomy and physiology contribute to the success of all stages of a big cat hunt: the stalk, the capture and the kill. Leg hairs help the leopard to stalk, and intricate muscle fibres drive the snow leopard to capture its prey. For the jaguar, jaw muscles and whiskers combine to give it a precision bite that can take down a caiman, and an enlarged area of the lioness's brain gives it the edge over all their big cat cousins.

Images / Online / Video & Film

English

November 15, 2019

Narrated by Chris Packham.