Sunday, April 10 at 8:00 p.m.
Cuba: The Accidental Eden
This small island’s varied landscape, its location in the heart of the Caribbean and its longstanding place at the center of Cold War politics have all combined to preserve some of the richest and most unusual natural environments of the hemisphere. For decades, Cuba’s wild landscapes lay untouched while its Caribbean neighbors poisoned or paved over their ecological riches. Now, Cuba’s priceless treasures are about to face an onslaught. Tourism is already on the rise and most experts predict tourism will double once the U.S. trade embargo ends. What will happen to Cuba’s stunning bio diversity — an island filled with amphibians, reptiles and the most biologically diverse freshwater fish in the region?
Sunday, April 17 at 8:00 p.m.
Survivors of the Firestorm
The bush fires that tore through the Australian state of Victoria in February 2009 incinerated over a million acres of land, including key mountain ash forest ecosystems. Fires are a natural force of nature which spur regeneration, but the immediate aftermath of this giant firestorm was devastation. Kangaroos and koalas, wombats and wallabies, endangered possums and gliders, lizards, echidnas, birds of all kinds, and even fish that lived among these eucalypts were overcome by the flames. Millions died. But burned and traumatized survivors tenderly nursed back to health at wildlife hospitals showed a remarkable ability to bounce back, and the environment an extraordinary capacity for healing.
Sunday, April 24 at 8:00 p.m.
Challenge of the Stallions
The continuing saga of Cloud, the wild, white stallion, returns viewers to the Arrowhead Mountains of Montana. Cloud is now a confident band stallion in his prime. As he rules the mountains, gathering mares and expanding his reign, the story turns to his two sons. Bolder is his by birth - beautiful and golden, the success of his father and grandfather flowing in his veins. Flint, sired by another stallion, is the colt Cloud raised. Now, Bolder has gathered some mares of his own, while Flint has joined a group of bachelor stallions, young guns roaming the mountains. Who will rise to challenge the mighty Cloud? Will nature or nurture produce the next great stallion of the Arrowheads?
Visit the website at www.pbs.org/wgbh/nature.