KUED Programs

This is the story of two remarkable and extremely rare white lion cubs on their journey to adulthood. Both are female, sisters born as white as snow in May 2009, in South Africa's Kruger Park. Growing up on the savanna, they must not only overcome the same survival challenges that all young lion cubs must face, they must also overcome the threats their high visibility brings.

The Himalayan mountain system is the planet's highest and home to the world's highest peaks. NATURE explores the diversity of wildlife and habitats of this mountain chain starring the mysterious snow leopard.

Cutting across the Zambezi River, bridging the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world. In the dry season, this awesome force of nature divides two natural worlds -- the tranquil meandering river above the cascade, and the raging abyss of the gorge below. The upper river is idyllic, running shallow through sandstone hills and meandering around islands and reed-beds where elephants, hippos, and crocodiles thrive. In a single vertical drop the river plummets twice the height of Niagara Falls into the wild waters and heavy spray of the narrow gorge, where fish are found only by those who know where to look. Between the two worlds are treacherous cliffs and thick, mossy rainforests fed by river mists, home to baboons whose lives change with the seasons. When the rains fall, the rivers swell and the falls thunder.

Hummingbirds represent one of nature's most interesting paradoxes -- they are the tiniest of birds, yet they qualify as some of the toughest and most energetic creatures on the planet. New knowledge gained from scientists currently making great breakthroughs in hummingbird biology makes this a perfect time to focus on these shimmering, flashing jewels of the natural world. Stunningly beautiful high-definition, high speed footage of hummingbirds in the wild combined with high-tech presentations of their remarkable abilities help us to understand the world of hummingbirds as we never have before.

The Australian outback is the driest place on the driest inhabited continent on the planet. It is a place you might expect to see kangaroos but certainly not waterbirds. Yet once every 10 years, rains flood into dried-up river beds and head inland to create the largest lake in Australia, and 100,000 pelicans -- a third of all the pelicans in Australia -- arrive for the event. Leaving their homes on coasts and harbors, they come to feed on fish washed in on the floods and on billions of brine shrimp and other crustaceans which hatch and grow to adulthood in a few days in water twice as salty as the Dead Sea. The pelicans have come home to court and raise as many families as possible before the water and the food disappear once more.

Nature explores the world of the snowy owl, a bird recently made popular by Hedwig, Harry Potter's faithful companion. Turning fantasy into reality, "Magic of the Snowy Owl" takes an intimate look at how these majestic birds survive in one of the most isolated and inhospitable places on the planet. Noted wildlife filmmaker Fergus Beeley ("Jungle Eagle") takes viewers deep into the "snowy's" tundra home on the North Slope of Alaska to observe the daily struggles involved in raising a family of helpless chicks until they are able to fly. Viewers will discover that these strikingly beautiful Arctic owls - essentially eagles, falcons and owls rolled into one - have a magic of their own.

Florida's Everglades National Park is one of the last great wildlife refuges in the United States, home to numerous unique and endangered mammals, trees, plants, birds and turtles, as well as half a million alligators. However, the Everglades is also the dumping ground for many animal invaders over 15 species of parrot, 75 kinds of fish and 30 different reptiles from places as far away as Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. All of the intruders found their way into the park either by accidental escape from pet owners or intentional releases by people no longer wishing to care for an exotic species. Add to the mix tens of thousands of giant pythons, snakes that can grow to 20 feet and weigh nearly 300 pounds, some released into the wild by irresponsible pet owners, some escapees from almost 200 wildlife facilities destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The predatory pythons slithered into this protected wilderness and thrived, and the refuge has consequently become less of a haven and more of a killing ground every day since then.

The black mamba is one of Africa's most dangerous and feared snakes, known for being very aggressive when disturbed. Rearing up with its head four feet above the ground, it strikes with deadly precision, delivering venom that is packed with three different kinds of toxins and is ten times more deadly than needed to kill an adult human. Without treatment the mortality rate is 100%, the highest among all venomous snakes in the world. Until now, little has been known about the black mamba's natural behavior in the wild because in Africa most people kill a black mamba on sight and feel lucky to have done so. But in the tiny country of Swaziland in southern Africa, a team of herpetologists has an entirely different "take" on these creatures and hopes their six-week study will change public perception of what they feel is the world's most misunderstood snake.

Unique to North America, the bald eagle is the continent's most recognizable aerial predator, with a shocking white head, electric yellow beak and penetrating eyes. In the 1960s, this symbol of the United States became an emblem of environmental degradation, as the pesticide DDT and other human pressures brought it to the brink of extinction. Following their protection as an endangered species, bald eagles have come roaring back. Photographed by three-time Emmy-winning cinematographer Neil Rettig, this first-ever HD hour on bald eagles focuses on the drama of the nest. Even in the best of times, it's a surprisingly tough struggle to maintain a one-ton home and raise chicks until they can hunt on their own. This is an intimate portrait of these majestic raptors' lives in the wild.

"Born Free" - a book and then a film that changed forever the way we think about wildlife, marked its 50th anniversary of the publication in 2010. What has happened to lions since this story? And what has happened to the people featured in the film? What has "Born Free" taught us?