André Wiersig, born in 1972, has achieved what no German has ever done before: he has swum through the world's seven most famous straits, the so-called Ocean's Seven. To prepare for it, he chose a familiar but hostile environment. In his carport, he hardened himself in a rain barrel filled with groundwater.
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The 115 islands and islets that make up the Seychelles present a breath-taking variety of plants, rare animals and beaches laced with palms. This is where the leg-endary Coco de Mer palm nuts grow with fruits weigh-ing up to 20 kilos and giant wild land turtles nibble away at mangrove fruits to their hearts content. The archipelago was first settled at the end of the 18th cen-tury. Today, a very colourful potpourri of peoples in this dwarf state proves just how peacefully different cultures can live side by side. Three times a week, the steamer "MV Espoir" completes the trip from the main island of Mahé to Praslin and back. A ship for every-one and practically everything: Used cars, toilet paper, horses, bicycles, furniture - you name it, the Espoir transports goods of all kinds. Coconuts sometimes pose a problem as there are far too many of them. What to do with them? The best place to send them is undoubt-edly Hubert Roumien's Virgin Coconut Oil Laboratory, hidden away in the Mahé jungle. Straw turns into gold at Seaweed Seychelles! There, Benjamin Port Louis collects seaweed and extracts liquid fertiliser from it.
The dominance of air has always been in the mind of men, but nature only gave the gift to flight to certain animals. Amongst these, to the insects. Thanks to their wings, the insects have conquered most parts of the planet's diverse environment. What are the reasons for such an amazing biological success without comparison in the history of the animal world?
They are killers. They kill with unbelievable precision. They fight Kung Fu style and are seen in Japan as a symbol of vigilance - the mantises. Their triangular head with its unique flexibility is conspicuous. Two overdimensioned eyes fixate the distance to their prey rapidly and three-dimensionally. The chest segment of the mantis is prolonged and equipped with spiny appendages that can spear their prey as fast as a jack knife. The mysterious aura that surrounds the praying mantis has a lot to do with the fact that they are rarely seen. They have adapted to their surroundings perfectly. No matter whether leaves, blossoms, tree bark, sandy floors or even orchids - the mantis adjusts to all environments.
When food supply in the Serengeti dwindles, the Masai Mara is a paradise for predators. As the black wildebeests, gazelles, zebras and antelopes make their yearly trip from the south of the Serengeti to the north, nature's best laid trap, the Mara River in Kenya is waiting ahead. Captivating shots filmed under water show how crocodiles prepare for the Big Hunt while other predators lurk on the banks awaiting their bounty. The biggest problems for the migratory animals are the Mara and the Tarek River, where they have to put their lives at risk to get to the other side. A great number of them die as they jump into the river and break their legs, while others are carried away by the drift or drown. Those who are not victims of the river itself risk falling prey to the crocodiles. We entered this unchartered territory, the crocodile domain by heading under water. Follow these predators in and around their habitat and watch prides of lions map out their game plan. In slow-motion, we show you the final showdown between predator and prey. Will it be a successful hunt or will the hoofed animals persevere?
We accompany the first steps of a two-year-old elephant who is just starting his release program. We also observe the story of two young elephants in their first night in the wilderness on their own. Captivating film footage allows us to truly learn how elephants behave in the wild.
We follow the rescue of a baby elephant. Once rescued, it will be transported by plane to the breeding station and raised with love and commitment. In order to satisfy the little pachyderm's urge to move while in the breeding station, there is sometimes an adorable football match between the animals.
Greenland is the largest island in the world and the landmass closest to the North Pole. 80% of the country is covered by a layer of ice up to 3000 meters thick. Most of the inhabitants of the country are spread over the breathtaking landscape of the ice-free west coast. The country is mostly inhabited by Inuit, who have been feeding on what nature has provided them for thousands of years. But the original life is in a state of change. The modernisation of society and man-made global warming threaten the Arctic natural paradise that is so incredibly important for our planet. Through the eyes of locals we get to know the authentic Greenland.
Why don't you do something sensible? - Tim, Michael and Dennis have heard this sentence more than once since their school days when they professed their dream jobs: Artist, photographer, filmmaker. And they went on to say that some dreams had to remain dreams, that work didn't have to be fun, but above all that it had to pay enough and be safe. A few years later, the three are working on their joint feature film. They put all their eggs in one basket and are determined to invest two years of working time to achieve their goal. Unpaid. It's not just any goal: the three want to travel to Antarctica. They want to find out whether it is possible to reach even the most distant destinations if you only want to. With ten boxes full of equipment, they set off on the 14,000 km journey to Antarctica. And thus on the journey of a lifetime...
The barren, karstic south of the country, Herzegovina, also impresses with its natural landscapes. One of them is the Livno field. Not only is it the largest wetland in the country, it is also the largest regularly flooded karst field in the world. About 700 wild horses live in this unique landscape. Their ancestors were working horses that were abandoned here more than 50 years ago. Another special feature of the karst landscape are the rivers with their tufa barriers. The countless waterfalls that pour over it are a unique natural phenomenon.
Wild and unknown lies the still undiscovered natural paradise of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the heart of Europe. Rough mountains, dense forests and wild waterfalls characterize the picture of the untouched landscapes. Lynx, wolves and bears roam mountains and valleys. One of the last primeval forests in Europe is a retreat for many endangered animal species. Bosnia and Herzegovina is actually an undiscovered natural paradise in the middle of Europe.
The Dordogne consists of a visible and an invisible system of flowing water. Caves and basins under the earth's surface store the excess water and return it to the river when it is dry. A perfect management of a precious resource, not invented by humans, but by the complex nature itself. The result is an ever life-giving river.
The Gironde is the largest and most powerful tidal current in Europe. When the Gironde flows into the Atlantic, it is 15 kilometers wide and in the rhythm of the tides, it brings the waters from the Pyrenees and the Massif Central into the ocean. This often pushes its waters far out into the Gironde at high tide.This creates a world of its own that has shaped everything uniquely and intensely for tens of thousands of years. The water surface of the river is so large that the evaporation has created its own microclimate, which is stable and, together with the brackish waters, has influenced flora and fauna on the right and left of the bank for a long time.
The "Parque Natural da Ria Formosa" is one of the largest lagoon conservation areas in Europe. Bordered by five natural islands. A mosaic of sandbanks, brackish and freshwater lagoons and salt marshes. In 2010, the "Ria Formosa" was chosen as one of the seven natural wonders of Portugal. It is a unique ecosystem: in the winter months, more than 20,000 birds gather here. In addition, the nature park has one of the largest seahorse populations internationally. More than half of all fish species in the Atlantic are said to spawn in the lagoon.
Madeira - Portugal's autonomous island in the Atlantic Ocean, is closer to the African coast than to the mother country Portugal, from which it is separated by about 900 kilometers. The island's name comes from Portuguese sailors who claimed the uninhabited isle for themselves in 1419. Madeira means wood and that was available in abundance. Almost the entire surface was covered by dense forest. Since 1982, two-thirds of the landscape has been protected.
Wildlife film-makers often risk life and limb trying to capture unique images of their dangerous protagonists. In Alaska a cunning grizzly threatens the son of Andreas Kieling, on the remote Wrangel Island in northern-east Siberia his colleague Uwe Anders is taken by surprise by a a polar bear, and off the coast of South Africa a diving-team is unexpectedly surrounded by white sharks. But the life of the film-makers is also threatened by elemental forces, life-threatening diseases and failing technical equipment: Deep in the vast rainforests of West Africa cameraman Klaus Scheurich nearly dies of malaria, and in South India a film team narrowly escapes death in a hot-air balloon accident. But they also meet remarkable people such as a zoo keeper in Cameroon who feels at ease playing with half-grown and adult gorillas - the most powerful of all great apes. The first episode "Wild Moments - Dangerous and Deadly" follows wildlife film-makers on their adventurous journeys throughout the world.
Most people associate honey producing insects with the name “BEE“. Few realize that there are over 560 different species of bees - most of them live their lives “busy as a bee“ but some “abuse“ other insects and others are even known to be murderers. The film “Wild Bees” shows the incredible diversity and the stunning adaptations of our “BEES” to various habitats and diverse living conditions. Fascinating fights, sensational performances, imposing structures and colorful individuals – the world of “Wild Bees” offers all of this and more.
Butterflies surely are the most fancied species inside the insect world. Their beautiful colouring and their graceful flight appeal to everyone. There are close to 4000 types of Butterflies – today many of them are endangered due to the loss of their habitat.
Forests and fields, moors and heathland, shepherds and sheep - these are the symbols of an ostensibly unspoilt landscape that has inspired poets and painters alike for centuries. The secret of the almost 500 km² nature reserve Naturpark Südheide lies in its diversity: the origins of its soil, geology and topography can be traced back to the ice age. But the region between Hamburg and Hannover is anything but unspoilt. For centuries, it was synonymous with heathland farmers and formed as a North German cultivated landscape. This documentary tells of an almost unknown region, which has been strongly influenced by mankind for centuries, yet still remains diverse in its nature. Nature filmmaker Günter Goldmann presents the Lüneburg Heath to us with impressive behavioural observations of quarrelling black grouse, badgers in their subterranean burrows, the clashing of young wild boar and crane fledglings, who seek protection in the warm plumage of their parents. Aerial views present the region from a lofty perspective, while extreme HD slow motion images of black grouse, wild boar and roe deer provide insights into the world of the animal inhabitants in the heart of Lower Saxony.
One of the smallest dams in the Bergisches Land is the Panzertalsperre, with an area of just four-and-a-half football pitches. On the other hand, the Dhünntalsperre is the largest with the area of 660 football pitches. They all transform a stretch of flowing water into still and stagnant water. As a result, completely diverse ecosystems have developed there: where the dipper once dived for insect larvae, cormorants and gray herons now fish and swans and coots cavort. In recent summers, even greater challenges have emerged: the effects of climate change - from extreme drought to destructive floods. On a smaller scale, a rather industrious dam master is operating flood protection: The Beaver. However, the water masses of the Wupper tore away half of his majestic timber castle - and the four young beaver kids were not seen again afterwards. Have they survived the flood? Not everyone can cope with the constant change in the dams, but they still remain an important wonder of engineering for many: for us humans as well as for a number of animals. By combining water management, ecological requirements and tourism a worthwhile goal is possible: Because for the Bergisches Land, its dams are among the most valuable and popular infrastructures that the region has to offer.
There are sparkling palaces from ice and snow, like those found in a fairytale. The icy castles are the phenomenal work of Mother Nature but man had a hand in the magnificent stone castles of the region. The spectacular and histrionic mountains of the Bavarian Alps challenge wildlife and the people who live there and the rocky ramparts of this mountain kingdom are built of limestone and fossil rocks that tell of its origins beneath the sea. Millions of visitors from all over the world come to Bavaria every year to witness the mysticism of the landscape. Kings and Queens, tourist and locals, all are welcomed in the fantastic alpine kingdom. Early summer often comes with the threat of storms that bring floods that scour the land and threaten many creatures. But farmers risk these dangers to take their herds to the highest pastures, where they can graze on the sweetest flower-filled meadows. And later from the high-quality milk produced by their herds, the famers make highly prized cheese. Humankind lives among eagle owls, chamoix, wild cats, stoats and ravens up in these mountains.
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