The contours of the Mediterranean have changed during the course of its history. Near Gibraltar, Africa was once connected to the European continent. When the land bridge at Gibraltar collapsed, the Mediterranean basin filled up again. The Suez Canal is today connected to the Red Sea. This route enables animals to reach the Mediterranean, where they cause problems.
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As one of Germany's beauties, the river was the gem of Germanys landscape. But with industrialization it became the country's hardest working river and like everything that has been overworked, it lost it magnificence and charm. Due to tender love and care, the river is now a reigning example of one of the most successful and outstanding renaturation projects in the country.The film shows never before seen shots of the river now pulsing with life. We will show you the winding river bed, spawning salmon, mating crabs and still-growing anchor ice. You will see dipper birds searching for food under water, kingfishers catching fish, a family life of badgers, foxes and a wide variety of birds. Come and meet the resurrected river Wupper!
Switzerland or Spain? This question is often asked by those who see pictures from northern Spain for the first time: High mountains, lonely villages, but - this is the crucial difference - also breathtaking Atlantic beaches. The "Costa Verde", the green coast, is a piece of Spain that is so different from the general tourist image of the Germans' favorite vacation destination. This area has been spared from mass tourism. We travel by train from Bilbao in the Basque Country to Santander in Cantabria and Asturias.
We travel by train from the westernmost point of mainland Europe up to Portugal's only national park, the Peneda-Gerês, and from lively Porto to the Spanish border in the northeast. The train takes you from the blue sea to the green Douro Valley, from the urban metropolis to the scorching heat of the deserted hinterland.
ALMA – the Atacama Large Millimeter Array – is the ultimate space observation facility. Here, 66 leviathan parabolic antennae trap cosmic rays in the previously unobservable long-wave range. It can only happen in Atacama, far away from civilisation's pollution of the night sky with artificial light.
The Provence is famed for its endless fields of laven-der, but this lush landscape also has a beautifully mari-time touch: The Côte Bleue! Small, hidden beaches, charming harbour towns, imposing, craggy bays and a uniquely clear light that has attracted painters includ-ing Cézanne and Braque. The coast derives its name from the deep blue water and extends from Marseille to Martigues. This small town is also known as "The Ven-ice of the North", as it is shaped entirely by water: an inland lake, the sea itself, as well as a connecting canal. In the bays of the Calanques, the steeply-walled coastal inlets in the Mediterranean limestone, Lionel Franc is a cliff diver. His personal record is a hight of 36 metres! Ambi is a sculptress. This young artist's work, who moved to Marseille from Madagascar many years ago, is characterised by a dynamic momentum. As a pas-sionate pétanque player, she demonstrates this drive on the boules courts of the port city. John Pendray is Pein-tre officiel de la Marine, an official marine painter. The French state allows just 40 painters to its circle. There are no monetary rewards, but heaps of honour and a very smart uniform!
Jersey: the Channel Island is one of the areas in the UK that can boast the most hours of annual sunshine. Not that Dave Cowburn cares very much. He works in the dark, cool ducts of an old bunker from the Sec-ond World War. Here, he breeds turbot, and is very successful at it, too. The "Jersey Royal", the regal potato, has been grown on the island since 1880, fertilized with seaweed from the surrounding ocean. In the third generation, Christine Hellio manages approximately 20 hectares on the coast. "The potato is our most important export commodity", she says. It is harvested by hand, as machines cannot be used on the steep fields. The price is quite regal, too: One kilogram costs 6 Euros. Hugh Gill is one of around 240 voluntary police officers on Jersey. The Honorary Police is regarded as the oldest organised police system in the world. Hugh works for them for one week every month. On the green lanes, the streets of Jersey, the speed limit is 15 miles per hour. Jersey has an immense tidal range and with up to 13 metres difference, it is the world's third largest. This is good for a rarity: the Ormer - one of the world's most expensive species of snail.
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.
It is a road of mountain passes and India's access to the roof of the world – the Himalayas. This 475-kilometre long route at the northernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent connects the cities of Manali and Leh at the heart of the Ladakh region. The term “highway” applies quite literally, since the route traverses five of the highest drivable mountain passes in the world – among these the Lohtang La at 3,978 metres above sea level, the Lachulung La at 5,059 metres and the Tanglang La at 5,325 metres. Crossing these passes is a challenge for both vehicle and man. The mountain peaks, still snow-capped even in the depths of summer, wide variety of vegetation and the fantastic and craggy landscape turn any journey into a captivating adventure.
Europe has experienced catastrophic earthquakes – even though the 'old continent' is not the most notorious region on Earth for strong quakes, the danger from below is very real. Autumn 2016 tragedy strikes north-central Italy. A series of four earthquakes cracks a mountain and flattens a historic town.
The knights of the deep are on the move almost no part of their bodies is without armor. Like medieval warriors, these fighters are well armed – not with sword and shield, but with scissors and forceps and defensive armor that is covered with spikes and hooks. And even though they are well protected and have an uncanny awareness of their surroundings, many of these proud knights will face a gloomy destiny. Many of them will end upon a plate. Gourmets all over the world are in love with these famous crustaceans: lobsters! For marine biologists lobsters are similarly fascinating: as research objects. We are on their trail in Cape Breton, an island in the northern Atlantic and part of the Canadian province Nova Scotia, where one of the largest populations of lobsters has its home.
It is a musical film a a tributeto the Nordic forest: it shows its development from a primeval wood to a cultivated forest. Once populated by wild animals such as wolves, bears, eagles, deer and musk oxen, complex re-enactment-scenes shot by dollies and helicopters vividly depict the colonization of the forest by the Celts and Germans. But as time progressed, the northern forest has on numerous occasions fallen victim to environmental degradation and overexploitation. Several provisions were made to protect this wild beauty. The Helsinki resolution of 1993, which stipulated that the woods be used in a way and in a magnitude which guarantees their biological variety and productiveness and vitality, is but one measure put in place to secure the preservation of the natural gem. Time-lapse photography and breath-taking shots show our main protagonist – the woods – in its stunning glory. This beautiful wooded land, changes throughout the seasons. Our woodland is a world-renowned ecological jewel. It is famous, well-known and loved by tourists, forest economists, environmentalists, historians and intellectuals alike.
Rugged rocks, blue sea and idyllic, sandy beaches - this is the Mediterranean as we know it. But this impression is deceptive: the Mediterranean is under constant change. The continents are moving towards one another. Animals, that have to survive under such extreme conditions, must find a way to escape the dangers. Between deserts and volcanoes, the challenges for the animals are enormous.
The contours of the Mediterranean have changed during the course of its history. Near Gibraltar, Africa was once connected to the European continent. When the land bridge at Gibraltar collapsed, the Mediterranean basin filled up again. The Suez Canal is today connected to the Red Sea. This route enables animals to reach the Mediterranean, where they cause problems.
Our journeys take us all around the world from Patagonia to the USA, from Greenland to South Africa and from Cambodia to Australia and leads us to the most fascinating places where landscapes animals and humans are the main focus of our documentaries. Whether on land or at sea – the last paradises of the world are our destination.
Kihnu is one of 19 inhabited Estonian islands. When the women there ride motorcycles in colourful skirts, it is summer. Thanks to its remoteness, charming traditions have been preserved here. More than 2,000 islands belong to Estonia, none is like the other, each with its own character. Most of them were military restricted areas during the Soviet Union. Of all things, the strict shielding had its good points: beach, forest, juniper groves, they still characterise the landscape of Estonia's enchanted islands. Elly Karjam is a "multi-jobber": lighthouse keeper, ice-cream producer and contract knitter for the famous Kihnu sweaters. Summer is high season for her: She is expecting guests from the USA, who had their ancestors on Kihnu. Birches have to be cut for the so-called viht. This bunch of birch branches is an important accessory for the traditional sauna at midsummer. And the motorcycles in the shed are to be refloated.
It's a water world and life couldn't survive without it. And thanks to it, a mind blowing diversity of creatures thrive beneath the surface. Born to enjoy the riches underwater they must master their body's adaptations, learn to find food, to escape danger and above all become expert swimmers! Whether it's in rivers, on beaches or in the deep ocean, all must overcome the obstacles and fulfil their destiny, all are born to swim! Of all the habitats on earth, the ocean is perhaps the most challenging. Here salt, temperatures, currents and predators can make life difficult it's not an obvious place to want to bring up your babies… But even in these waters generation after generation beats the odds. They have overcome the challenges and become some of the most beautiful and graceful of creatures. But any baby born to swim has a lot to learn… All over the world there are creatures born to swim, and though humans are not, we seem determined to join them. Perhaps we are envious of their grace. Maybe we are all water babies at heart
In a land of dangers, plant-eating animals are always at risk, and never more so than at the time of their birth out on the open they are vulnerable and there are few places to hide. But luckily some are born to run …
Baby animals beguile with their innocent charm. But while some remain harmless, others have a deep-rooted instinct. It may take weeks or months of training to hone their skills. Their landscapes and lifestyles maybe very different, but these babies are born to hunt.
Countless marine animals frolic on the steep slopes of underwater volcanoes. In many cases, several are rare species not found elsewhere. This is in part due to the fact that plankton clings to the wall and provides the fish with food in abundance. This documentary shows several of these oases and also examines the impact dive tourism has and whether preventive measures can help to maintain them. Nature and underwater filmmaker Rolf Möltgen undertakes dives into the mysterious underwater mountain landscapes with marine scientists from all corners of the globe. This journey takes us to Mexico, to snappers, white-tip reef sharks, Galapagos sharks and giant mantas. We visit the Maldives, Colombia and Costa Rica, where the team documents rare species such as deep sea burbots, small tooth sand tiger and dogfish sharks, in depths of more than 3 metres. The eerie underwater mountain world proves: everyone plays a part in the network of life. Thanks to consistent protective regulations, it has been possible to retain the underwater diversity - especially in the unique oases of the high seas
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