Modern Dinosaurs

en
Documentary
Created By

James Heyward

First Aired on

Aug 01, 2017

1 seaons till Aug 01, 2017

Popularity: 2.1371
1 votes
Networks
(AU)
Production

Making Movies (NZ)Beetz Brothers Film Production (DE)

Status: Ended

Show Ended

Last episode: Violent Seas

Seasons & episodes

Total 1 seasons, 6 episodes

Miniseries

Aired

6 Episodes
  • Episode 1The Tuatara44 min

    With a third eye, razored back, and other bizarre adaptations, New Zealand’s tuatara outlasted not just the dinosaurs . . . but the rest of its family. Journeying from an isolated South-Pacific refuge to the crocodile-infested estuaries of northern Australia, we’ll unlock the mystery of how the Tuatara survived to the present day.

  • Episode 2The Kiwi44 min

    The Kiwi is a bird that has thrown out the rulebook of bird biology. It doesn’t fly, lives in the dark, and resembles a mammal more than anything bird-like. Since the introduction of rodents, this national symbol has faced an existential threat. But how did a flightless bird find itself on islands in the middle of the ocean? From the rainforests of Australia to ancient caves in one of New Zealand’s wildest places, we discover how the secret to the kiwi’s success may have become its gravest threat.

  • Episode 3Extreme Survivors44 min

    From frost-bitten geckos, glittering underground predators and the world’s most intelligent parrot, New Zealand challenges its animals to adapt or die. With volcanoes rising from beneath the sea and mountains that grow like fingernails, how has New Zealand’s wildlife adapted to one of the most unstable places on earth?

  • Episode 4A Very Strange Parrot44 min

    Most parrots are colourful and fly in massive flocks - New Zealand’s kakapo breaks all the rules. Kakapo are not only the world’s largest parrots, they’re the only nocturnal species. These birds can’t fly; to reach their food in the treetops, they climb their way up using their beaks. They’ve been called the strangest parrot in the world. We’ll venture to one of its last refuges – the windswept bush of Codfish island. With only 154 kakapo left, a hardy team of researchers is attempting to preserve this dying lineage in a race against the clock.

  • Episode 5Island Giants44 min

    In New Zealand, a spikey grasshopper-like creature, the Giant Weta, can grow as big as a rat. These islands are home to some of the biggest birds ever known, giant centipedes and carnivorous snails, and a two metre long lake monster capable of slithering its way across beaches – the gigantic longfin eel. What advantage would animals have to grow so large? And why did Australia become a land of giant marsupials, while New Zealand developed giant birds, insects, and fish?

Top Cast

Crew & Team

Polly Fryer

Producer

James Heyward

Executive Producer

Kerstin Meyer-Beetz

Executive Producer

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