The year 2011 gets off to a disturbing start. On New Years Eve, blackbirds die in Beebe, Arkansas by the thousands. Nearby, fish and more birds perish. Then a wave of unsettling animal deaths seems to sweep the globe. Are the deaths connected? A wide-ranging story begins with an investigation of the blackbird’s death and ends by assessing how the human mind is inspired, or derailed, by seeming patterns or coincidences in nature.
The treasures of the ancient pharaohs were legendary, but the tomb of the little-known Psusennes I stunned even the most experienced of Egyptologists. Untouched by grave robbers when it was unearthed in 1940, this discovery was overshadowed by the outbreak of World War II. The tomb contained a solid silver casket and riches that rivalled even those of the much-more famous Tutankhamen.
This is the story of a species in extremis: The Iberian lynx is probably the world’s most beautiful cat. Yet it may well be the most unknown. It’s certainly the world’s most endangered and rarest cat – on the very brink of extinction. But, at the very last moment, the Iberian lynx is now making a tentative comeback – with more than just a little help from its friends. The program for the reintroduction of the Iberian lynx has been risky and intensive, bringing together an impressive workforce of international experts. Meanwhile, it’s a reference project of global importance since it profits not only the Iberian lynx but a score of related wildlife species. This TV show beautifully portrays Iberia’s charismatic big cat, a specialised rabbit hunter, in its habitat – the most stunning and wildest landscapes of southern Spain. The leap of the Iberian lynx back from hopelessness into a sustainable future is a truly inspiring drama about the future co-existence of humans and wildlife.