Nature - Season 15

First aired: 10/13/1996 14 episodes

Episodes

1. Sperm Whales: the Real Moby Dick

Aired: 10/13/1996

In the NATURE program SPERM WHALES: THE REAL MOBY DICK, the efforts of Jonathan Gordon and other researchers to study the whales' physicality, modes of communication, and social interactions contribute to our understanding of the underwater world.

2. The Crater Lions

Aired: 10/20/1996

Charting the declining fortunes of a pride of "Crater Lions" that lives in Tanzania's Ngorongoro Crater. Included: lion attacks on buffaloes; a young cub's encounter with jackals; efforts to repopulate the pride; wildebeests, elephants

3. Mask of the Mandrill

Aired: 11/10/1996

Delving into the mysteries of the colorful monkeys called mandrills, as a troupe of the creatures are followed through the West African rainforests. Included: the travails of a lead male fighting off a rival; the females' role as group leaders; hammerhead bats and river martins.

4. The Joy of Pigs

Aired: 11/17/1996

Exploring pigs, described by host George Page as “the world's most cosmopolitan characters,” with a focus on their adaptability to a variety of environments. Included: pigs as pets; hunters stalking a “bearded” pig in Borneo.

5. Echo of the Elephants: The Next Generation

Aired: 12/8/1996

Following a family of elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park. Included: the family's matriarch giving birth, rescuing her kidnapped daughter and chasing away hyenas. Also: male and female mating rituals.

6. Wolves and Buffalo: The Last Frontier

Aired: 1/12/1997

Observing wild buffaloes and gray wolves in the Canadian wilderness. Jeff and Sue Turner spent two years filming the ritual battles between these ancient adversaries in Wood Buffalo National Park, where the drama unfolds in the subarctic winter.

7. The Elephant Men

Aired: 2/16/1997

Profiling the mahouts of southern India, who are skilled in the art of training wild elephants. Included: a journey north to stop herds of marauding elephants that are destroying villagers' crops and taking lives.

8. A Lemur's Tale

Aired: 2/23/1997

Deep in the thorn forests of Madagascar live troops of ring-tailed lemurs, the most beautiful and most social of Madagascar’s extraordinary primates. Our story follows five baby lemurs as they try to make their way in the world. In an intimate portrait never before filmed, we learn of their high times, their sufferings, and the special bonds that hold their unique society together.

9. Extraordinary Dogs

Aired: 3/9/1997

Tales of canine loyalty to humans, including segments illustrating how dogs detect people buried by avalanches, enhance the lives of prison inmates and offer "therapy" for seriously ill youngsters. Also: the use of dogs to assist people with disabilities; dog scouts and couriers.

10. Bower Bird Blues

Aired: 4/13/1997

Profiling the bowerbird, an ingenious "architect" of the Australian rain forest that builds elaborate bowers of sticks to attract a female. Footage also includes the spiny echidna, which feasts on termite mounds; a bright blue crayfish; and carnivorous dingoes.

11. Spirits of the Jaguar: The Forging of a New World

Aired: 5/11/1997

The four-part "Spirits of the Jaguar" explores the human and natural histories of Central America and the Caribbean. Part 1 focuses on the region's animal and plant life, and its volcanic origins some 150 million years ago. Included: iguanas; crocodiles; fossilized tree sap that offers a record of ancient island life.

12. Spirits of the Jaguar: The Forests of Maya

Aired: 5/12/1997

Part 2 of "Spirits of the Jaguar" explores the "Forests of the Maya," where 1200 years ago an extraordinary civilization emerged in the Central American jungles. Included: Mayan ruins; exotic animals like the jaguar that permeated Mayan folklore; underground rivers and caves.

13. Spirits of the Jaguar: Hunters of the Caribbean Sea

Aired: 5/13/1997

Part 3 of “Spirits of the Jaguar” recounts the evolution of the Taino civilization. The Taino were the first inhabitants of the Caribbean some 2000 years ago, and their way of life was destroyed with the arrival of European explorers. The hour examines marine life that provided food for the Amerindians.

14. Spirits of the Jaguar: The World of Aztecs

Aired: 5/14/1997

"Spirits of the Jaguar" concludes with the story of the Aztec empire, which in the 1500s stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific in what is now Mexico. Footage includes scenes of hawks that once inspired Aztec myths, and ruins of pyramids and temples.