TV series
Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.
Streaming, rental and purchase options
Checked Jul 22, 2026
Natural World is available to stream on Britbox in United States. Use the direct links below to open the provider.
Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.
Choose an episode, then use the watch options above for the show.
Episode 1
The Snow Leopard, one of the most beautiful of all big cats is also one of the rarest. Natural World visits a hidden lair and lifts the veil on this elusive predator.
Guest stars David Attenborough
Episode 2
This is the story of a young giant otter's journey to adulthood. Rescued by local fishermen as a baby and raised by giant otter expert Carolina Vargas, this is the story of a young giant otter's journey to adulthood. At first, Sancho is utterly dependent on Carolina, and has to be bottle fed and taught how to catch fish. Eventually Carolina knows that she will have to break their extraordinary bond as Sancho makes his way back into the wild. Giant otters are highly social animals, so Carolina doesn't know whether an orphaned giant otter can survive alone in the world's biggest wetland. In the idyllic Pantanal, we follow Sancho's story as he learns to survive in a world fraught with danger.
Where to watch Natural World
Episode 3
This exquisitely photographed film is a spiritual journey into the ethereal landscape of Dartmoor with Satish Kumar, the world-renowned ecologist, former Jain monk and pilgrim for peace. Through changing seasons, Satish walks the moor and explores ancient woods and rivers, which are home to a wealth of wildlife including red deer, emperor moths, starling roosts, kestrels and foxes. His meditations on the natural world are lyrical, uplifting and timely.
Guest stars Satish Kumar
Episode 4
Simon King has filmed Africa's big cats for 20 years, but he has never seen a wild tiger. With so few remaining wild tigers, documenting a tiger making a kill is becoming harder. Simon seeks the help of tiger expert Alphonse Roy, who has spent 17 years in the Indian jungle.
Directed by Simon KingGuest stars Simon King
Episode 5
On a remote island in the Canadian Arctic, a pair of white gyrfalcons and a pack of arctic wolves are struggling to raise their young. As the falcons' eggs hatch, the parents must find enough arctic hares to feed them. The wolf pack are raising their cubs in a hillside den. The film records behaviour that has never been seen by scientists, let alone filmed.
Directed by Fergus BeeleyGuest stars Simon Poland
Episode 6
Since ancient times, there have been legends of dolphins rescuing humans at sea. Two recent cases where swimmers were rescued from sharks by dolphins seem to show that the legends are true. Dramatisations from the Red Sea and New Zealand's North Island help scientists analyse what makes dolphins take pity on humans.
Guest stars Roy Dennis
Episode 7
While badgers are easily recognized, remarkably few people have ever seen one alive. It's a creature blamed for destruction and disease, but surprisingly little is known about the sett society. We spy on them for over a year in a Devon valley, Big Brother style, with hidden underground cameras.
Directed by Andrew CooperGuest stars David Attenborough
Episode 8
In 1961, a four-year-old chimpanzee named Ham became the first animal to return from space alive. He proved that humans could survive the extreme conditions of space. This drama, based on NASA's records and archive footage, tells the story of this remarkable chimp and Jeff, the handler who came to love him over two years of training.
Guest stars Jeffrey Schaeffer
Episode 9
This is the remarkable story of two baby elephants struggling to survive their critical first six months in the oldest desert on earth. The Desert Elephants of Namibia suffered a poaching holocaust in the 1980s. As the most endangered elephant population in the world recovers, every single calf is vital. Himba and Dusty are born in a boom year, but when the short-lived rivers on which they depend disappear underground, their lives depend on the memories, experience and decisions of the females who lead their tiny families.
Directed by Mike BirkheadGuest stars Russell Boulter
Episode 10
Ernest Thompson Seton rode into the wilds of New Mexico just before the turn of the century to kill a wolf named Lobo. The book he wrote inspired many generations of naturalists.
Guest stars Ernest Thompson Seton, Garrick Hagon, David Attenborough
Episode 11
Elle and Inga, 17-year-old cousins from the north of Norway, are far from ordinary teenagers. They are reindeer herders, equally at home helping reindeer swim fjords or ice fishing as playing with the internet and mobile phones. We follow the girls and their families as they accompany the reindeer herds on the annual migration across the acrtic tundra, gaining a unique insight into the lives of the girls and the reindeer on which they depend in this bleak and beautiful world.
Guest stars Flip Stander
Episode 12
Multi-millionaire landowner Paul Lister wants to turn his 23,000 acre estate north of Inverness into Europe's first wilderness reserve. Reinstating the old Caledonian pine forests is the first of his plans. He then wants to release long lost animals, starting with moose and wild boar, and eventually predators such as brown bears, lynx and wolves. Some of the local people are far from convinced by Paul's vision. Will he even be allowed to let loose moose in the glen?
Guest stars John Hannah
Episode 13
The story of Naabi, a young hyena growing up in Tanzania. Here hyenas aren't just scavengers, they're also skilled hunters when they work together in the clan. But life is still a struggle, and except for the few weeks a year when the wildebeest pass through, there isn't enough food to go around. Lions are their mortal enemies - they are quick to attack hyenas and often scavenge their kills. After Naabi's mother is killed by lions, life becomes even more difficult for the young hyena and she's forced to leave the clan, braving the perils of the outside world as she travels alone in search of food.
Guest stars Aicha Kossoko
Episode 14
Paddington Bear celebrates his 50th birthday this year, but behind the children's story is a very real creature that still lives in Deepest Darkest Peru - the Spectacled Bear. Little is known about the habits of this elusive creature, and as narrator Stephen Fry reveals, many of our assumptions were wrong. For years they were thought to be gentle vegetarians, but the latest studies reveal a new and alarming side to this endangered bear.
Guest stars Stephen Fry
Episode 15
The billfish are the biggest, fastest, and most dangerous gamefish in the sea. All have captured man's imagination like few other creatures, whether it's the graceful sailfish, the menacing swordfish or queen of them all, the marlin, immortalized by Hemingway in 'The Old Man and the Sea'. Marine biologist and film-maker Rick Rosenthal has travelled three oceans in his attempt to capture them all on film, and in doing so has become a passionate champion for these endangered yet little-known ocean giants.
Directed by Rick RosenthalGuest stars David Attenborough
Episode 16
Documentary following a loggerhead turtle as she journeys across the Pacific. On the way she meets dolphins and whales, sharks and giant squids, typhoons and fishermen. She swims over deep canyons, and uses underwater mountaintops like motorway service stations. Blue whales thunder by like juggernauts, and sharks dance a beautiful midnight ballet around her. Pacific means peaceful, but it is clearly not. One minute she is under fire from marlin, the next swimming over a coral reef, with crocodiles as well as sharks.
Directed by Mark FletcherGuest stars Hugh Quarshie
Episode 17
Jimmy Doherty, pig farmer and star of Jimmy's Farming Heroes, travels to Nepal to meet an ancient group of people who risk their lives to farm their local honey. A keen bee keeper with a passion for honey, Jimmy has always been blown away by the sheer variety of flavours, appreciating a good honey like others enjoy a fine wine. So when he heard about an ancient group of people in Nepal who are willing to risk their lives to taste their local honey, he knew he wanted to share the experience. As a 'honey hunter' Jimmy must scale a massive cliff to reach the home of more than two million bees and dangle 200 feet up to get their honey. If successful, the reward is not only to learn more about these amazing bees, but also to taste one of nature's finest bounties, beautiful wild honey.
Guest stars Jimmy Doherty
Episode information updated Jul 24, 2026
John HannahNarrator (voice)
Juliet StevensonNarrator (voice)
Ian HolmNarrator
John HurtNarrator
Geraldine JamesSelf
Robert Lindsay
Anthony Hopkins
Tim Pigott-SmithNarrator
BBC TwoUnited Kingdom
BBC StudiosUnited Kingdom
BBC Studios Natural History UnitUnited Kingdom
BBCUnited Kingdom
