Water Life

From tropical rainforests to coral reefs, mysterious water holds the secrets to life on Earth.

This fascinating program follows water, the messenger of life, on its never-ending journey. Stunning cinematography captures the water cycle in all its phases, revealing water's many surprising faces and the astonishing ecosystems it creates.

In the mountains, water produces the purest and wildest lakes that are the source of all the rivers on the planet. This ecosystem is home to creatures that must adapt to the cold, clear waters.

Even in small quantities, water holds big surprises. Streams, gullies, and brooks are humble, yet extraordinary universes teeming with intense and vibrant life. Raccoons, polecats, water snakes, fish-eating birds, and turtles are just some of the diverse creatures that play vital roles in these food chains.

Rivers are a force of nature. This program explores one of the most varied and diverse ecosystems on the planet, where birds form mating colonies, trees disseminate their fruits to conquer new territories, and predators take cover to stalk their unsuspecting prey.

Exploring the waters of the wetlands, beginning with algae that are the basis for the food chain.

This program is a spellbinding portrait of water as master sculptor. From rocky mountain tops, to unexplored cavernous labyrinths, discover some of water's masterpieces, and meet the diverse and astonishing creatures that live in these challenging environments.

There is more liquid stored under our feet than is contained in all the lakes and rivers in the world. This eye-opening program explores the fundamental and surprising ecosystems found in wells and troughs that offer refuge, protection, and food for a vast array of species.

Experience life on the precarious boundary between the liquid world and the world above water. Here on the water's surface are ecological dramas worthy of the best playwrights. Strange communities are formed on top of this quivering film of water that plays a key role in the lives of many plants and animals.

Snow and ice put plants and animals to the supreme test. Witness the remarkable ways in which they adapt to the changing seasons, and marvel at their ability to survive in the harshest environments.

Where once land looked like desert, wetlands appear in a sudden burst of life. In this elusive ecosystem, the lives of multitudes of beings, including primitive creatures more ancient than the dinosaurs, will be tied to these seasonal lagoons, pools, and ponds.

The harsh lands of the Sahara and Patagonia Deserts are home to extraordinarily tough and adaptable creatures, including the thorny-tailed lizard, the camel, the Saharan sparrow, and the nocturnal gerbil.

Rainforests are as much a mystery as the ocean depths. Explore the most fertile, varied, and surprising ecosystem on the planet, home to plants and animals still unknown to us. What makes the rainforest so unique? The answer is often water!

Learning the salty secrets of the mangroves and meeting the curious creatures that call it home.

Estuaries have the capacity to provide food for billions of living beings. Its mix of fresh and salt water creates a rich cocktail for diverse creatures whose lives are dependent on the tides that transform the landscape.

Salt mines, salt flats, and salt marshes would seem inhospitable, but these strange and solitary places, with their otherworldly landscapes, are home to genuinely tough creatures that have adapted to living in water with high levels of salinity.

For many creatures, life is no day at the beach! This often-hostile frontier between land and sea is an essential stopping place for penguins, land crabs, elephant seals, hermit crabs, sandpipers, and other creatures to feed, rest, mate, and breed.

Life can be rocky on coastlines pounded by the sea. Amazing communities of creatures whose lives are ruled by the relentless changing tides live clinging to the rocks, or seeking refuge in its crevasses.

The sea hides creatures that defy the imagination. Their existence depends on seabeds. Explore this little-known world, and discover the survival secrets of starfish, sea urchins, and swarms of catfish.

For many creatures, there is no better place on Earth than cliffs. The sea shapes the cliffs and creates a landscape whose nooks and crannies serve as refuge. But here, competition for space can be ferocious.

Stunning cinematography captures the extraordinary beauty of coral reefs. Millions of polyps construct these vast submerged cities of coral, where resourceful animals have developed ingenious survival strategies to avoid prowling predators.

The open sea is the largest ecosystem, and also the least known. It would take up to ten centuries of intensive work to inventory the marine species to be found here. Whales, sharks, jellyfish, and migrating sea turtles are just some of the awe-inspiring creatures featured in this compelling program.

Pollution, uncontrolled fishing, and other factors are having a devastating impact on ecosystems. As rainforests, rivers, seas, and wetlands are imperiled, so is the very existence of the species that inhabit them.

Scientists examine evidence of climate change and the impact it is having on water and animals.

In this compelling episode, scientists and representatives of the United Nations and the World Wildlife Fund provide urgent and eloquent testimony on behalf of water. They raise awareness of the threats to this precious, non-renewable resource, and the dire consequences to all living things.

Embark on an unprecedented global odyssey with the creators of Water Life as they follow water's liquid trail across the continents. From jungles and deserts, to deserts and caves, follow the courageous divers and camera crew as they face challenging and hazardous conditions to tell water's story, and to capture as never before how water generates life on our planet.