nature

On March 18 at 8 p.m., the National Geographic Channel will air a three-hour documentary on Galapagos, thirteen islands off the southern coast of South America that were central to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. Put together from over 300 hours of footage shot over a three-year period, Galapagos is being lauded by National Geographic as the most in-depth look at the islands in over two decades.

The documentary will be presented in high def and will not only explore the various forms of wildlife, but also the surrounding ocean and the volcanoes that first gave form to the islands. If I sound like a commercial for the program, that's only because I live for any series having to do with the natural world. Galapagos is even more interesting because it's not only a remarkable ecosystem, but also the center of a time-tested theory about our origin that changed the way we see ourselves and the world around us.

Ah, technology. No longer will you have to go outside to appreciate the wonders of nature. Instead, the Discovery Channel is going to bring you the wonders of the natural world in glorious high definition starting March 25 with an eleven-part series, Planet Earth.

The program, created by the same people behind Blue Planet, is the result of 70 camera operators working for 2,000 days in 2000 locations using advanced techniques and technology. Discovery will also air behind-the-scenes footage after each episode and will provide extra content online. I'm guessing that after seeing the world in high definition your only recourse will be to track down Mother Nature and spit in her face in disgust.

That would be NATURE, the long-running PBS series, not nature itself, which has been around much longer than twenty-five years. If you're a fan of nature programs like I am, then be sure to check out The Best of NATURE - 25 Years, a ninety-minute retrospective that will look back on the last twenty-five years of the award-winning PBS program that began in 1982. The special will be hosted by Lynn Sherr, who previously hosted the NATURE special about giraffes, "Tall Blondes," based on her book of the same name. The special will look back at old episodes to show how animals must learn to survive in the wild, learn to hunt and/or escape, reproduce, and sometimes readjust to life in captivity. The special will also pay tribute to George Page, the creator of NATURE who passed away last year.

The Best of NATURE - 25 Years airs January 14 at 8 pm on PBS. You can also catch a new NATURE special, "Christmas in Yellowstone," tomorrow night at 8 pm.

On Sunday December 10, the National Geographic Channel will premiere In the Womb: Animals, a two-hour special that uses ultrasound imagery along with computer imagery and visual effects to show how different species such as elephants, dogs and dolphins develop while in utero. Call me a sucker for nature programs, because damn it, I live for these kind of specials. You'll see how a dolphin learns to swim while still in the womb, and get a glimpse of the wonders of evolution when the elephant fetus develops ducts like a fish, and the dolphin fetus develops "legs" of sorts.

Okay, now I'm starting to sound like a commercial for the program, but what can I say, this science stuff fascinates me. Just look at that picture on the right of an elephant developing in the womb and tell me it doesn't blow your mind*. Okay, I'll stop with the awe now, but if you're as into this stuff as I am, you should check out some video previews here.

*It's actually a CGI, but it's still pretty damn cool.

Tomorrow evening at 9 pm, National Geographic Channel will air Eye of the Leopard, a documentary from Dereck and Beverly Joubert, conservationist whose main focus is on Botswana and the big cats and elephants that live there. Eye of the Leopard follows a leopard named Legadema (which means, "light from the sky") over a three year period, starting when the cat is only eight days old. The documentary will be told mostly in flashback form as she learns to use behaivors taught to her as a young cub. Jermey Irons narrates the story as Legadema learns to use both her instinct and learned behaivor to survive in Africa. I've placed a clip from the documentary after the jump.