Episode
Natural World: The Temple Troop
Overview
In Sri Lanka's ruined city of Polonnaruwa lives the Temple Troop, the unruliest gang of monkeys around. This film follows an extraordinary year in the life of the troop.
Details
- Series
- Natural World
- Season
- Season 16
- Episode
- Episode 2
- Air date
- 1997-10-26
Episode context
The Temple Troop is Episode 2 in Season 16 of Natural World. It aired on 1997-10-26.
Previous / Next
More episodes from this season
Episode 4: Jungle Nights
Set in the tropical rainforests of Central America, this film reveals the unseen behaviour of jaguars, vampires, margays, kinkajous and other strange animals that spring to life after dark. The documentary was filmed in Belize, over the course of a year, by resident film-makers Richard Foster and Carol Farneti Foster. They used infra-red cameras and powerful software which converts the ultrasonic calls of bats into distinctive visual patterns on a computer screen.
Episode 5: Paracas and the Billion Dollar Bird
Along the shores of the Paracas National Park on the coast of Peru, two very different worlds collide - the barren Atacama desert and the seas teeming with wildlife such as sea lions, penguins and pelicans as well as guanay cormorants, a bird that once created fortunes for the local people through the sale of their droppings, an excellent natural fertiliser.
Episode 6: Komodo Dragon
A study of the world's largest lizard, the man-eating Komodo dragon of Indonesia, revealing the dinosaur-like creature to be far more than just a cold-blooded killer.
Episode 7: At the Edge of the Sea
An absorbing exploration of coastal British Columbia, At the Edge of the Sea provides an insight into the diverse life that thrives within the ever-changing landscape of the Pacific shoreline.
A vivid portrait of life amongst the violent surf, impressive time-lapse photography reveals the clever adaptations of the area's inhabitants. Acorn barnacles 'glue' themselves to rocks, while mussels produce strong threads to anchor themselves to the ocean floor and anemones develop adhesive undersides.
Episode 8: Beyond the Naked Eye
The hidden world of microscopic bugs, microbes, fungi and plants is revealed using special filming techniques. These tiny organisms can cause deadly diseases, but they also help to provide food and control the climate.
Episode 9: On the Path of the Reindeer
This edition follows thousands of reindeer as they undertake a 400km migration through Lapland, guided by the Saami, the reindeer people. On the journey the reindeer give birth, evade predators, struggle over mountains and even swim across the sea to reach the lush summer pastures of the Arctic coast.
Episode 10: The Secret Garden
Timelapse and close-up photography reveals the natural lives of the plants and animals that inhabit an English garden.
Episode 11: The Dragons of Galapagos
A look at the iguanas of the Galapagos.
Episode 12: Three Monkeys
How three species of monkey - howlers, red spiders and white-faced - use their different skills to fight for survival deep in the unpredictable and unforgiving tropical forests of Costa Rica.
Episode 13: Borneo: Island in the Clouds
The wildlife of Borneo, home to a diverse array of creatures, including proboscis monkeys, forest elephants, rhinos and orang-utans. The island boasts the tallest peak in South-East Asia, Mount Kinabalu, and some of the world's largest cave systems, as well as mangrove swamps and a coral reef teeming with life.