Prepare to be amazed! (Inside Nature's Giants)

Member Name: doncasteryb

Product:	Inside Nature's Giants
Date:	18/07/09 (109 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Exceptionally well made, detailed, rare glimpses into such large animals

Disadvantages: Can be abit on the gory side

To say that this is fascinating, jaw-dropping TV is an understatement! Documentaries about the animal world have always been captivating to watch, especially by David Attenborough (The Blue Planet, Planet Earth, and Nature's Great Events, to name but a few). When I saw this advertised I was hooked! There are 4 parts, and i couldn't help but start reviewing before the finale - the giraffe, which will be shown on Monday 20th July 2009.

A team of leading experts delve into these gigantic beasts and carry out the dissections at the Royal Veterinary College just outside the capital. Mark Evans, a Veterinary Scientist narrates the episodes. Richard Dawkins, an Evolutionary Biologist gives insight into the development of these animals over time. Simon Watt, a Biologist uses his own body to show comparisons to the animals and how they have adapted. Joy Reidenberg, a Comparative Anatomist, who specialises in large animals. As her title suggests, she compares the anatomies across the animal kingdom. Alun Williams, a Pathologist gives insight into why the animal died.

The episodes are filmed in view of a captivated audience. This must be an amazing opportunity for the veterinary students who are able to see this autopsy, live. They are shielded by a glass to prevent them from getting affected the by potentially lethal pathogens. The team wear protective clothing throughout so they, too are protected.

The first episode covered the dissection of an elephant. After suffering from a debilitating disease, this elephant was euthanized as it was felt that her quality of life could not be protected.

Initially we are shown some live footage of elephants in their natural habitat. They are shown to be eating without discrimination, anything that the land has to offer. Through inspection of its digestive system we find that the elephant is not very efficient at this process - the end result is pretty similar to the beginning.

Once the dissection is about to begin, we are informed that with 2,000 litres of methane (enough to fill a weather balloon!) this elephant was ready to blow! A single hole is punctured into the side of this humungous beast to slowly let the gases be released.

Elephants graze throughout the day, and as they eat just about anything, they need to maintain the efficiency of their teeth. For this reason, they have self replenishing teeth, like a conveyor belt where new teeth are constantly growing at the back of the mouth.

Their outer body is equally amazing, with ears that can grow up to 6ft! They provide a natural cooling system. They regulate their body temperature, more effective in African elephants due to their larger ears.

How did the elephant get its trunk? Not the age old story of an encounter with a crocodile, but via evolution to help it drink copious amounts of water. Not only that, but the tip of the trunk is shown to be similar to one of our fingers, meaning the elephant can pick up delicate objects from the floor - AMAZING! From picking berries to dragging a tree from its very roots, the trunk is a very versatile tool. I could go on and on about this fascinating animal, but, as long as you're not squeamish, and haven't just eaten, watch it for yourself!

The second part looked at a whale. On 15th January 2009 a Fin whale got stranded near the shore on the south coast of Ireland . At 65ft long and weighing an incredible 50 tonnes, it was too large to be transported to the college, the autopsy was carried out on the beach.

We are shown some older footage of a dissection being carried out in Denmark. The beached whale receives one strike using a large instrument, like a long stick with a head on it - Big mistake! The guts erupted, resulting in what can only be imagined to be a shower of decomposing insides - YUK!
"The queen of whale anatomy" Joy is flown in from New York. Small incisions were made into the side of the whale's abdomen, so as to let the toxic gases out. She casually climbs onto the whale, balancing and starting to cut through the blubber to reveal its internal organs.

It actually looked as though she was going to climb right into the whale at one point! Joy compares herself to Jonah in the mouth of the whale, which, considering her interest in the vocal area of the whale, is quite apt. How the whale manages to communicate with others whilst under water is simply extraordinary and a puzzle that she wishes to uncover.

What Mark (the Veterinary Scientist/Narrator) first thinks is the whale's tongue turns out to have been the floor of the mouth. The tongue itself looks to be roughly the size of his hand.

An astonishing statement made by Richard Dawkins is that vestiges of hind limbs can be found inside these giant beasts, which are evidence of their evolution from land walking animals to sea living mammals. Truly astounding!
As this autopsy was carried out in full public view, there is the development of an inquisitive crowd, along with some burger vans touting for business. Surprising considering the obnoxious smell that's coming from the decomposing body of the whale, but hey ho, each to their own!

When under water, the heart of the whale beats at 3 beats a minute, with lungs taking in 2,000 litres of fresh air in a single breath - revealing the secrets of how they can spend lengthy periods submerged.

The third part shows nature's ultimate predator, which over the last 100 million years haven't changed much, a crocodile. To be precise, it's a 280 kilo Nile Crocodile, which died at the premature age of 17. It can digest a meal which includes bones and hooves with relative ease, making this an awesome creature, worthy of respect.

Kenny Cyprus (Alligator Wrestler - what a job!) on a home video shows just how strong the lock down force of Crocodile's mouth can be, by......wait for it......inserting his head inside its mouth! It takes at least 3 people to prise his head back out of those lethal jaws! Not something i'd recommend doing, it looked excruciating!

Bite force measurements are taken as a way of comparison to the human jaw - 78 ½ pounds worth of force from the mouth of Simon Watts, compared with a force of 1,413 pounds (20 times stronger than Simon's bite)!

Adaption is shown through the different jaws of the Gharial from India and the Saltwater from Australia. From the sheer size you can see that one has adapted to catch smaller prey like fish, whereas the other has far bigger options, like zebra's other land living animals. The Gharial requires speed to catch fish with little water resistance. The Saltwater on the other hand has extraordinary force and the ability to keep a firm grip on its prey.

Despite not having the sharpest of teeth, they are more than sufficient in making little work of their live food. The death roll is shown ion action using a zebra, which the crocodile manages to roll effortlessly. It's teeth are strong enough to be able to keep hold of its prey whilst rolling, tearing apart the animal. How can the crocodile still breathe with its mouth ajar and its prey struggling? The answer to this is truly remarkable - with an inbuilt snorkel! You can't make this stuff up!

The stomach contents are emptied into a jar in order to test the horrid green liquid that oozes out - implying it may have eaten something that seriously disagreed with it, thus causing its demise. This was not the cause of its death, as the documentary later uncovers.

These documentaries are exceptionally well made, from David Dugan, Producer of The Operation: Surgery Live. I enjoyed the way that live footage was shown in amongst the dissection, with more technical computer generated imagery. The reactions from the audience make it feel more interactive than your typical documentary. I found this to be the kind of jaw dropping TV that makes me think it's worthwhile paying the TV licence fee! Monday's episode involves a giraffe, focusing in particular on its evolutionary masterpiece neck. Rock on Monday! These can still be caught on 4OD/Catch up, and i'm sure they'll be repeated again at some point.

Summary: Fantastic viewing!