Watch the splendor of nature unfold from the comfort of your home with these six documentaries
Today is Earth Day, but you, nature lovers, are, in all likelihood, confined at home due to the pandemic. Outside your window, nature flourishes in all her breathtaking glory. However, even as every petal and shoot and blade of grass and butterfly and distant bird, bathed in the beatitude of spring, beckons to you, you can only watch wistfully and dream of happier days spent navigating your way from one natural wonder to another. While you grow to rely on the richness of your imagination now more than ever, know that you can experience the beauty of nature with this collection of awe-inspiring and thought-provoking nature documentaries and series that we have curated just for you.
A Life on Our Planet opens with the legendary Sir David Attenborough greeting us from Chernobyl, a site that bears both the scars of a horrendous nuclear disaster and the mark of untouched wilderness. Starting here, we take a journey with him, a journey that begins from a time in the past when he was young, and through which we witness humanity hurtle at breakneck speed toward an uncertain future. With the course of his lifetime setting a timeline, Sir David shows us how we have exploited and altered the natural world, and presents his vision for the future- possibilities that are both bleak and hopeful. Only the actions we take now, he emphasizes, will determine the world our future selves and the generations to come will see, and dictate the fate of Homo sapiens.
The animal kingdom teems with countless organisms that fascinate us in myriad ways, but there is one cephalopod species that we have all heard of, and that enthralls everyone with its distinctive behaviour- The Octopus. Even though it sits upon a branch of the evolutionary tree that diverged from ours hundreds of millions of years ago, it is easy to recognize what we humans term intelligence in these intriguing molluscs. In My Octopus Teacher, Craig Foster, a documentary filmmaker, forges a unique bond with a wild common octopus, and is welcomed into her extraordinary world. For him, this is an invaluable chance to chronicle octopus behaviour in the wild, and to learn some unexpected life lessons from a one-of-a-kind teacher.
The rich diversity of habitats in our country provide ideal conditions for survival for a wide variety of animal species, and Felidae, or the cat family, is no exception. India is home to 15 unique species of wildcats, from the smallest in the world (the rusty spotted cat) to the largest (the tiger), and this documentary offers glimpses into their interactions with members of their own species and with their environment. It also shines the spotlight on the lesser known wildcats inhabiting the forests in different parts of the country, thus allowing us to become acquainted with and to fully appreciate these fascinating felids!
The immeasurable vastness of the azure ocean, burnished by sunlight, blue plumes rising up to meet the skies, exquisite underwater coral cities, depths resembling the eerie vacuousness of space, punctuated by the occasional flicker of ethereal light. These frames, distilling wonder, and Hans Zimmer’s haunting music will flood your senses and will certainly feature in your next flights of fancy once you have watched Blue Planet II. The reverent care with which each episode captures the indescribable beauty of marine life will leave you with a heightened admiration for a world we know so little about and an ardent desire to enroll in a Marine Biology course.
‘Our story begins 250 million years ago, when giant reptiles roamed the Earth….’ We have all heard it, the story of the dominance of the dinosaurs, and their subsequent extinction. Walking with Dinosaurs, however, takes you right into the center of all that Mesozoic drama, in the style of a nature documentary. We encounter multiple species of dinosaurs, some known, others unknown, and some other familiar animals that we can see on our planet even today. Dinosaur geek or not, this is one documentary that belongs in your natural history watchlist if you have ever imagined how a younger Earth looked like, particularly when reptiles reigned, ancestors of modern day birds began to evolve and early mammals scurried away into the shadows, awaiting their hour.
The narrator and director of Seaspiracy, Ali Tabrizi, starts out by asking a question that most of us have asked ourselves: How can I play my part to preserve the world’s seas and marine biodiversity? The quest for the answer leads him to many places, some dangerous, others terminating in dead ends. His determination to find the answer, however, drives him to keep looking and forces him to confront unimaginable cruelty. The curtain, when finally raised, reveals a solution that is not only obvious but also a clear indicator of human cognitive dissonance.
Now, with both your imagination and knowledge, and an enhanced appreciation of the natural world, you are ready to reflect on what you can do to preserve the planet and make a tangible difference for the flora and fauna that hold a special place in your heart, and for humanity itself.
You can view our Earth Day sharelist here- https://app.flyx.me/I4tj6zdyEfb
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