The Trials of Life

David Attenborough's series exploring the living world. Looking at birth, and showing how, from egg-laying to live-bearing, animals employ an extraordinary variety of techniques to disperse their offspring.

From creches of bats to elephant babysitters, from chimpanzee games to protective lace bugs - nature's answers are as varied as those in human societies.

David Attenborough discovers that the quest for food in the animal kingdom is a devious business requiring exploitation and theft. While plants try to defend themselves from unwelcome visitors, animals have devised numerous ways to break down the defences.

David Attenborough looks at the life-and-death duels which are fought daily in the wild, using every conceivable trick: traps and lures, warnings and deception, ambush and camouflage.

Sir David looks at how creatures find their way around the earth with an accuracy that man has only recently achieved. Some creatures use echolocation to navigate, including river dolphins, while others, such as the electric eel, use electric fields. The albatross can travel over a thousand kilometres while hunting.

David Attenborough looks at how animals build their homes, revealing how, whether building a simple sandy burrow or a massive termite city, they manage to keep out the elements and unwanted visitors. We see the tiny nest of the hermit hummingbird and the dams of beavers, before David enters a termite's mound himself.