Description

Following in the footsteps of Planet Earth and Life, this epic eight-part blockbuster is a breathtaking celebration of the amazing, complex, profound and sometimes challenging relationship between humankind and nature. Humans are the ultimate animals – the most successful species on the planet. From the frozen Arctic to steamy rainforests, from tiny islands in vast oceans to parched deserts, people have found remarkable ways to adapt and survive in the harshest environments imaginable. We’ve done this by harnessing our immense courage and ingenuity; learning to live with and utilise the other creatures that share these wild places. Human Planet weaves together eighty inspiring stories, many never told before on television, set to a globally influenced soundtrack by award-winning composer Nitin Sawhney. Each episode focuses on a particular habitat and reveals how its people have created astonishing solutions in the face of extreme adversity. Finally we visit the urban jungle, where most of us now live, and discover why the connection between humanity and nature in our cities is the most vital of all. Human Planet is brought to you by BBC Earth, creator of 50 years of outstanding natural history content.

OCEANS
As an air-breathing animal, the human is not built to survive in water. But people have found ways to live an almost aquatic life so they can exploit the sea's riches. From a 'shark-whisperer' in the Pacific to Brazilian fishermen collaborating with dolphins to catch mullet, this journey into the blue reveals astonishing tales of ingenuity and bravery.

ARCTIC
Sixty degrees below zero. The harshest environment on Earth. Yet four million people manage to survive ithe Arctic. This film follows a year in the human freezer – from the dark days of winter, when fishermen catch sharks through holes in the ice to feed their dog-sled teams, to the hazardous ventures of mussel-gatherers under the sea ice, escaping the incoming spring tide with seconds to spare, through to autumn and the most dangerous night for some children: Halloween. Can the ‘polar bear patrol’ in Churchill, Manitoba protect intrepid little trick-or-treaters from hungry predators?

JUNGLES
Rainforests teem with more species than anywhere else on the planet, but for bipedal human apes they make an unforgiving home. To survive in the jungle demands an intimate and complex understanding of nature’s many secrets. In the Amazon the Matis tribe spike their darts with natural poison, shooting them through blowpipes with pinpoint accuracy. Thirty metres up in the canopy, balancing on a single branch, a Bayaka father collects honey surrounded by angry, stinging African ‘killer’ bees, while in West Papua people build incredible homes in the rainforest canopy.

MOUNTAINS
From lush cloud forests at lower altitudes to bare summits that literally take your breath away, the higher you climb, the harder life becomes when you make your home on a mountain. Mongolia’s vast open plateaus make ambushing prey impossible, so hunters have forged an astonishing partnership with golden eagles, while on the precipitous cliff tops in Ethiopia, families are locked in a dramatic fight to protect their meagre harvest from fearsome crop-raiding baboons. In a never-before filmed ceremony, Buddhists in Nepal offer their dead up to the vultures in the ultimate reverence of nature.

GRASSLANDS
Grasslands are the habitat that feed the world. Over thousands of years, we have learned to dominate and domesticate other creatures, as well as the grass itself, propelling our population to almost seven billion. But life in our Garden of Eden is not always easy. Men steal fresh kill from the jaws of lions in Kenya, Suri tribes stick-fight to prove they can take care of prized cattle and Mongolian horsemen lasso wild mares just to collect a pint of milk. In the perfect partnership, Maasai children literally talk to tiny birds to find hidden honeycombs, sharing the sweet reward.

RIVERS
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Full Specification

Broadcasting System	PAL
Certification	PG
Running Time	08:00:00
Recording Languages	English
Region Codes	2 - (Europe & Japan)
Import Country	United Kingdom
Colour Format	Colour
Mono or Stereo	stereo
Subtitles	English
Original Release Date	14/02/2011
Special Features	Includes Bonus Digital Copy