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The Magical Forest

Global nature series. Chris Packham looks at the miracle of the temperate forest: the destruction of its ecosystem in winter and its renewal in spring.

Secrets of Our Living Planet showcases the incredible ecosystems that make life on Earth possible. Using beautifully shot scenes in the wild, Chris Packham reveals the hidden wonder of the creatures that we share the planet with, and the intricate, clever and bizarre connections between the species, without which life just could not survive.

Discover previously unknown relationships, like why a tiger needs a crab, or why a gecko needs a giraffe. Each week Chris visits one of our planet's most vital and spectacular habitats and dissects it to reveal the secrets of how our living planet works.

In this episode, Chris travels to North America to witness the annual miracle of the temperate forest: the destruction of its ecosystem in winter, followed by it rebuilding itself in spring. Chris marvels at the exquisite timing that is necessary in two particularly wonderful stories - the story of how the Canada lynx depends for its prey on a caterpillar high up in the canopy, and the story of why the giant trees of the north west are dependent on bears and salmon.

1 hour

Fishy encounters with grizzly bears

Fishy encounters with grizzly bears

Assistant producer/ director Paul Williams shares his experiences filming grizzly bears for The Magical Forest episode.

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Chris Packham
Series Producer Paul Bradshaw
Producer Gavin Maxwell
Director Gavin Maxwell

Broadcasts

  • Sun 1 Jul 2012 19:00
  • Mon 2 Jul 2012 23:20
  • Mon 2 Jul 2012 23:50
  • Tue 3 Jul 2012 23:30
  • Wed 11 Jul 2012 19:00
  • Wed 11 Jul 2012 23:00
  • Mon 8 Oct 2012 19:00
  • Sun 7 Apr 2013 15:30
  • Sun 7 Apr 2013 16:30
  • Wed 19 Jul 2017 16:15
  • Sat 15 Sep 2018 19:00
  • Sun 16 Sep 2018 01:05

Learn more with The Open University

Discover the fascinating web of links in nature with four free illustrated friezes.