Whales in Crisis

Pengi and Sommi(ko)

Baby Emperor Penguin Pengi and Sommi's Ultimate Challenge Begins! At 60 degrees below zero, winter has come to the South Pole, the coldest glacial region in the world. Abandoned due to its bitter coldness, the South Pole is greeted by the real natives of this place, the Emperor Penguins, who have come to welcome new lives. Through the indescribable love and care given by mom and dad, baby Emperor Penguins Pengi and Sommi awake from their egg shells. Gluttonous Pengi, the number one trouble maker in the South Pole, and cutie Sommi, who loves daddy's embrace the best, become great friends. Then one day, Sommi’s dad goes out to the sea to seek her out. Sommi left all alone, cold and starving to the brink of death, and Pengi desperately tires to help Sommi through her troubles. Could Pengi and Sommi possibly overcome numerous hardships and become beautiful full-grown Emperor Penguins?

Entangled(en)

Efforts to protect North Atlantic right whales from extinction, the impacts of those efforts on the lobster industry, and how the National Marine Fisheries Service has struggled to balance the vying interests. There are now believed to be fewer than 400 right whales, making them among the planet’s most endangered species. Between millions of lobster lines and warming waters due to climate change, their population has been plummeting, and their survival is threatened. The federal government is proposing regulations which could reduce lobster lines by half in much of the Gulf of Maine and harm the livelihoods of many lobstermen and has sparked a political backlash. The future of the iconic species hangs in the balance.

Der wilde Pazifik - Die Schönheit des Lebens(de)

Possum Wars(en)

Every night around Australia, native possums scamper across city rooftops in an endless quest for food and shelter. Forced out of their bush habitats by encroaching development, these mischievous marsupials swarm into cities where their raucous noise and destructive appetites bring them few friends. They live in our roofs, pillage our fruit trees, plunder our flowers and pee on our paths. And when possums and people fight for real estate it’s war!

The Rabbits of Skomer(en)

Wild rabbits share the sea cliffs on the island of Skomer, off the Pembrokeshire coast, with seabirds like puffins and seagulls. They come in many shades, owing to their intriguing history, and each spring the island of Skomer itself is transformed by wild flowers, creating one of Britain's most beautiful natural spectacles. The green and brown island turns blue and pink for a couple of spectacular weeks under a carpet of bluebells and red campion.

The Owls and the Orchard(en)

A devoted pair of little owls set up home in an old orchard in rural Herefordshire. From spring blossom to autumn apples, a year in the life of the parent birds, their baby owls and the old fruit trees.

West Coast Otters(en)

Two otters, a mother and daughter, are inseparable as the cub faces the dangers of her first Scottish winter, and Mum works hard to ensure both survive. Never more than a few feet apart, cub and mum exhibit a very special relationship as the cub grows up, learning how to fish and fend for herself on the idyllic west coast of Scotland.

Sea Lions: Life By a Whisker(en)

Between a jagged cliff face and a roaring ocean, lives a colony of Australian Sea Lions. In an environment equally as harsh as it is beautiful, be immersed in a classic coming of age tale guided by one of Australia’s most unique, intelligent, and playful animals. Take an intimate journey inside the colony where a life of great intimacy, tenderness, and clumsiness, must often give way to a life of great sacrifice and bravery. Dive into the world of an endangered Australian Sea Lion pup - and meet the people that are trying to save her species.

Wild Plants of Palestine(en)

Wild Flowers Plants of Palestine follows journeys of observational tours solicited by the Palestinian Museum and conducted by two professors from Birzeit University to collect photos of and information on the Palestinian Flora. The title is adapted from a collection of 123 images (circa 1900 to 1920) of wild flowers in Palestine found in the Matson Collection in the Library of Congress. Despite the tendency to trace the wild plants, the text in general aims at questioning the territorial extension of what is meant by the term “Palestinian”, while standing on insignificant topographical features of the (postcolonial) landscape in West Bank. Furthermore, it addresses photography as a practice and a tool of distributing and restricting information at once.

American Scar(en)

Dynamite blasts echo through canyons as construction for the southern border threatens flora and fauna for centuries to come.

Don't(en)

The lyric passage of a Monarch butterfly, beginning with its birth, through its delicate metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly and on its journey from country to city. From the first frame, the audience experiences the tension of this perilous flight as numerous adversaries, threaten the butterfly's freedom. A lively sound track, with music composed by Frederic Chopin, allows us to live for a few moments in this fleeting world.

The End of the Game(xx)

An intimate view of the panorama of African wildlife, giving a sense of what it is really like to be there, and in a dramatic climax makes a poignant plea for conservation. Filmed in Zaire, Kenya and Tanzania, the film takes the viewer from deep inside an anthill, to the majestic giraffes suckling their young. African storms, dung beetle ritual dances, duels for supremacy, feeding time, and playtime all end as the animals disappear one by one while the sound of a rifle shatters the existing magic of life. Winner of the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject, 1976.

Silencing the Thunder(en)

When temperatures drop in Montana, wild bison migrate to lower elevations outside the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park. But once outside, they run the risk of being killed because some carry a chronic disease called brucellosis that ranchers fear could spread to cattle.

Shorebirds(en)

A short documentary about the life of wildlife photographer Alex Prieditis and his love of shorebirds.

The Return of the Wildcat(de)

In this 40-minutes-documentary the ecologist and filmmaker David Cebulla is on a quest to find one of Germany's shyest and most endangered species: the European wildcat. During a scientific pre-study, by chance, he made the first record of a wildcat in an area near his hometown Jena. Thereupon he dedicates a whole year to get the genetic evidence and a really splendid film recording of a free-living wildcat. For this reason he sets up trail cameras and lure sticks. To find out more about these animals he meets up with two interview partners in course of the film. The Thuringian wildcat expert Silvester Tamás answers questions regarding estimates on the stock of free-ranging wildcats and the protection of the species. Matthias Krüger is head-taxidermist at the Jena Phyletic Museum and explains what we can learn from wildcats found already dead.

Alaskan Summer(en)

In the ice-gripped environment of Alaska's Admiralty Island, summer offers the briefest of respites. Year-round residents such as bears and seals turn to the salmon-filled waterways for sustenance. Meanwhile, migrants descend in droves, from humpback whales to over 140 million seabirds--almost half the birds in the Northern Hemisphere.

Wild France(fr)

A documentary that shows the different fauna that populates natural habitats of France, and the people that aims to protect and preserve them.

In Search of the Jaguar(en)

In the face of his own threatening illness, the greatest protector of jaguars is battling time and adversity to save these endangered cats. Venture deep into the wilds of Brazil, Belize, and Panama with biologist Alan Rabinowitz as he pursues these elusive predators—and fights to protect even more jaguar habitat than he already has. Narrated by actress Glenn Close.

Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas(en)

Trek into the hidden battlefields of northern Botswana where lions and spotted hyenas clash in overlapping territories. With never-before-seen footage, much of it filmed at night, you'll uncover an intense and vicious blood feud that has been waged for millennia. Follow the Southern Clan, led by a powerful hyena matriarch whose firstborn female cub kills her sister at birth to assure her succession as leader of the clan. Lurk in the shadows as a lioness from the Central Pride gives birth to three cubs and then encounters a deadly Egyptian cobra. You'll be stunned by breathtaking chase scenes as the hyena matriarch is brutally killed by a male lion, throwing the clan into chaos. Discover nature's savage conflicts in this ancient rivalry.

Last Stand of the Great Bear(en)

National Geographic embarks on a 250-mile adventure through unspoiled territory along the coast of British Columbia called the Great Bear Rain Forest. It is here that bear-hunting wolves take to the sea, grizzlies clash in titanic battles, and wild salmon are the pulsing lifeblood of an entire ecosystem. As this precious habitat faces an uncertain future, threatened by chainsaws and fish farms, a team of dedicated scientists is racing to prove that it must be protected. Forming a wilderness detective squad, these experts are searching for the rare white spirit bear and collecting clues that will decipher the secret life of the forest's elusive inhabitants.