Trials of Life

E01▶

Arriving

Oct 4, 1990 · 50m

E02▶

Growing Up

Oct 11, 1990 · 50m

E03▶

Finding Food

Oct 18, 1990 · 50m

E04Playing

Hunting and Escaping

Oct 25, 1990 · 50m

E05▶

Finding the Way

Nov 1, 1990 · 50m

E06▶

Home Making

Nov 8, 1990 · 50m

E07▶

Living Together

Nov 15, 1990 · 50m

E08▶

Fighting

Nov 22, 1990 · 50m

E09▶

Friends and Rivals

Nov 29, 1990 · 50m

E10▶

Talking to Strangers

Dec 6, 1990 · 50m

E11▶

Courting

Dec 13, 1990 · 50m

E12▶

Continuing the Line

Dec 20, 1990 · 50m

This episode looks at those that hunt other creatures and ways of avoiding capture. Attenborough is attacked by a pair of skuas as he approaches their nest, which demonstrates this particular bird's aggressive behaviour, both when taking food and defending its young. Off the shores of Patagonia, the same group of killer whales returns each year to ambush sea lion pups, which stray out of the safer shallow waters. Having grabbed their prey, they take it back out to sea and 'play' with it for some time before killing it. Poison can be used both as a weapon and a deterrent, such as by the viper and tomato frog respectively. Some animals advertise their defensive measures in advance, in case deployment occurs too late. Among them are the skunk, which discharges an appalling smell, and some salamanders that display their toxicity by remaining stationary, with their warning markings visible. Several species of stick insect and their elaborate camouflage are shown. However, none of these methods of protection pose problems to army ants, which can subdue any of their prey, simply by virtue of their size and vast numbers. The Harris hawk is unusual, since it hunts in teams, and a group of six are shown practising their skill in the desert of New Mexico. The final sequence depicts a troop of chimpanzees displaying strategy and co-ordination as it successfully pursues colobus monkeys through a forest in the Ivory Coast.