Epic of Warm-Blooded Life on Our Planet

NATURAL HISTORY

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IN SHORT

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What: Life of Mammals.

Where: Animal Planet.

When: 8.30pm, Saturday.

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SIR David Attenborough scours the earth to illustrate how mammals have evolved to outlive dinosaurs and reign over the planet in Life of Mammals.

With bodies kept warm by coats of fur and developing young protected within, mammals have colonised every part of the globe.

Filmed in Australia, the Arctic, India, Madagascar, the Americas and West Africa, this 10-part series from the BBC captures 4000 species using hi-tech cameras and enormous amounts of patience.

Through the individual stories of each subject, Attenborough answers central questions such as: why do mammals come in so many sizes? How have they developed such complex social behaviours? Why can they adapt to so many different habitats and how are they able to eat such a range of foods?

This account is, at times, a personal one for Attenborough who has envisaged this piece of work since his early days at the BBC.

Life of Mammals showcases Attenborough’s legendary charm and erudition, still abundant in his late 70s, as are his enthusiasm and sense of adventure.

In the series, he is seen stalking a lone leopard in total darkness in northern India, swimming with sea otters off the coast of California and hanging from a rope high in the forests of Venezuela.

Life of Mammals aims to enhance public appreciation of the environment. Concluding his exhaustive catalogue with some Food for Thought in the final episode, Attenborough explores how humans have developed into the highly evolved mammals we are today.

“We (humans) are still part of the web of life,” says Attenborough. “In one way, however, we differ from any other species that has ever existed. For the first time, our unique species has the continued survival of all others in its hands.” *

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