Super Senses: Wild Feats of Evolution

In this episode well explore the animal sense of sight and youll see theres a lot more to this than meets the naked eye The human imagination is limited when it comes to animal senses People with good vision are sometimes called eagleeyed but eagles can see a fish from many dozen meters away Only you wont believe how some animals see the world

In this episode we travel from the desert to the forest Australia to Borneo and back to learn how species as diverse as bateared foxes the bilby deer kangaroo rats cicadas proboscis monkeys and other creatures never miss an auditory trick This one is all about hearing

In this episode of Super Senses we get in touch with the feelings of wild animals Really in touchndashbecause animals just like humans rely heavily on their sense of touch every day in every way There may be a fine line between pleasure and pain but not knowing the difference between the two can be absolutely fatal

In this episode of Super Senses we examine how things taste and how vital scent is from the animal perspective Some animals sense of smell can detect odors from miles away and can be as powerful a tool as sight is in humans In mammals taste receptor cells are scattered over the tongue but in other creatures they can be located in some fairly odd places

There are senses we share with most animals but what about those senses that humans are not equipped with Infrared light electromagnetic waves and ultrasound are all found within a spectrum of sensory information that just passes by ordinary humans This episode is all about those lsquosuperhuman sensesndashanimal sensory systems that can detect magnetic fields magnetoreception electric fields

There is a whole worldndashand more than one spectrumndashof sensations that animals are aware of that humans cannot comprehend And yet while its widely known that for example a dogs sense of smell is dozens of times more acute than humans or that goats have close to a 360degree field of vision theres a kind of ldquosixth senserdquo that some animals have which still defies explanation Call it

In this episode we examine how every animal has what could be called a sense of rhythm humans included To give an obvious example theres our internal body clock which responds to the socalled circadian rhythm Thats the 24hour night and day cyclenbspWhat powers these internal clocks and how did we evolve these abilities

While all life began in the oceans human beings now rely on technology to navigate the seven seas Left to our own devices were like the proverbial fish out of water only the other way around Once underwater our vision becomes blurred with light diminished our hearing becomes muffled and distorted and our sense of smell is rendered useless

Animals that live life on the wing have a vast expanse of sky to navigate find mates locate food and avoid predators Living in this aerial realm requires a unique set of senses specialized to cope with life above ground In this episode we find out more about when senses take flighthellip and animals who become masters of the sky The speed and precision of a bird of prey capture our

In this episode we find out more about the animals that live in the shadows and the adaptations they need to survive Nocturnal animals have taken to this dark world for good reason They escape predators avoid the heat of the day and take their turn sharing food and resources in their lsquoniche But to navigate life in the dark you need some special abilities to cope with the lack of light

In this episode we find out more about the animals that have their feet firmly planted onndashor underndashthe ground What we see above the ground is only a small part of the natural world A busy complex web of life lies just beneath our feet They live in burrows tunnels and mounds using the earthndashor whatever substrate they live inndashto build their homes find their food and friends and stay

Animals use communication to attract mates warn off predators defend territory or trick their prey And of course its the senses that play the key role in sending signals to others in the hope actions speak louder than words In this episode of Super Senses we find out more about the sensory powers used by animals to make messages loud and clear

In this last episode of Super Senses we take the grand final tour to see the greatest of all the special weapons that help some animals to govern the wilderness In this episode we literally see it hear it touch it smell it and taste it as animals do Come and see the champions of the animal supremeness yourselves