Secret Creatures

Aerial Africa reveals the fascinating stories you'd never find if you weren't in the air.

Africa's rivers are the wildest places on our planet. Bursting with life, they are home to an array of wildlife who depend on the rivers for their survival.

The Swamp Pride is on its knees. Its mighty male was killed by poachers, leaving three mothers and their cubs defenseless in one of the toughest landscapes for a lion in Africa. Busanga Swamp is a quagmire, even in the dry season. Hunting in shoulder-deep water is all but impossible, and deadly hippos and crocodiles patrol the ever-present waters. Keeping cubs alive here is hard work, but for these lionesses it just got even harder: two massive young male lions are hunting them down. The males want to claim the Swamp Pride and its territory as their own, but to take over a pride they must kill its cubs. The mothers must fight tooth and claw to make sure that doesn't happen

This is a powerful documentary, filmed over a 16 year span, about the rise of a Coalition of six lions, branded The Mapogo Lions, and their takeover of the largest territory by a pride.

Africa is a land of giants. Its powerful rivers sculpt the earth and form impressive valleys and waterways that are home to many imposing and powerful inhabitants. These are the rivers where massive elephants and hippos live, feed and drink, and where ancient crocodiles hunt and breed. They share the rivers with porcupines, the martial eagle, and the leopard.

The circle of life is broken in Zambia's Liuwa Plains National Park. Settlers, poachers, and professional hunters have almost wiped out the lion population, leaving just one lioness in the vast wilderness - but not for long. This is the story of "Lady Liuwa," a lion queen without a kingdom, and Herbert Brauer, a wildlife cinematographer on a six-year journey to find her a mate in hopes of forming a new pride. It's a mission full of setbacks and disappointments, chaos and danger, and the magic of unexpected relationships

Africa's rivers are the wildest places on our planet. Bursting with life, they are home to an array of wildlife who depend on the rivers for their survival.

Stories of Africa captures the heart and spirit of some of Africa's most amazing animals. Shot over several years in some of Africa's best kept wild places, we follow the tale of the last lionesses of Liuwa and the incredible effort to establish a viable lion pride in Zambia.

The mysterious jungles of Thailand are home to some of the rarest wild cats on earth - the Clouded Leopard, The Asian Leopard, The Indian Fishing Cat and the Indo Chinese Tiger. In one of the last truly wild corners of the world this extraordinary collection of secretive predators defend their last remaining stronghold. As their territories intertwine and continuously shift, these cats must cheat death on a daily basis if they are to survive and thrive out in these tangled lands

Lazy relatives. Jealous neighbors. Runaway kids. The everyday troubles of one family - except this family is a pride of lions. Shot over three years during the most extreme seasonal changes in Africa, the film follows Mfumu - the pride's leader - as he struggles to defend his turf, and his mate Chipazuwa as she tries to produce offspring. Among the threats: a river infested with crocodiles that have taken every litter of cubs -- and a rival male, bent on taking over the pride.

A documentary that focuses on how animals born with unusual colours have a much harder struggle than normal. Follow white lions, a white baboon and a yellow crocodile.

The Earth, our planet, is a magnificent and diverse world, filled to the brim with life. But life, in all its forms, cannot exist except within a very specific set of rules – among many, to be alive means to breathe, to breed, to sense one’s environment, and importantly – to and nourishment, in whatever form fits. Out in the wild, it’s eat or be eaten, and few escape this one law that governs all. The epic and eternal battle of predator vs. prey has moulded and shaped all life on Earth and resulted in a fierce array of weaponry and masterful set of skills. Deadliest Hunters takes a closer look at some of the animals that have led the way in refining their skills as masterful huntsmen.

In the Kruger National Park there is a hunting force that rivals anything else in Africa - a lion pride, 28 members strong! Despite the females' hunting prowess, nine adolescent males dominate every kill. Bigger and stronger, they bully their way to the best spots on the carcass. The pride's two powerful males could easily enforce discipline, but with them away on patrol, the unruly youngsters are running riot. When eight strong lionesses split from the Megapride, food pressure mounts as the remaining females struggle to cater for their sons' growing demands.

National Geographic's Explorer gives viewers special access to the issues of the day.

On Zambia's Liuwa Plain two star-crossed spotted hyena cubs are born to warring rival clans: Twaambo, a male cub and Nasanta, a female, are destined to lead converging lives as their extreme environment forces them together