David Parer

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.

The story of life, from the first primitive cells to the plants and animals that now live around us.

A series of films from all over the world about our astonishing planet and the creatures that live on it. Combining natural history with an element of adventure, the series featured well-known naturalists such as Jane Goodall and Gerald Durrell, and the oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. Succeeded by The Natural World.

This is the story of the incredible struggle for survival of the dragons of the Galapagos. On the island of Fernandina, each year Land Iguanas migrate up the steep slopes of the 5000ft active volcano to lay their eggs in the warm soil. If the rim of the crater is fully occupied they have to climb 1 km down the steep crater walls to the floor below. Many are killed finding a path down as the walls are steep & dangerously unstable causing many landslides.

Do they really launch themselves onto the shore to grab a hapless snack? See for yourself, and gain a vivid appreciation for their appetites and skills. While your jaw drops at their fearsome agility, you’ll also be learning about their migratory and other behaviours from scientists who observe them daily and strive to increase our understanding of their needs for survival. In this National Geographic ‘Wildlife Special’ you’ll journey around the globe to see their extraordinary hunting techniques in action.

The series explores the diversity of Australia's landscapes, from the seas to the arid interior; the effects of the extremes of flood, drought and bushfire; and examines the impact of 200 years of European settlement on the land, its plants and animals.

Discover the beauty, brilliance and behaviour of Australia's most conspicuous birds - parrots and cockatoos in Australia: Land of Parrots. Multi-award winning, natural history filmmakers David Parer and Elizabeth Parer-Cook have turned their cameras to the sky to capture the spirit of these dazzling birds with breathtaking results - including rare and never before seen footage - all shot in HD.

One of only two living mammals to lay eggs, the platypus has baffled and inspired the scientific community for hundreds of years. Three years in the making, this stunning natural history film takes us down the East Coast of Australia to the many serenely beautiful habitats of the platypus. Technology specially created for this film captures images from inside the nesting chamber of a wild platypus, and records the extraordinary sounds of the mother suckling her offspring. We watch as they grow from newborns to adulthood. Join renowned documentary makers David Parer and Elizabeth Parer-Cook (Dragons of Galapagos, Wolves of the Sea) on this fascinating journey from the rainforests of Queensland to the frozen mountains of Tasmania, as they reveal new insights into this mysterious creature.

When shipwrecked sailors first encountered wombats, they did what they had to do to survive - they ate them! More than 200 hundred years later, the wombat still suffers at our hands, blamed for damaging fences and fouling pastures, this film examines the myths and realities of wombat life, above and below the ground, as scientists begin to understand these intrepid and resourceful Bulldozers of the Bush.

Douglas Mawson was Australia’s greatest Antarctic explorer. Virtually alone among his contemporaries, he saw the strategic importance of the Antarctic continent to Australia, and its potential marine and mineral wealth. He was not interested in racing to the pole like Amundsen and Scott – he wanted to chart, measure and record. His explorations were to lay the foundations for Australia’s current claim to forty percent of the continent.