Episode
Natural World: Killer Bees and Magic Trees
Overview
Austrian scientist Gerald Kastberger studies the aggressive giant honeybees of Assam, in particular their unexplained annual migration from the Himalayan foothills to specific trees scattered across the plains a hundred miles to the south - a distance which takes the bees three weeks to cover. Feared locally as much as the tiger, the bees attack en masse, and a hundred or more stings can kill.
Details
- Series
- Natural World
- Season
- Season 19
- Episode
- Episode 12
- Air date
- 2001-02-04
Episode context
Killer Bees and Magic Trees is Episode 12 in Season 19 of Natural World. It aired on 2001-02-04.
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Episode 11: Seals: Invaders of the Sea
Wildlife programme in which state-of-the-art camera techniques reveal the sophisticated underwater world of the seal - an animal capable of surviving in every ocean corner of the world.
Episode 13: Hippo Beach
Insight into the bizarre behavioural habits of the African hippo, a creature which spends most of its lifetime in water but cannot swim, and eats mainly grass yet thinks nothing of challenging a lion for a share of its kill. Featuring action-packed footage of fearsome hippo bulls as they defend their territories
More episodes from this season
Episode 10: The Last Tusker
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Episode 14: Timeless Thames
This is a journey along the River Thames, England's most famous river, from its source to the sea. The Thames may seem tame today but it is still wild at heart and just waiting to reclaim its lost wildness, despite our best efforts to control it. The recent flooding throughout the British Isles illustrates just how close we live to the limits of nature. London is actually sinking faster than Venice and despite huge technological innovations, such as the Thames Barrier, we are losing the battle. This winter's flooding will make everyone rethink how we live alongside the Timeless Thames.
Episode 9: Bower Birds: The Art of Seduction
David Attenborough travels to the remote highlands of New Guinea and the rainforests of Australia to explore the little-known world of the bower bird, a fascinating creature which flaunts its charms, steals for its own purposes and indulges in spiteful acts - all in the pursuit of the opposite sex
Episode 15: Coyote: the Ultimate Survivor?
Documentary on the coyote, cousin to the wolf and one of America's most charismatic animals. The film explores how this elusive and intelligent creature with a spine-chilling call remains an icon of the Wild West - revered by native Americans, yet hated by white ranchers - and tells its remarkable story of survival, from its stronghold in Yellowstone Park right into the heart of modern cities.
Episode 8: Seychelles: Jewels of a Lost Continent
The epic story of how giant tortoises, silver lizards, the coco de mer tree and other extraordinary species came to be stranded on the tiny islands of the Seychelles, far out in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The islands' wealth of wildlife all provide clues to the Seychelles' dramatic origins in the break-up of a primeval supercontinent.
Episode 16: Transylvania: Living with Predators
Andrew Sachs narrates a documentary focusing on the large predators which live alongside humans in the beautiful forests and mountains of Transylvania, where shepherds always have to be on their guard for hungry wolves and bears seeking an easy meal of lamb. The programme examines the current situation and asks how long the inhabitants of Transylvania can tolerate these dangerous carnivores
Episode 7: Madagascar: Land of Lemurs
Isolated from the rest of the world for hundreds of thousands of years, Madagascar has become a treasure trove of unique wildlife. This programme follows the lives of its charismatic lemurs that are to be found nowhere else in the world.
Episode 17: Danube Delta: Europe Untamed
The delta of the river Danube is home to half a million wild geese, the greatest concentration of pelicans outside Africa, and the world's largest freshwater fish. Despite the previous efforts of communist regimes to drain the area, people still live and fish here in a way of life unchanged for centuries.
Episode 6: Killer Whales: Up Close and Personal
The intimate lives of a family of killer whales that hunt elephant seals and penguins off the storm-blasted Crozet Islands of Antarctica. French scientists study younger members of the group as they learn the complicated techniques involved in catching prey
Episode 18: Buffalo: The African Boss
A study of the buffaloes of Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania, where they are prey to lions but will also attack
them, and even kill their cubs. This dangerous side, which makes them the most feared of all Africa's large animals, is balanced by their loyalty and care for the other members of their herd.