This silent newsreel from approximately 1926 shows bushland in eastern Australia infected with the noxious prickly pear cactus and the efforts of the scientists trying to combat the problem using cochineal insects. These insects are …

Dingo farming is legal in Victoria. Dingo farms breed puppies for sale as domestic dogs.

Our chance to see in close-up this extraordinary living fossil, a survivor from the Jurassic period. And it’s hidden deep in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

Another well designed item in this always interesting series. Reporter Joanna Savill talks to the crew who dive for the elusive trepang, interspersed with a little history, while later in the program, we visit a …

Scientist Chris Busby explains that our knowledge of the health effects of exposure to nuclear radiation are based on a study of 'external radiation’ not 'internal radiation’ (when low levels of radiation are taken inside …

We see thousands of bees swarming on frames. A beekeeper uses a ‘smoker’ to blow smoke onto the bees so he can remove one of the frames and brush them off calmly. He uses a …

In June 1997, an inspired piece of scientific investigation by paleoanthropologist Dr Ron Clarke and his team resulted in a remarkable discovery in a cave in South Africa.

Shows the early life stages of a lobster: thousands of eggs hatch into larvae, which struggle to survive ocean currents for over a year before returning as juvenile lobsters.

An octopus discovers lobsters trapped in a lobster pot. When the fishers pull up the pot they discover a lobster has been eaten by the octopus.

This series has magnificent shots of Australia – from the tropics to the edge of Antarctica and across 4,000 kilometres of continent. The program captures the diversity of the country’s unique animal life as …

The platypus up close and very personal; this bizarre creature, which is neither mammal nor marsupial, seemed to be 'a hoax sewn together from the parts of other creatures’, as the early settlers explained it …

There’s a brooding calm before the next storm breaks over the paperbark swamp. The jacana chicks are hatching, watched over by their concerned male parent, while the mother is protecting her patch from other …

The landscape of arid central Australia is scoured and the plateaus worn down to gibber desert. It’s impossible to imagine that any living thing could survive in this environment but the shingleback lizard manages …

The great expanse of salt that is Lake Eyre sits 15 metres below sea level with temperatures that can soar to 60 degrees Celsius. For the most part, the Lake Eyre dragons – and the ants …

Dr Tony Friend fits radio collars to numbats in Western Australia to monitor their lives. The clip follows the life of a mother and four babies. After birth the babies cling to their mother’s …

In 1997 Avian flu erupted in Hong Kong. The government destroyed all chickens and the outbreak was contained. Virologists Robert Webster and Albert Osterhaus talk about the potential for human transmission.

John Wamsley describes how he was able to get major press coverage for his cause by wearing a hat made of feral cat skins. He says that if you want to attract attention you need …

Presenter Densey Clyne goes looking for a trapdoor spider in the bush. We see the spider’s unique 'door’. Trapdoor spiders can sense vibrations from passing insects. We see in close-up the spider leap out …

The Sydney funnel-web is the deadliest spider in the world. We see one capture a passing beetle, then see scientists researching the spiders in the lab. Finally, we learn about the dangers of the spiders …

A close-up look at the deadly red-back spider. In giant close-up we see an ant enter the red-back’s insect trap, and get caught. The spider drops down, hoists the ant off the ground, and …

Cockroaches have been on earth for 300 million years. Humankind may seem like a passing evolutionary novelty by comparison. Cockroaches are remarkable survivors being highly sensitive to smell and air movement.