Wild Mexico

Mexico is a vast country, over 2,000 miles long, dominated by a great chain of mountains, the Sierra Madre. This range features an amazing diversity of life, from black bears and orchid bees to resplendent quetzals and millions of monarch butterflies. This is a land where giant volcanoes simmer, tequila is manufactured and ancient and modern cultures collide in a festival of life.

The ancient temples of the Maya civilization still tower over the forests of the Yucatan, where jaguars, monkeys and vibrant tropical birds now make their home. It is a forest full of secrets, with volcanoes full of fluttering bats and a vast watery underworld that is still being explored and possibly holds the key to how animals, and people, survive the brutal dry season.

Northern Mexico is the country's driest region, dominated by two great deserts: the Sonoran and Chihuahuan. Traveling west, the conditions get hotter and more challenging. This film unravels the forces that have created this arid world and discovers that for the animals living there, including prairie dogs, pygmy owls and rare aplomado falcons, overcoming these conditions can bring rich rewards.