Wild Down Under
Encyclopedia
Wild Down Under is a BBC
nature documentary
series exploring the natural history
of the Australasia
n continent, first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two
in September 2003. It was broadcast in Australia
under the title Wild Australasia in February 2004.
Each of the six episodes features a particular environment and, using a combination of aerial photography and traditional wildlife footage, reveals how physical forces and human activity have transformed Australasia from a lush green wilderness into an increasingly dry and harsh continent, troubled by unpredictable weather but still home to a huge array of creatures found nowhere else on Earth..
Wild Down Under was co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit
, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(ABC) and Animal Planet
. The series was produced for the BBC by Neil Nightingale
and executive-produced for ABC by Dione Gilmour. The music was composed by Adrian Johnston
and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra
. The series was narrated by Australian actor Matt Day
.
The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's Continents strand. It was preceded by Wild New World in 2002 and followed by Europe: A Natural History
in 2005.
As well as mainland Australia, the production team visited other locations across the continent for the fifth episode, "Island Arks", including New Guinea
, New Caledonia
, Lord Howe Island
and New Zealand
.
gives a glimpse of Australia's lush forests of the past. A group of Tasmanian devil
s are filmed squabbling over a wallaby
carcass. In eastern Australia, buckling formed the Australian Alps
, high enough to attract snowfall. Wombat
s bulldoze the snow to reach buried grass and platypus
hunt shrimp in the mountain streams. In the ancient tropical rainforest
of the Top End
, cassowaries
, striped possum
s and sugar glider
s are filmed. Kangaroo
s and koala
s inhabit the more open eucalpyt woodlands, and kookaburra
s feed their chicks in the nest hole. As Australia dried out, many rivers became intermittent or turned to creeks. Billabong
s attract wildlife such as flocks of corella
parrots, a sign of water to early explorers.They are curious, sociable birds, and are shown playing on branches and investigating the nest holes of budgerigar
s. In north Australia's wet season, the tropical wetlands of Kakadu
attract millions of magpie geese and other water birds. When the land begins to dry out again, freshwater crocodile
s must move to avoid being trapped in shrinking pools. Aerial photography is used to show features of Australia's deserts, such as parallel dunes and Uluru
. A planigale
hides from a taipan
, the world's deadliest snake, and a sand goanna
digs out a scorpion
. The Great Barrier Reef
was formed 10,000 years ago as sea levels rose. At certain tides after a full moon, its coral
s engage in the planet's greatest synchronised spawning
event.
s of Australia's interior. These harsh environments make up two thirds of the land area. Vast areas support nothing but tough spinifex
grass, indigestible to most herbivores. Instead, termite
s are the grazers of these grasslands. Inside the termite mound, a whole ecosystem flourishes; centipede
s eat the termites and knob-tailed geckos
prey on both. Lizard
s are one of the most successful animals in Australia's deserts, and a thorny devil
is shown waiting alongside a pathway of ants. Mammals here are nocturnal, staying underground during the heat of the day. Those featured include bilbies
and mala
s. Waterholes attract huge numbers of birds, and zebra finch
es are shown being preyed on by a falcon
. Nearby, black-footed rock wallabies hop around on the precipitous rock faces. The Finke River
is an important water source in central Australia and red-tailed black cockatoo
s gather here in large flocks to breed. Camels were originally brought over for transport, but now half a million roam the desert. Meat ant
s and aggressive bulldog ant
s are shown hunting and scavenging on the desert floor. The Simpson Desert
has the largest expanse of parallel sand dunes in the world, but red kangaroo
s survive even here. Once thought to be an inland sea, Lake Eyre
is normally an inhospitable salt pan
. Every 30 years or so, exceptional rains charge rivers which flow inland, filling the lake. The waters trigger a rush to breed, attracting birds such as pelican
s in their thousands.
's desert coastline, seas are lifeless apart from a few fertile pockets. Whale shark
s feed close to shore at Ningaloo Reef
. At Shark Bay
, sharks and dogtooth tuna
pin a sardine
shoal to the shore, filmed from the air and underwater. A pair of Bryde's whale
s joins the feeding frenzy. Shallow, sandy bays are ideal conditions for seagrass
, browsed by dugong
s. In north Australia, monsoon
rains flush rich sediment into the ocean. At low tide, golden ghost crabs and mudskipper
s emerge to feed on the exposed worms, snails and shellfish. The Leeuwin Current
brings warm water to the south coast. Australian sea lion
s and southern right whale
s raise their young in the impoverished waters of the Great Australian Bight
, while giant cuttlefish
gather in the breeding season. The cold Southern Ocean
skirts Australia's remote south west tip, where the seas are home to giant kelp
forests and strange creatures. The leafy sea dragon
is camouflaged as seaweed, while the handfish
uses its fins to walk across the seabed. At night, female lobster
s climb to high points on the reef to release their brood of larvae. In New Zealand
's cold and nutrient-rich waters, gannet
s are filmed plunge-diving into a sardine shoal, which also attracts common dolphin
s. Hector's dolphin
s stay close to shore to avoid sharks. Snares Islands penguins must negotiate a steep granite rockface and patrolling Hooker's sealions to reach their nest burrows.
forests are the subject of the fourth programme, broadcast 3 October 2003. In the tropical north, male frilled lizards fight over territory, but retreat to the trees as a kite
passes overhead. Gang-gang cockatoo
s stay above the snowline of the southern mountains to feed on the seed capsules of snow gums. On the misty lower slopes, better soils enable the mountain ash
to reach 100 metres, the tallest hardwood
in the world. Animals of these forests include superb lyrebird
s, Leadbeater's possum
s and mountain brushtail possum
s. Some gum trees survive in the arid conditions of the interior; the ghost gum
even clings to rocky gorges. The eucalypts provide essential resources for wildlife. Their flowers attract nectar feeders such as lorikeet
s, honeyeater
s and flying foxes, which also act as pollinators. The koala has a special digestive system which enables it to stomach the toxic leaves. Yellow-bellied glider
s are shown licking sap and sailing between trees, while termites attack the trees themselves. Gum trees are highly flammable and are adapted to cope with bushfires: fresh shoots grow from buds protected by the insulating bark within weeks of a blaze. Regent parrot
s nest deep inside the river red gum
s along the Murray River
to avoid predatory lace monitor
s. The boughs can drop without warning, and those that fall into the river provide shelter for Murray cod
. The final scenes show red kangaroos bounding through a flooded forest – without periodic floods, the trees would not survive.
_-group.jpg)
and representative of the swamps that once stretched from north Australia to New Guinea
. The lush tropical forests of New Guinea are home to creatures such as long-beaked echidna
s, tree kangaroos and 38 kinds of bird of paradise, as well as richly varied human cultures. Male Raggiana birds of paradise
are filmed displaying at a lek and mating. Further east, the submerged tips of extinct volcano
es support colourful reefs. Pygmy seahorse
s and razorfish
use camouflage
to avoid detection. Saltwater crocodile
s can swim great distances, enabling them to colonise remote volcanic islands. No terrestrial mammals have made it this far, but fruit-eating bat
s such as the tube-nosed species feast on figs. On Lord Howe Island
, the aerial displays of male tropicbird
s are filmed, and adult sooty tern
s regurgitate meals for their chicks. New Caledonia
is a remnant of the Australian land mass which broke away 80 million years ago. It has many unique species, especially lizards: the giant gecko
is the largest of its kind. New Zealand lies on the edge of the continental land mass, and marine life drawn to its nutrient-rich seas include sperm whale
s and acrobatic dusky dolphin
s. On land, kea
s have colonised the Southern Alps
and in the forests, kiwi
s and weta
s occupy ecological niches normally associated with mammals. Introduced species have decimated the native fauna, but many species survive on offshore islands. The kakapo
, tui
, kaka
, Fiordland penguin
and sooty shearwater
are all shown.
– but many have suffered. Early homesick colonisers tried to model the landscape on the English countryside, bringing with them animals which have since wreaked havoc. Millions of wild pigs now roam, destroying vegetation, damaging waterholes and eating birds' eggs. Rabbit
s, camels and cane toad
s were also introduced and are out of control. European honeybees are supplanting native bees in the competition for nectar, and foxes
prey on small marsupial
s. 54 native frog
s, birds and mammals, including the Tasmanian tiger, have become extinct. Some which were presumed extinct have since been rediscovered, including Australia's rarest mammal, Gilbert's potoroo
. Scientists are still searching for the night parrot
after a single dead specimen was reported in 1990, but the great desert skink
, familiar to Aborigine
s, is more widespread than previously thought. On Barrow Island
, rare fauna including golden bandicoot
s and burrowing bettong
s live amongst the oil wells, and a perentie
drinks from a dripping air-conditioning unit. On Tasmania, devils and tiger quoll
s are filmed scavenging food in a sheep farmer's shed. Modern cities can also be a refuge for wildlife. 30,000 grey-headed flying fox
es roost in Melbourne
’s botanical gardens and feed on orchard fruit nearby, while paying tourists feed wild rainbow lorikeet
s in a Brisbane
park.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
nature documentary
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
series exploring the natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
of the Australasia
Australasia
Australasia is a region of Oceania comprising Australia, New Zealand, the island of New Guinea, and neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term was coined by Charles de Brosses in Histoire des navigations aux terres australes...
n continent, first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
in September 2003. It was broadcast in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
under the title Wild Australasia in February 2004.
Each of the six episodes features a particular environment and, using a combination of aerial photography and traditional wildlife footage, reveals how physical forces and human activity have transformed Australasia from a lush green wilderness into an increasingly dry and harsh continent, troubled by unpredictable weather but still home to a huge array of creatures found nowhere else on Earth..
Wild Down Under was co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit
BBC Natural History Unit
The BBC Natural History Unit is a department of the BBC dedicated to making television and radio programmes with a natural history or wildlife theme, especially nature documentaries...
, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
(ABC) and Animal Planet
Animal Planet
Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...
. The series was produced for the BBC by Neil Nightingale
Neil Nightingale
Neil Nightingale is a senior producer at the BBC's Natural History Unit, the largest wildlife film-making production unit in the world, and was its Head from February 2003 until January 2009...
and executive-produced for ABC by Dione Gilmour. The music was composed by Adrian Johnston
Adrian Johnston (musician)
Adrian Johnston, born 1961 in Cumbria, England, is an Emmy Award- and BAFTA- winning British musician and composer for film and TV.Johnston attended Edinburgh University, reading English. He has been a drummer in various bands including The Waterboys and The Mike Flowers Pops. During his twenties,...
and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra
BBC Concert Orchestra
The BBC Concert Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London, one of the British Broadcasting Corporation's five radio orchestras. With around fifty players, it is the only one of the five which is not a full-scale symphony orchestra....
. The series was narrated by Australian actor Matt Day
Matt Day
Matthew "Matt" Day is an Australian actor best known for his film and television roles.-Early life and career:Matt Day was born in Melbourne in 1971...
.
The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's Continents strand. It was preceded by Wild New World in 2002 and followed by Europe: A Natural History
Europe: A Natural History
Europe: A Natural History is a four-part BBC nature documentary series which looks at the events which have shaped the natural history and wildlife of the European continent over the past three billion years. It debuted on UK television on BBC Four in February 2005, and was repeated on BBC Two in...
in 2005.
Production
Wild Down Under is one of the most comprehensive surveys of Australasia's natural history ever filmed, with production of the series taking three years. The aerial photography used extensively in the series was shot by Damon Smith.As well as mainland Australia, the production team visited other locations across the continent for the fifth episode, "Island Arks", including New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
Episodes
Broadcast dates refer to the original UK transmission.1. "Wild Down Under"
Broadcast 12 September 2003, the first episode provides an overview of Australia's natural history. TasmaniaTasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
gives a glimpse of Australia's lush forests of the past. A group of Tasmanian devil
Tasmanian Devil
The Tasmanian devil is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae, now found in the wild only on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The size of a small dog, it became the largest carnivorous marsupial in the world following the extinction of the thylacine in 1936...
s are filmed squabbling over a wallaby
Wallaby
A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...
carcass. In eastern Australia, buckling formed the Australian Alps
Australian Alps
The Australian Alps are the highest mountain ranges of mainland Australia. They are located in southeastern Australia and straddle the Australian Capital Territory, south-eastern New South Wales and eastern Victoria...
, high enough to attract snowfall. Wombat
Wombat
Wombats are Australian marsupials; they are short-legged, muscular quadrupeds, approximately in length with a short, stubby tail. They are adaptable in their habitat tolerances, and are found in forested, mountainous, and heathland areas of south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania, as well as...
s bulldoze the snow to reach buried grass and platypus
Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...
hunt shrimp in the mountain streams. In the ancient tropical rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
of the Top End
Top End
The Top End of northern Australia is the second northernmost point on the continent. It covers a rather vaguely-defined area of perhaps 400,000 square kilometres behind the northern coast from the Northern Territory capital of Darwin across to Arnhem Land with the Indian Ocean on the west, the...
, cassowaries
Cassowary
The cassowaries are ratites, very large flightless birds in the genus Casuarius native to the tropical forests of New Guinea, nearby islands and northeastern Australia. There are three extant species recognized today...
, striped possum
Striped Possum
The Striped Possum is a member of the Petauridae family, one of the marsupial families. The species is black with three white stripes running head to tail, and its head has white stripes that form a 'Y' shape...
s and sugar glider
Sugar Glider
The sugar glider is a small gliding possum originating from the marsupial family.The sugar glider is native to eastern and northern mainland Australia and is also native to New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago.- Habitat :Sugar gliders can be found all throughout the northern and eastern parts of...
s are filmed. Kangaroo
Kangaroo
A kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s and koala
Koala
The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
s inhabit the more open eucalpyt woodlands, and kookaburra
Kookaburra
Kookaburras are terrestrial kingfishers native to Australia and New Guinea. They are large to very large, with a total length of . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri guuguubarra, and is onomatopoeic of its call...
s feed their chicks in the nest hole. As Australia dried out, many rivers became intermittent or turned to creeks. Billabong
Billabong
Billabong is an Australian English word meaning a small lake, specifically an oxbow lake, a section of still water adjacent to a river, cut off by a change in the watercourse. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end...
s attract wildlife such as flocks of corella
Little Corella
The Little Corella, Cacatua sanguinea, also known as the Bare-eyed Cockatoo, is a white cockatoo native to Australia and southern New Guinea....
parrots, a sign of water to early explorers.They are curious, sociable birds, and are shown playing on branches and investigating the nest holes of budgerigar
Budgerigar
The Budgerigar , also known as Common Pet Parakeet or Shell Parakeet informally nicknamed the budgie, is a small, long-tailed, seed-eating parrot, and the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus...
s. In north Australia's wet season, the tropical wetlands of Kakadu
Kakadu National Park
Kakadu National Park is in the Northern Territory of Australia, 171 km southeast of Darwin.Kakadu National Park is located within the Alligator Rivers Region of the Northern Territory of Australia. It covers an area of , extending nearly 200 kilometres from north to south and over 100 kilometres...
attract millions of magpie geese and other water birds. When the land begins to dry out again, freshwater crocodile
Freshwater Crocodile
The freshwater crocodile , also known as the Australian freshwater crocodile, Johnston's crocodile or colloquially as freshie, is a species of reptile endemic to the northern regions of Australia...
s must move to avoid being trapped in shrinking pools. Aerial photography is used to show features of Australia's deserts, such as parallel dunes and Uluru
Uluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
. A planigale
Planigale
The genus Planigale are small carnivorous marsupials found in Australia and New Guinea. It is the only genus in the Planigalini tribe of the subfamily Sminthopsinae...
hides from a taipan
Taipan
The taipans are a genus of large, fast, highly venomous Australasian snakes of the elapid family.-Overview:The taipan was named by Donald Thomson after the word used by the Wik-Mungkan Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.There are three known species: the coastal...
, the world's deadliest snake, and a sand goanna
Sand goanna
The Sand goanna is a large Australian monitor lizard - also known as Gould's monitor, the Sand monitor, or Racehorse goanna....
digs out a scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
. The Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
was formed 10,000 years ago as sea levels rose. At certain tides after a full moon, its coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
s engage in the planet's greatest synchronised spawning
Reproductive synchrony
Reproductive synchrony is a term used in evolutionary biology and behavioural ecology. Reproductive synchrony — sometimes termed 'ovulatory synchrony' — may manifest itself as 'breeding seasonality'...
event.
2. "Desert Heart"
The second programme, broadcast 19 September 2003, examines the desertDesert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s of Australia's interior. These harsh environments make up two thirds of the land area. Vast areas support nothing but tough spinifex
Spinifex
Spinifex may refer to:* Spinifex , a genus of grass which is indigenous to the coastal areas of Australasia and Indonesia* Triodia , a hummock grass of arid Australia, covering twenty percent of the Australian continent ** Spinifex resin* Spinifex people, or Pila Nguru, an Australian...
grass, indigestible to most herbivores. Instead, termite
Termite
Termites are a group of eusocial insects that, until recently, were classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera , but are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea...
s are the grazers of these grasslands. Inside the termite mound, a whole ecosystem flourishes; centipede
Centipede
Centipedes are arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300. Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of...
s eat the termites and knob-tailed geckos
Nephrurus
Nephrurus is a genus of eleven species of gecko, commonly known as knob-tailed geckos.They are easily distinguished by their short bodies, large heads, small legs and short, carrot-shaped tails that often end in a small knob....
prey on both. Lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s are one of the most successful animals in Australia's deserts, and a thorny devil
Thorny Devil
Thorny Devil is an Australian lizard. It is also known as the Thorny Dragon, Mountain Devil, Thorny Lizard, or the Moloch and is the sole species of genus Moloch....
is shown waiting alongside a pathway of ants. Mammals here are nocturnal, staying underground during the heat of the day. Those featured include bilbies
Bilby
Bilbies are desert-dwelling marsupial omnivores; they are members of the order Peramelemorphia. Before European colonisation of Australia, there were two species. One became extinct in the 1950s; the other survives but remains endangered....
and mala
Rufous Hare-wallaby
The rufous hare-wallaby , also known as the Mala, is a small macropod found in Australia. It was formerly widely distributed across the western half of the continent but is now confined to Bernier Island and Dorre Island Islands off Western Australia...
s. Waterholes attract huge numbers of birds, and zebra finch
Zebra Finch
The Zebra Finch, Taeniopygia guttata, is the most common and familiar estrildid finch of Central Australia and ranges over most of the continent, avoiding only the cool moist south and the tropical far north. It also can be found natively in Indonesia and East Timor...
es are shown being preyed on by a falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
. Nearby, black-footed rock wallabies hop around on the precipitous rock faces. The Finke River
Finke River
The Finke River is one of the largest rivers in central Australia. Its source is in the Northern Territory's MacDonnell Ranges, and the name Finke River is first applied at the confluence of the Davenport and Ormiston Creeks, just north of Glen Helen. From here the river meanders for approximately...
is an important water source in central Australia and red-tailed black cockatoo
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
The Red-tailed Black Cockatoo , also known as Banksian- or Banks' Black Cockatoo, is a large cockatoo native to Australia. This species was known as Calyptorhynchus magnificus for many decades until the current scientific name was officially conserved in 1994. It is more common in the drier parts...
s gather here in large flocks to breed. Camels were originally brought over for transport, but now half a million roam the desert. Meat ant
Meat ant
Meat ants , also known as meat-eater ants or gravel ants, are a species of ant belonging to the Iridomyrmex genus. They can be found throughout Australia.-Nests:...
s and aggressive bulldog ant
Myrmecia
Myrmecia, often called bulldog ants, bull ants, inch ants, sergeant ants, jumper ants or jack-jumpers , is a genus of ants. Bull ants can grow to over in length, with the smallest species long...
s are shown hunting and scavenging on the desert floor. The Simpson Desert
Simpson Desert
The Simpson Desert is a large area of dry, red sandy plain and dunes in Northern Territory, South Australia and Queensland in central Australia. It is the fourth largest Australian desert, with an area of 176,500 km² ....
has the largest expanse of parallel sand dunes in the world, but red kangaroo
Red Kangaroo
The Red Kangaroo is the largest of all kangaroos, the largest mammal native to Australia, and the largest surviving marsupial. It is found across mainland Australia, avoiding only the more fertile areas in the south, the east coast, and the northern rainforests.-Description:This species is a very...
s survive even here. Once thought to be an inland sea, Lake Eyre
Lake Eyre
Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia, at approximately below sea level, and, on the rare occasions that it fills, it is the largest lake in Australia and 18th largest in the world...
is normally an inhospitable salt pan
Dry lake
Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...
. Every 30 years or so, exceptional rains charge rivers which flow inland, filling the lake. The waters trigger a rush to breed, attracting birds such as pelican
Australian Pelican
The Australian Pelican is a large water bird, widespread on the inland and coastal waters of Australia and New Guinea, also in Fiji, parts of Indonesia and as a vagrant to New Zealand.-Taxonomy:...
s in their thousands.
3. "Southern Seas"
Broadcast 26 September 2003, the third instalment features the wildlife of Australasia's seas and coasts. On Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
's desert coastline, seas are lifeless apart from a few fertile pockets. Whale shark
Whale shark
The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow-moving filter feeding shark, the largest extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of and a weight of more than , but unconfirmed claims report considerably larger whale sharks...
s feed close to shore at Ningaloo Reef
Ningaloo Reef
Ningaloo Reef is a fringing coral reef located off the west coast of Australia, approximately 1200 km north of Perth. The reef is 260 km long and is Australia's largest fringing coral reef and the only large reef positioned very close to a landmass....
. At Shark Bay
Shark Bay, Western Australia
Shark Bay is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. It is an area centred approximately on , 800 kilometres north of Perth, on the westernmost point of Australia. An expedition led by Dirk Hartog happened upon the area in 1616, becoming the second group of Europeans...
, sharks and dogtooth tuna
Dogtooth tuna
The dogtooth tuna is a large fast-swimming fish in the family Scombridae. It is placed in its own genus, Gymnosarda. It has the large teeth and straight edged first dorsal fin characteristic of the smaller bonitos and although it far exceeds them in size, reaching weights of over 150 kilograms, is...
pin a sardine
Sardine
Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....
shoal to the shore, filmed from the air and underwater. A pair of Bryde's whale
Bryde's Whale
Bryde's whales are baleen whales, one of the "great whales" or rorquals. They prefer tropical and temperate waters over the polar seas that other whales in their family frequent. They are largely coastal rather than pelagic. Bryde's whales are very similar in appearance to sei whales and almost as...
s joins the feeding frenzy. Shallow, sandy bays are ideal conditions for seagrass
Seagrass
Seagrasses are flowering plants from one of four plant families , all in the order Alismatales , which grow in marine, fully saline environments.-Ecology:...
, browsed by dugong
Dugong
The dugong is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow , was hunted to extinction in the 18th century...
s. In north Australia, monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
rains flush rich sediment into the ocean. At low tide, golden ghost crabs and mudskipper
Mudskipper
Mudskippers are members of the subfamily Oxudercinae , within the family Gobiidae . They are completely amphibious fish, fish that can use their pectoral fins to walk on land...
s emerge to feed on the exposed worms, snails and shellfish. The Leeuwin Current
Leeuwin Current
The Leeuwin Current is a warm ocean current which flows southwards near the western coast of Australia. It rounds Cape Leeuwin to enter the waters south of Australia where its influence extends as far as Tasmania...
brings warm water to the south coast. Australian sea lion
Australian Sea Lion
The Australian Sea Lion , also known as the Australian Sea-lion or Australian Sealion, is a species of sea lion that breeds only on the south and west coasts of Australia...
s and southern right whale
Southern Right Whale
The southern right whale is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Like other right whales, the southern right whale is readily distinguished from others by the callosities on its head, a broad back without a dorsal fin, and a long arching...
s raise their young in the impoverished waters of the Great Australian Bight
Great Australian Bight
The Great Australian Bight is a large bight, or open bay, off the central and western portions of the southern coastline of mainland Australia.-Extent:...
, while giant cuttlefish
Australian Giant Cuttlefish
Sepia apama, also known as the Australian Giant Cuttlefish, is the world's largest cuttlefish species, growing to 50 cm in mantle length and over 10.5 kg in weight. Using cells known as chromatophores, the cuttlefish can put on spectacular displays, changing colour in an instant.S...
gather in the breeding season. The cold Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
skirts Australia's remote south west tip, where the seas are home to giant kelp
Kelp
Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....
forests and strange creatures. The leafy sea dragon
Leafy sea dragon
The leafy seadragon or Glauert's seadragon, Phycodurus eques, is a marine fish in the family Syngnathidae, which also includes the seahorses. It is the only member of the genus Phycodurus. It is found along the southern and western coasts of Australia. The name is derived from the appearance, with...
is camouflaged as seaweed, while the handfish
Handfish
Handfish are anglerfish in the family Brachionichthyidae, a group which comprises five genera and fourteen extant species.They are small bottom-dwelling marine fish found in coastal waters of southern Australia and Tasmania. Their skin is covered with denticles , giving them the name warty anglers...
uses its fins to walk across the seabed. At night, female lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
s climb to high points on the reef to release their brood of larvae. In New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's cold and nutrient-rich waters, gannet
Gannet
Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus Morus, in the family Sulidae, closely related to the boobies.The gannets are large black and white birds with yellow heads. They have long pointed wings and long bills. Northern gannets are the largest seabirds in the North Atlantic, with a wingspan of up...
s are filmed plunge-diving into a sardine shoal, which also attracts common dolphin
Common dolphin
The common dolphin is the name given to two species of dolphin making up the genus Delphinus.Prior to the mid-1990s, most taxonomists only recognised one species in this genus, the common dolphin Delphinus delphis...
s. Hector's dolphin
Hector's Dolphin
Hector's dolphin is the best-known of the four dolphins in the genus Cephalorhynchus and is found only in New Zealand. At about 1.4 m in length, it is one of the smallest cetaceans....
s stay close to shore to avoid sharks. Snares Islands penguins must negotiate a steep granite rockface and patrolling Hooker's sealions to reach their nest burrows.
4. "Gum Tree Country"
Australia's eucalyptEucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
forests are the subject of the fourth programme, broadcast 3 October 2003. In the tropical north, male frilled lizards fight over territory, but retreat to the trees as a kite
Whistling Kite
The Whistling Kite is a medium-sized diurnal raptor found throughout Australia , New Caledonia and much of New Guinea . Also called the Whistling Eagle or Whistling Hawk, it is named for its loud whistling call, which it often gives in flight...
passes overhead. Gang-gang cockatoo
Gang-gang Cockatoo
The Gang-gang Cockatoo, Callocephalon fimbriatum, is found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of Australia, particularly alpine bushland. Mostly mild grey in colour with some lighter scalloping the male has a red head and crest, while the female has a small fluffy grey crest...
s stay above the snowline of the southern mountains to feed on the seed capsules of snow gums. On the misty lower slopes, better soils enable the mountain ash
Eucalyptus regnans
Eucalyptus regnans, known variously by the common names Mountain Ash, Victorian Ash, Swamp Gum, Tasmanian Oak or Stringy Gum, is a species of Eucalyptus native to southeastern Australia, in Tasmania and Victoria...
to reach 100 metres, the tallest hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
in the world. Animals of these forests include superb lyrebird
Superb Lyrebird
The Superb Lyrebird is a pheasant-sized songbird, approximately 100cm long, with brown upper body plumage, grayish-brown below, rounded wings and strong legs...
s, Leadbeater's possum
Leadbeater's Possum
Leadbeater's Possum is an endangered possum restricted to small pockets of remaining old growth mountain ash forests in the central highlands of Victoria north-east of Melbourne...
s and mountain brushtail possum
Mountain Brushtail Possum
The Mountain Brushtail Possum, or Southern Bobuck , is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae native to southeastern Australia...
s. Some gum trees survive in the arid conditions of the interior; the ghost gum
Corymbia aparrerinja
Corymbia aparrerinja commonly known as Ghost Gum, is an evergreen tree that is native to Central Australia....
even clings to rocky gorges. The eucalypts provide essential resources for wildlife. Their flowers attract nectar feeders such as lorikeet
Lorikeet
Lories and lorikeets are small to medium-sized arboreal parrots characterized by their specialized brush-tipped tongues for feeding on nectar of various blossoms and soft fruits, preferably berries. The species form a monophyletic group within the parrot family Psittacidae...
s, honeyeater
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
s and flying foxes, which also act as pollinators. The koala has a special digestive system which enables it to stomach the toxic leaves. Yellow-bellied glider
Yellow-bellied Glider
The Yellow-bellied Glider is an arboreal and nocturnal gliding possum that lives in a narrow range of native eucalypt forests down eastern Australia, reaching from northern Queensland to Victoria.-Habitat:...
s are shown licking sap and sailing between trees, while termites attack the trees themselves. Gum trees are highly flammable and are adapted to cope with bushfires: fresh shoots grow from buds protected by the insulating bark within weeks of a blaze. Regent parrot
Regent Parrot
The Regent Parrot is a bird of the parrot family . It has predominantly yellow plumage with a green tail. The bird is found primarily in eucalyptus groves and other wooded areas of subtropical southwestern Australia, as well as to a smaller area of subtropical and temperate southeastern Australia...
s nest deep inside the river red gum
River Red Gum
The River Red Gum is a tree of the genus Eucalyptus. It is one of around 800 in the genus. It is a plantation species in many parts of the world, but is native to Australia, where it is widespread, especially beside inland water courses...
s along the Murray River
Murray River
The Murray River is Australia's longest river. At in length, the Murray rises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between New South Wales and Victoria as it...
to avoid predatory lace monitor
Lace monitor
The Lace Monitor, or Lace Goanna, Varanus varius, is a member of the monitor lizard family, Australian members of which are commonly known as goannas. It belongs to the subgenus Varanus....
s. The boughs can drop without warning, and those that fall into the river provide shelter for Murray cod
Murray Cod
The Murray cod is a large Australian predatory freshwater fish of the Maccullochella genus and the Percichthyidae family. Although the species is a called cod in the vernacular, it is not related to the northern hemisphere marine cod species...
. The final scenes show red kangaroos bounding through a flooded forest – without periodic floods, the trees would not survive.
5. "Island Arks"
Broadcast 10 October 2003, this episode begins at Kakadu, a seasonal wetlandWetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
and representative of the swamps that once stretched from north Australia to New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. The lush tropical forests of New Guinea are home to creatures such as long-beaked echidna
Long-beaked echidna
The long-beaked echidnas make up one of the two genera of echidnas, spiny monotremes that lives in New Guinea. There are three living species and two extinct species in this genus...
s, tree kangaroos and 38 kinds of bird of paradise, as well as richly varied human cultures. Male Raggiana birds of paradise
Raggiana Bird of Paradise
The Raggiana Bird-of-paradise, also known as Count Raggi's Bird-of-paradise, is a large bird in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae....
are filmed displaying at a lek and mating. Further east, the submerged tips of extinct volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es support colourful reefs. Pygmy seahorse
Pygmy seahorse
The pygmy seahorse, also known as Bargibanti's seahorse, is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae found in the western central Pacific Ocean. It is tiny, usually less than in size and lives exclusively on fan corals. There are two known color variations: grey with red tubercles, and yellow with...
s and razorfish
Centriscidae
Centriscidae is the family of snipefishes, shrimpfishes, and bellowfishes. A small family, consisting of only about a dozen marine species, they are of an unusual appearance, as reflected by the common names...
use camouflage
Camouflage
Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows an otherwise visible animal, military vehicle, or other object to remain unnoticed, by blending with its environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly...
to avoid detection. Saltwater crocodile
Saltwater Crocodile
The saltwater crocodile, also known as estuarine or Indo-Pacific crocodile, is the largest of all living reptiles...
s can swim great distances, enabling them to colonise remote volcanic islands. No terrestrial mammals have made it this far, but fruit-eating bat
Megabat
Megabats constitute the suborder Megachiroptera, family Pteropodidae of the order Chiroptera . They are also called fruit bats, old world fruit bats, or flying foxes.-Description:...
s such as the tube-nosed species feast on figs. On Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
, the aerial displays of male tropicbird
Tropicbird
Tropicbirds are a family, Phaethontidae, of tropical pelagic seabirds now classified in their own order Phaethontiformes. Their relationship to other living birds is unclear, and they appear to have no close relatives. There are three species in one genus, Phaethon...
s are filmed, and adult sooty tern
Sooty Tern
The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...
s regurgitate meals for their chicks. New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
is a remnant of the Australian land mass which broke away 80 million years ago. It has many unique species, especially lizards: the giant gecko
Rhacodactylus leachianus
The New Caledonian Giant Gecko or Leach's Giant Gecko , is a large species of gecko first described by Georges Cuvier in 1829. It is often commonly referred to as a Leachie gecko . It is the largest of the Rhacodactylus geckos...
is the largest of its kind. New Zealand lies on the edge of the continental land mass, and marine life drawn to its nutrient-rich seas include sperm whale
Sperm Whale
The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter...
s and acrobatic dusky dolphin
Dusky Dolphin
The dusky dolphin is a dolphin found in coastal waters in the Southern Hemisphere. Its specific epithet is Latin for "dark" or "dim". It is very closely genetically related to the Pacific white-sided dolphin, but current scientific consensus is that they are distinct species...
s. On land, kea
Kea
The Kea is a large species of parrot found in forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green with a brilliant orange under its wings and has a large narrow curved grey-brown upper beak. The Kea is the world's only alpine parrot...
s have colonised the Southern Alps
Southern Alps
The Southern Alps is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the island's western side...
and in the forests, kiwi
Kiwi
Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...
s and weta
Weta
Weta is the name given to about 70 insect species endemic to New Zealand. There are many similar species around the world, though most are in the southern hemisphere. The name comes from the Māori word 'wētā' and is the same in the plural...
s occupy ecological niches normally associated with mammals. Introduced species have decimated the native fauna, but many species survive on offshore islands. The kakapo
Kakapo
The Kakapo , Strigops habroptila , also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless nocturnal parrot endemic to New Zealand...
, tui
Tui (bird)
The tui is an endemic passerine bird of New Zealand. It is one of the largest members of the diverse honeyeater family....
, kaka
Kaka
The New Zealand Kaka, also known as Kākā, is a New Zealand parrot endemic to the native forests of New Zealand.-Description:...
, Fiordland penguin
Fiordland Penguin
The Fiordland Crested Penguin , also known as Tawaki , is a species of crested penguin from New Zealand...
and sooty shearwater
Sooty Shearwater
The Sooty Shearwater is a medium-large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. In New Zealand it is also known by its Māori name tītī and as "muttonbird", like its relatives the Wedge-tailed Shearwater and the Australian Short-tailed Shearwater The Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus) is...
are all shown.
6. "New Worlds"
The final instalment, broadcast 17 October 2003, explores man's impact on Australia's wildlife. The arrival of Europeans brought huge changes. Some creatures have benefited - golf courses provide perfect browse for kangaroos and a landfill site is an important feeding ground for ibisesAustralian White Ibis
The Australian White Ibis , is a wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae. It is widespread across much of Australia...
– but many have suffered. Early homesick colonisers tried to model the landscape on the English countryside, bringing with them animals which have since wreaked havoc. Millions of wild pigs now roam, destroying vegetation, damaging waterholes and eating birds' eggs. Rabbit
Rabbit
Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
s, camels and cane toad
Cane Toad
The Cane Toad , also known as the Giant Neotropical Toad or Marine Toad, is a large, terrestrial true toad which is native to Central and South America, but has been introduced to various islands throughout Oceania and the Caribbean...
s were also introduced and are out of control. European honeybees are supplanting native bees in the competition for nectar, and foxes
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
prey on small marsupial
Marsupial
Marsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
s. 54 native frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, birds and mammals, including the Tasmanian tiger, have become extinct. Some which were presumed extinct have since been rediscovered, including Australia's rarest mammal, Gilbert's potoroo
Gilbert's Potoroo
Gilbert's Potoroo is an Australian marsupial, sometimes called a rat-kangaroo, that is critically endangered. It is described as pointed in the face and about the size of a rabbit. It lives in a restricted area on the southwest coast of Western Australia. Gilbert's Potoroos now exist on Bald...
. Scientists are still searching for the night parrot
Night Parrot
The Night Parrot is a small broad-tailed parrot endemic to the continent of Australia. The species was originally placed within its own genus , but most authors now prefer to place it within the genus Pezoporus together with the two ground parrots.No known sightings of the bird were made between...
after a single dead specimen was reported in 1990, but the great desert skink
Great Desert Skink
The Great Desert Skink is a species of skink in the genus Egernia native to the western half of Australia . They are burrowing lizards and extremely social.- Description :...
, familiar to Aborigine
Australian Aborigines
Australian Aborigines , also called Aboriginal Australians, from the latin ab originem , are people who are indigenous to most of the Australian continentthat is, to mainland Australia and the island of Tasmania...
s, is more widespread than previously thought. On Barrow Island
Barrow Island (Western Australia)
Barrow Island is a island located northwest off the coast of Western Australia. The island is the second largest in Western Australia after Dirk Hartog Island.-Discovery and early history:...
, rare fauna including golden bandicoot
Golden Bandicoot
The Golden Bandicoot is a short-nosed bandicoot found in northern Australia. It is by far the smallest of its genus, being a little over half the size of its relatives the Northern Brown Bandicoot and the Southern Brown Bandicoot .The Golden Bandicoot is now a threatened species...
s and burrowing bettong
Boodie
The Boodie , also known as the Burrowing Bettong, is a small marsupial. It is a fascinating example of the effects of introduced animals on Australian fauna and ecosystems. Once the most common macropodiform mammal on the whole continent, the Boodie now only lives on off-lying islands and in a...
s live amongst the oil wells, and a perentie
Perentie
The Perentie is the largest monitor lizard or goanna native to Australia, and fourth largest lizard on earth, after the Komodo Dragon, crocodile monitor and the water monitor...
drinks from a dripping air-conditioning unit. On Tasmania, devils and tiger quoll
Tiger Quoll
The tiger quoll , also known as the spotted-tail quoll, the spotted quoll, the spotted-tailed dasyure or the tiger cat, is a carnivorous marsupial of the quoll genus Dasyurus native to Australia...
s are filmed scavenging food in a sheep farmer's shed. Modern cities can also be a refuge for wildlife. 30,000 grey-headed flying fox
Grey-headed Flying Fox
The Grey-headed Flying-Fox, Pteropus poliocephalus, is a megabat native to Australia.Members of the genus Pteropus include the largest bats in the world. The Pteropus genus has currently about 57 recognised species....
es roost in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
’s botanical gardens and feed on orchard fruit nearby, while paying tourists feed wild rainbow lorikeet
Rainbow Lorikeet
The Rainbow Lorikeet, is a species of Australasian parrot found in Australia, eastern Indonesia , Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Australia, it is common along the eastern seaboard, from Queensland to South Australia and northwest Tasmania...
s in a Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
park.
Merchandise
A DVD and book were released to accompany the TV series:- A Region 2 and 4DVD region codeDVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
, 2-disc DVD set (BBCDVD1321) featuring all six full-length episodes was released on 27 October 2003. The bonus features on the DVD include an edition of Wildlife on One (Possums - Tales of the Unexpected), a fact file and the featurette Wild - Penguin Paradise. A Region 4 DVD with the same content was released under the title Wild Australasia in 2004.
- The accompanying hardcover book, Wild Down Under by Neil Nightingale, Mary Summerill, Hugh Pearson and Jeni Cleversy, was published by BBC Books on 18 September 2003 (ISBN 0-563-48822-0). The foreword is written by Tim FlanneryTim FlanneryTimothy Fridtjof Flannery is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist and global warming activist....
. In Australia the book was released under the title Wild Australasia.
External links
- Wild Australasia at ABC OnlineABC OnlineABC Online is the brand name in Australia for the online services of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, managed by ABC Innovation. It covers a large network of websites including those for ABC News, television, radio, and video-on-demand through ABC iView.ABC Online is one of Australia's...