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Using the latest state-of-the-art imaging technologies, this episode examines the Cuban crocodile’s amazing ability to jump as much as six feet to catch its prey.
©NGHT, Inc./WNET.ORG
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Image of an eagle in flight catching a rabbit. An eagle, with orbs larger than its brain, can spot a rabbit or other prey from hundreds of feet away. A rabbit skull is built on a shock-absorbing joint, helping to stabilize vision while leaping at top-speed to escape predators.
©NGHT, Inc./WNET.ORG
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This program takes an innovative and revolutionary look at the bio-engineering of “how animals work.” Pictured: A fringe-lipped bat catching frog.
©Carol Farneti Foster
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Using the latest state-of-the-art imaging technologies, this episode examines the bio-engineering of an osprey as it dives for fish.
©NGHT, Inc./WNET.ORG
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A chameleon use its fast, telescoping tongue to catch an insect meal.
©NGHT, Inc./WNET.ORG
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A basilisk lizard “walks” on water to catch a butterfly.
Credit: ©NGHT, Inc./WNET.ORG
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Using the latest state-of-the-art imaging technologies, this episode examines the ingenuous defensive strategy of a squirrel when confronted with a rattlesnake (shown). The snake hunts by using heat-sensing pits on the side of its head. The squirrel flicks its tail to increase its heat profile to fool the snake into believing it’s larger than it actually is.
©NGHT, Inc./WNET.ORG
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Using the latest state-of-the-art imaging technologies, this episode examines the head-on collision of bison and the extraordinary bodily construction of these dominant bulls, from a rock-hard skull to the ability to increase the release of androgen hormones to reduce sensitivity to pain.
©NGHT, Inc./WNET.ORG
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Using the latest state-of-the-art imaging technologies, this episode examines the dynamic engineering of a woodpecker’s skull and brain that allows it to withstand forces 20 times a boxer’s knockout punch.
©NGHT, Inc./WNET.ORG
The natural world is filled with “moments of impact” – the split seconds when animals come into contact with each other and the world around them. Previously many of these moments were too fast or too hidden for us to see. But now new camera technologies reveal what’s behind these remarkable moments, and cutting edge animations illustrate the “inside story” of animal bioengineering that allows each moment of impact to take place.
Episode 1: "Hunters & Herds"
They are the scenes of some of the largest concentrations of predators and prey on the planet – the vast tracts of grassland and savannah found on every continent but Antarctica. Yet survival in this kind of open, horizontal world is far from easy, with few places to hide, a scarcity of vegetation, drought, fire and the threat of attack by some of the world’s fastest and most powerful hunters.
From Africa’s Serengeti to California’s grasslands, some of nature’s most dramatic moments are caught, examined and “fractured” into their unique parts … within creatures great and small … to reveal the amazing abilities that give each animal the instinct, intelligence and brute prowess to survive. From elaborate impact sequences that spin around animals caught in a “frozen moment” to animations that go inside their bodies – a unique view of animals’ amazing biomechanics is revealed. Watch a preview.
Episode 2: "Jungle"
Teeming with creatures in every shape and form, the jungle is the most diverse habitat on the planet and home to nearly half of the world’s plant and animal species. Rising hundreds of feet from the dark depths of the tropical forest floor, through layers of twisting branch and canopy full of life – this vertical landscape pushes the limits of animal engineering.
The jungle’s layers are peeled back to dissect more amazing moments of impact. Stealth and ambush reign in the jungle and survival depends on highly tuned senses and ingenious defenses. From ninja ants to flying snakes, cameras dive underwater, sail through trees and penetrate fur, feathers, skin and bone to reveal the science of some amazing animal engineering hidden deep in the jungle. Watch a preview.
"Moment Of Impact" premieres over two Sundays, April 4 and April 11, 2010.
Video Excerpt: Moment Of Impact: Lion And Wildebeest
