Nature: Season 15

Episode 1: Sperm Whales: the Real Moby Dick 1996-10-13 | 53 min In the NATURE program SPERM WHALES: THE REAL MOBY DICK, the efforts of Jonathan Gordon and other researchers to study the whales' physicality, modes of communication, and social interactions contribute to our understanding of the underwater world.

Episode 2: The Crater Lions 1996-10-20 | 53 min Charting the declining fortunes of a pride of "Crater Lions" that lives in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater. Included: lion attacks on buffaloes; a young cub's encounter with jackals; efforts to repopulate the pride; wildebeests, elephants

Episode 3: Mask of the Mandrill 1996-11-10 | 53 min Delving into the mysteries of the colorful monkeys called mandrills, as a troupe of the creatures are followed through the West African rainforests. Included: the travails of a lead male fighting off a rival; the females' role as group leaders; hammerhead bats and river martins.

Episode 4: The Joy of Pigs 1996-11-17 | 53 min Exploring pigs, described by host George Page as “the world's most cosmopolitan characters,” with a focus on their adaptability to a variety of environments. Included: pigs as pets; hunters stalking a “bearded” pig in Borneo.

Episode 5: Echo of the Elephants: The Next Generation 1996-12-08 | 53 min Following a family of elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park. Included: the family's matriarch giving birth, rescuing her kidnapped daughter and chasing away hyenas. Also: male and female mating rituals.

Episode 6: Wolves and Buffalo: The Last Frontier 1997-01-12 | 53 min Observing wild buffaloes and gray wolves in the Canadian wilderness. Jeff and Sue Turner spent two years filming the ritual battles between these ancient adversaries in Wood Buffalo National Park, where the drama unfolds in the subarctic winter.

Episode 7: The Elephant Men 1997-02-16 | 53 min Profiling the mahouts of southern India, who are skilled in the art of training wild elephants. Included: a journey north to stop herds of marauding elephants that are destroying villagers' crops and taking lives.

Episode 8: A Lemur's Tale 1997-02-23 | 53 min Deep in the thorn forests of Madagascar live troops of ring-tailed lemurs, the most beautiful and most social of Madagascar’s extraordinary primates. Our story follows five baby lemurs as they try to make their way in the world. In an intimate portrait never before filmed, we learn of their high times, their sufferings, and the special bonds that hold their unique society together.

Episode 9: Extraordinary Dogs 1997-03-09 | 53 min Tales of canine loyalty to humans, including segments illustrating how dogs detect people buried by avalanches, enhance the lives of prison inmates and offer "therapy" for seriously ill youngsters. Also: the use of dogs to assist people with disabilities; dog scouts and couriers.

Episode 10: Bower Bird Blues 1997-04-13 | 53 min Profiling the bowerbird, an ingenious "architect" of the Australian rain forest that builds elaborate bowers of sticks to attract a female. Footage also includes the spiny echidna, which feasts on termite mounds; a bright blue crayfish; and carnivorous dingoes.

Episode 11: Spirits of the Jaguar: The Forging of a New World 1997-05-11 | 53 min The four-part "Spirits of the Jaguar" explores the human and natural histories of Central America and the Caribbean. Part 1 focuses on the region's animal and plant life, and its volcanic origins some 150 million years ago. Included: iguanas; crocodiles; fossilized tree sap that offers a record of ancient island life.

Episode 12: Spirits of the Jaguar: The Forests of Maya 1997-05-12 | 53 min Part 2 of "Spirits of the Jaguar" explores the "Forests of the Maya," where 1200 years ago an extraordinary civilization emerged in the Central American jungles. Included: Mayan ruins; exotic animals like the jaguar that permeated Mayan folklore; underground rivers and caves.

Episode 13: Spirits of the Jaguar: Hunters of the Caribbean Sea 1997-05-13 | 53 min Part 3 of “Spirits of the Jaguar” recounts the evolution of the Taino civilization. The Taino were the first inhabitants of the Caribbean some 2000 years ago, and their way of life was destroyed with the arrival of European explorers. The hour examines marine life that provided food for the Amerindians.

Episode 14: Spirits of the Jaguar: The World of Aztecs 1997-05-14 | 53 min "Spirits of the Jaguar" concludes with the story of the Aztec empire, which in the 1500s stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific in what is now Mexico. Footage includes scenes of hawks that once inspired Aztec myths, and ruins of pyramids and temples.

Nature: Season 15

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