Reef Builders

Zoo Quest to West Africa

1955

In September 1954, David Attenborough, cameraman Charles Lagus, Jack Lester and Alf Woods, both from the Zoological Society of London, set out for Sierra Leone. They spent three months intently surveying the landscapes of Sierra Leone in search of nature’s rarest animals. Although predominantly searching for Picathartes gymnocephalus (the White-necked Rockfowl) they hoped to take back to London a representative collection of the whole of animal life in this part of Africa.

Aliens From Inner Space

1983

An incredible look at cephalopods – squids, octopi, and cuttlefish, from the Wildlife on One series. Filmed from Hawaii to the Gulf of Mexico, and using computers, scientists study the shape and color-changing abilities of these bizarre animals. Narrated by David Attenborough. (This film was shown on BBC as Season 12, Episode 2 of Wildlife on One. This listing is for the 16mm film release.)

Elsa the Lioness

1961

First transmitted in 1961, David Attenborough travels to Meru National Park in Kenya to visit Joy and George Adamson and meet Elsa the lioness and her cubs shortly before Elsa's death.

Planet Earth II: A World of Wonder

2017

A compilation episode of the wildlife documentary series presented by David Attenborough, uncovering the secrets of animals across the globe.

An Otter Study

1912

An Otter Study is a 1912 British short black-and-white silent documentary film, produced by Kineto, featuring an otter in its natural habitat, including groundbreaking footage of underwater hunting scenes. The film provided a novel treatment of the creature, which had previously appeared on film only as the victim of hunt films, with the unique underwater footage, shot by a cameraman behind glass in a tank concealed on the bed of the river in the opening scene, and a concluding scene, excised from the surviving print, in which it escapes the hunters. It was long thought lost until footage from a 1920s Visual Education re-release of the film, re-edited under the supervision of Professor J Arthur Thomson of Aberdeen University's Natural History Department, was rediscovered.

Dinosaurs: The Final Day with David Attenborough

2022

David Attenborough brings to life, in unprecedented detail, the last days of the dinosaurs. Palaeontologist Robert DePalma has made an incredible discovery in a prehistoric graveyard: fossilised creatures, astonishingly well preserved, that could help change our understanding of the last days of the dinosaurs. Evidence from his site records the day when an asteroid bigger than Mount Everest devastated our planet and caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. Based on brand new evidence, witness the catastrophic events of that day play out minute by minute.

The Secret Routes of Migratory Birds

2014

Flyway of Life

2025

The Atlantic Flyway, the easternmost migration path in North America, is among the most vital ecological phenomenons in the world. Join explorer Tomas Koeck as he examines several unlikely relationships along this massive migratory chain.

Supersized Sharks

2024

Norfolk Island, 800 miles off the coast of Australia, is home to some of the largest tiger sharks in the world. As strange as it sounds, some think this small island in the middle of the South Pacific has become like a drive-thru burger joint for tiger sharks to gorge on meat. For the first time, scientists are diving in to answer why there are so many huge tigers there. Shark biologists Lauren Meyers, Charlie Huveneers and Adam Barnett lure the giants to their boat to investigate and make a surprising discovery.

Attack of the Red Sea Sharks

2024

Attack of the Red Sea Sharks investigates why sharks killed three people in less than a year in the coastal waters of Red Sea resorts. Multiple witnesses captured the gruesome attacks, with the videos quickly going viral, sparking confusion and hysteria. Are these attacks part of a growing trend that is becoming more common worldwide? A team of scientists launches a global pursuit to answer that question and find ways to prevent future attacks.

Shark Whisperer

2025

Marine conservationist and social media activist Ocean Ramsey fearlessly swims with sharks in this documentary about her risky mission to protect them.

Becoming Cousteau

2021

Adventurer, filmmaker, inventor, author, unlikely celebrity and conservationist: For over four decades, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his explorations under the ocean became synonymous with a love of science and the natural world. As he learned to protect the environment, he brought the whole world with him, sounding alarms more than 50 years ago about the warming seas and our planet’s vulnerability. In BECOMING COUSTEAU, from National Geographic Documentary Films, two-time Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Liz Garbus takes an inside look at Cousteau and his life, his iconic films and inventions, and the experiences that made him the 20th century’s most unique and renowned environmental voice — and the man who inspired generations to protect the Earth.