Wednesday, April 4 at 8:00 p.m.
Ocean Giants - Deep Thinkers
Whales and dolphins remain a constant source of fascination. But how much do we really know about them? Whales and dolphins, known as cetaceans, may appear to be totally alien to us — but with their mental ability, group communication and the recent discovery that dolphins have individual names, they are closer to us than we ever imagined. In some respects the brains of whales and dolphins are more complex than ours. Whales and dolphins work co-operatively, show empathy and are self-aware. “Deep Thinkers” finds out how clever — and how much like us — whales and dolphins might be.
Wednesday, April 11 at 8:00 p.m.
Ocean Giants - Voices of the Sea
Whales and dolphins use sound to hunt, to communicate with one another, and also to “see” and experience the world around them. Sending out loud clicks, they use the echoes to form a mental picture of the world around them. They use ultrasound to see inside other creatures, clicks and whistles to speak, echolocation to navigate and hunt in the depths where the light cannot guide them. Humpback whales’ songs carry thousands of miles, while a sperm whale scans the ocean depths with a sonar laser beam louder than a thunderclap. “Voices of the Sea” reveals a surprising underwater world where sound takes the place of sight.
Wednesday, April 18 at 8:00 p.m.
River of No Return
The river presents its own stories of strength and determination. In the middle of the roaring river, small birds called dippers thrive where the river is roughest, slipping in and out of the current to feed on aquatic insects. In one scene, an injured and isolated elk defies the odds as two biologistslook on. As a pack of wolves circle, another elk inexplicably arrives to defend her, and all the rules of survival of the fittest in the wild go out the window in a remarkable display of courage and compassion. This selfless act is an inspiration to the young biologists facing the elements on their own, taking care of one another in the face of hardship.
Wednesday, April 25 at 8:00 p.m.
Radioactive Wolves
In an exclusion zone around the perimeter of the Chernobyl Nuclear site, German scientists Barbara and Christoph Promberger radio-collar wolves in the zone to
track their movements. Their study will help answer questions about the size of the wolf population, whether or not they are indigenous or migrants, and how these wolves are differentfrom populations in clean areas. Their work is taken over by local wolf expert, Professor VadimSiderovich, from the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, and his researcher, GrigoriIvanovich, who use their local knowledge and field experience to compile the data.
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