Big Beasts — Season 1
Never so big. Never so close.
About this season
Travel from freezing poles to tropical rainforests to meet nature’s most captivating giants, who prove being big comes with enormous challenges.
Episodes (10)
1. The Grey Whale
8.0Aired 21 April 2023 • 30 min
Embarking on an epic journey for food, a mother whale leads her calf on the longest migration of any mammal.
2. The Elephant Seal
7.0Aired 21 April 2023 • 29 min
A four-ton elephant seal returns to his breeding beach on the cusp of summer—and quickly learns the competition for females is fierce.
3. The Giant Otter
7.0Aired 28 April 2023 • 28 min
In the Brazilian Pantanal—a wetland larger than England—a six-foot otter attempts to raise her cubs in the shadow of hungry jaguars.
4. The Gorilla
Aired 5 May 2023 • 30 min
Makumba is one of the best studied gorillas in the world. Now past his prime, he must find new ways to maintain his status as king of the jungle.
5. The Hippo
Aired 5 May 2023 • 30 min
In Earth's largest inland delta, Africa's deadliest mammal fights to keep his family afloat as the dry season approaches.
6. The Brown Bear
Aired 5 May 2023 • 26 min
Rocky Mountain summers are fleeting, leading local bears to gain weight, sharpen defenses, and engage in a dynamic fight for domination.
7. The Ostrich
Aired 12 May 2023 • 25 min
A blazing sun scorches the African savanna, where the planet's biggest bird protects his eggs and giraffes struggle to fuel their towering bodies.
8. The Orangutan
Aired 12 May 2023 • 27 min
In Borneo, apes and monkeys train their babies in the treetops, but with gravity against them, the stakes are high—and crocodiles lurk below.
9. The Tiger
Aired 19 May 2023 • 30 min
Monsoon season drives giants toward higher ground, and big cats battle it out to claim dwindling territory in an Indian valley.
10. The Polar Bear
Aired 19 May 2023 • 30 min
Subzero temperatures force polar bears to bulk up—but as summer returns and the planet grows warmer, they find themselves on thin ice.