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Season 1 |
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African Wild
Dog |
| In the premiere
episode, the Kratt brothers run with the wild dogs in the Okavango.
Chris tests his sprinting speed and Martin drives their off-road truck
to the max trailing these super predators on their turf, but neither
brother is any match for the 40 mph pack. Back at the den, the brothers
seek to understand the dogs’ complex family structure as a “favorite
aunt” baby-sits pups while the rest of the pack hunts. Living with the
dogs for weeks on end, the brothers gain insight into behaviors of this
deeply co-operative pack and its nomadic life. |
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Brown Bear |
| Alone in Alaska’s
Katmai National Park, the Kratts come face-to-face with the mighty brown
bear. Contrasting his diet and strength with that of the largest
carnivore in North America, Chris eats sedge and digs clams in the wet,
cold sand. But the brothers never let their guard down. Just feet behind
them, two bears brawl over territory and in front, a mother uses the
brothers as a shield to protect her cub against a stalking male bear.
This extreme proximity provides the opportunity for the Kratts to offer
a truly up-close perspective on this peaceful creature harboring
explosive power. |
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African Lion |
| The Kratts prowl
the same watering holes in the desert plains of Botswana as a pride of
lions. Parked in an open-air jeep that puts no real barriers between
them and these fierce predators, Martin and Chris are engulfed by the
pride. Surrounded, the Kratts find the tables turned as they are
scrutinized by these curious beasts. The Kratts’ heart-pounding
proximity offers them the opportunity to better understand the big cats
and their hunting strategy, staying with them even as they close in on
prey, which includes neighboring elephants. |
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Japanese
Macaque |
| The Kratts
trek into Japan’s snowy mountains and coastal regions to live with the
northernmost non-human primate, the Japanese macaque. The brothers stave
off the cold by joining these adaptable “snow monkeys” for a bath in
natural hot springs. In the lower elevations, the Kratts offer insights
on the monkeys' other human-like behavior, which includes washing their
food before eating it. |
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Lemur |
The Kratt
brothers float on a raft to the island of Madagascar just like the
endangered lemurs’ ancestors who likely floated on clumps of vegetation
to this exotic island. Hanging from tree branches in the forest and
offering insights on eating behaviors in the desert, the Kratts gain
first-hand experiences in the varied habitats of this primate, known for
its long tail and human-like hands.
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Manatee |
In winter,
hot springs draw the endangered Florida manatees up the tidal estuaries
and rivers. However, there are almost one million registered boats in
Florida and many of them share these same waterways. The Kratts enter
the manatee’s habitat, swimming with the slow-moving mammals as they
evade the deadly oncoming propellers. Chris and Martin gain a fresh
perspective from underwater on the life and death encounters faced by
these gentle mammals.
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Coastal Creatures
A killer whale, 25 feet long (7.6 meters long) and weighing 10,000
pounds (4536 kilograms), hurls through the waves to strike a seal
pup onshore, rocking back to sea with his prey caught in his jaws.
This is just one of the heart-pounding experiences that the Kratt
brothers bring to this episode, which depicts the coastal
creatures of Patagonia. Patrolling the shoreline where arid land
meets teeming sea, the Kratts experience the point-of-view of
other sea hybrids like the sea lion, penguin, and more.
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Chimpanzee
The Kratts visit Uganda to compare the lives of two bands of
chimpanzees. First, they travel with the wild chimpanzees in the
Ngamba and Kibate forests, witnessing their fascinating behavior,
including attacks on other primates. Then, the brothers spend time
at the Ngamba Island Sanctuary, home to chimpanzees that have been
rescued from civil war and poachers. Climbing into trees, the
brothers swing awkwardly on rope, contrasting the abilities of the
human primate with its closest relatives.
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The Banded Mongoose
Uganda's Mweya Peninsula contains one of the richest
concentrations of wildlife in eastern Africa. Surrounded by
hippos, leopards, and warthogs, the Kratts crawl into the habitat
of the banded mongoose. Intensely wary of an "enemy," the mongeese
are known to advance as a group, standing on one another's backs
to appear like a menacing beast with many heads. Whether
intimidating a predator or defending their young, mongoose
behaviors provide an opportunity for the Kratts to understand the
forces driving social relations amongst diverse species.
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The Great White Shark
The Kratt brothers live for two weeks on a boat off the coast of
South Africa to swim with great white sharks and observe their
hunting techniques off Seal Island, home to a colony of seals that
runs the shark gauntlet every time its members take to the water.
Whether in the boat or underwater, the brothers study the behavior
of the great white as these fierce predators patrol the depths of
"Shark Alley" to target inexperienced juvenile seals.
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The Mexican Free-Tailed Bat
Spelunking in Texas, the Kratts explore America's largest bat cave
where more than 20 million Mexican free-tailed bats have made
their colony. Using breathing apparatus while navigating mounds of
bat droppings, the brothers camp inside to live with the nocturnal
species on their turf, and are there as a new generation of bats
is born and opens their eyes. The Kratts watch these young bats
mature to the point where they can fly, using echolocation to
emerge at sundown amongst the huge swarm.
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Kangaroos
The Kratt brothers go down under to the Outback of eastern
Australia to live with eastern gray kangaroos, one of the largest
marsupials living today. Here they learn how the kangaroos have
adapted to their competitive environment, from hopping in mobs of
up to a hundred to using classic kangaroo boxing techniques to
fight females and territories.
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Season 2 |
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Descriptions Coming soon! |
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Photographs by Chris and Martin Kratt.
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Taken from The National
Geographic Channel Website.
Click here to visit this page on their site! |
