Original air date: 31 October 2001
This outline is more complicated than most. It is mainly split in two parts: Birds and reptiles at the start and then, after a connecting piece there is the second half which is about mammals.
The outline is a bit short on details. The text version includes a more detailed look.
Birds need to land only to lay their eggs (as covered in the Birds series) and turtles are sea bound, coming on shore only to lay eggs. There is also a second theme: filming locations. The programme starts with birds and reptiles in the Pacific. It stays in the Pacific almost exclusively for the first 13 minutes apart from a short break into the Atlantic – sticking with a story about turtles. That is the dot of grey underneath the Pacific ocean refers to the Ascension islands – in the Atlantic. Then it returns there before checking on a whale carcass that birds and mammals feast on. It switches from birds to mammals for the rest of the programme.
Selected material
Tiny baby turtles picked out when hatching
The baby turtles hatch (conveniently) every night throughout the year and emerge in steady trickle of beak-sized meals. Very easy for the birds to pick them out. Even if they manage to reach the sea, safety is not guaranteed, there are fish and crocodiles that eat them too. Only 1% of young survive until adulthood. (Mainly Attenborough’s own text)
A killer whale seemingly playing with a sea lion pup (44’30-46’35)
Rather than “playing” with their food they are more likely to be teaching the young whales how to do it (frame taken from 45’35)