The article "Eleven of the Rarest Animals in the World at Risk of Extinction" from BBC's Discover Wildlife highlights critically endangered species, including the vaquita porpoise and the black and chestnut eagle. It explores conservation efforts and the urgent need to protect these species from habitat loss, pollution, and poaching.
In The Octopus That Invented a Mobile Home, a veined octopus in Indonesia amazes researchers with its clever survival skills. Living on sandy ocean flats, it carries coconut shells to create a portable shelter. By using these shells to hide and ambush prey, the octopus becomes one of the rare animals — less than 1% — to demonstrate tool use and thinking ahead. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Natural World: The Octopus in My House, a remarkable series about a professor and the extraordinary relationship he develops with an octopus when he invites it to live in his home.
In The Unique Plants and Animals of Cloud Forests, meet the rare Andean bear, climbing to the top of the canopy to reach food. While he struggles at first, because the only fruit is on the thinnest branches, a more experienced bear arrives to teach him how to reach it. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.
Explore the wide-open world of grasslands and discover the amazing animals that live in one of Earth’s largest biomes. From enormous elephants and powerful buffalo to towering Kori bustards, hardworking leafcutter ants, and rare Saiga antelope, students will learn how animals survive and thrive in these vast landscapes of grasses and few trees.
This Kahoot explores the unique features of grassland ecosystems, including climate, food chains, migration, and the special adaptations that help animals find food, avoid predators, and survive changing seasons. Students will also discover the differences between tropical savannas and temperate grasslands and the incredible diversity of life found in each.
Watch the related BBC videos (below), then invite your Grade 3–8 students to test their knowledge and uncover the wonders of life on the grasslands.
In The Blue Whale is The Biggest Animal That Has Ever Lived, narrator Sir David Attenborough investigates the largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, and what it reminds us about the oceans. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In A Polar Bear Family’s Struggle, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how a mother polar bear protects and cares for her cubs on a journey through the icy sea and onto dry land. Food is scarce, but with her supersensitive nose, she picks up the scent of a bowhead whale carcass, a rare find with enough meat to feed many bears. While the cubs eat their meal, danger looms as male polar bears and other hungry bears gather at the site. This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.
In The Animals That Make up the Antarctic Food Web, narrator Sir David Attenborough shares information about the animals that make up the Antarctic food web. Watch minke whales, humpback whales, fur seals, and krill. Learn about icebergs in the Antarctic. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In The Blooming Sea: Animal Life Reacts, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes the scale of the plankton bloom. Learn about how copepods grow and thrive until predators find them. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Animal Adaptations Due to Receding Tides, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how invertebrates in the mud are impacted by the receding tide, how flounder use the currents, and how ospreys hunt. Observe animal adaptations in the wading birds and the flounder. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Opportunity for Animals as the Tides Ebb and Flow, narrator Sir David Attenborough examines how the Moon’s impact on the Earth and the tides create opportunity for animals, like the bottlenose dolphins who move into shallow waters at high tide to feast on mullets. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Watch Animals Work Together to Catch Sardines!, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how sharks, dolphins, and gannets work together to eat as many sardines as possible. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
Most of our sub-par pictures just take up space on our phones and show off the insides of our pockets, but one blurry photo launched an almost two decades-long scientific endeavor.
A search that began with a picture of a tail in the trees eventually took researchers deep into Lomami National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo on a quest to find out exactly what kind of monkey they were dealing with. Using microphones, cameras and genetic testing, they gathered enough evidence to confirm that the animal is a distinct species, now named Colobus congoensis — the first time a monkey is being named after the Congo!
It belongs to a group of plant-eating primates that live high in trees and do not have thumbs, but the Colobus congoensis has some unique characteristics. It uses a roaring call that announces its presence through dense tropical forest and has distinctive pinkish-orange lips that researchers think could act as a visual signal, perhaps helping it attract a mate. It also gives you someone to blame if your sibling asks, “Who ate the last orange creamsicle?!”
Scientists still have a lot to learn about this monkey, but it seems rare and limited to a particular habitat in the central-eastern part of the country. Researchers hope that officially recognizing it as a separate species will help protect both the monkey and the environment it depends on.
The article "Eleven of the Rarest Animals in the World at Risk of Extinction" from BBC's Discover Wildlife highlights critically endangered species, including the vaquita porpoise and the black and chestnut eagle. It explores conservation efforts and the urgent need to protect these species from habitat loss, pollution, and poaching.
In The Octopus That Invented a Mobile Home, a veined octopus in Indonesia amazes researchers with its clever survival skills. Living on sandy ocean flats, it carries coconut shells to create a portable shelter. By using these shells to hide and ambush prey, the octopus becomes one of the rare animals — less than 1% — to demonstrate tool use and thinking ahead. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Natural World: The Octopus in My House, a remarkable series about a professor and the extraordinary relationship he develops with an octopus when he invites it to live in his home.
In The Unique Plants and Animals of Cloud Forests, meet the rare Andean bear, climbing to the top of the canopy to reach food. While he struggles at first, because the only fruit is on the thinnest branches, a more experienced bear arrives to teach him how to reach it. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, a series featuring remarkable animal behavior from all seven continents.
Explore the wide-open world of grasslands and discover the amazing animals that live in one of Earth’s largest biomes. From enormous elephants and powerful buffalo to towering Kori bustards, hardworking leafcutter ants, and rare Saiga antelope, students will learn how animals survive and thrive in these vast landscapes of grasses and few trees.
This Kahoot explores the unique features of grassland ecosystems, including climate, food chains, migration, and the special adaptations that help animals find food, avoid predators, and survive changing seasons. Students will also discover the differences between tropical savannas and temperate grasslands and the incredible diversity of life found in each.
Watch the related BBC videos (below), then invite your Grade 3–8 students to test their knowledge and uncover the wonders of life on the grasslands.
In The Blue Whale is The Biggest Animal That Has Ever Lived, narrator Sir David Attenborough investigates the largest animal on Earth, the blue whale, and what it reminds us about the oceans. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In A Polar Bear Family’s Struggle, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how a mother polar bear protects and cares for her cubs on a journey through the icy sea and onto dry land. Food is scarce, but with her supersensitive nose, she picks up the scent of a bowhead whale carcass, a rare find with enough meat to feed many bears. While the cubs eat their meal, danger looms as male polar bears and other hungry bears gather at the site. This video is excerpted from BBC's Life, a show that explores the remarkable strategies animals and plants use to ensure their survival.
In The Animals That Make up the Antarctic Food Web, narrator Sir David Attenborough shares information about the animals that make up the Antarctic food web. Watch minke whales, humpback whales, fur seals, and krill. Learn about icebergs in the Antarctic. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In The Blooming Sea: Animal Life Reacts, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes the scale of the plankton bloom. Learn about how copepods grow and thrive until predators find them. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Animal Adaptations Due to Receding Tides, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how invertebrates in the mud are impacted by the receding tide, how flounder use the currents, and how ospreys hunt. Observe animal adaptations in the wading birds and the flounder. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Opportunity for Animals as the Tides Ebb and Flow, narrator Sir David Attenborough examines how the Moon’s impact on the Earth and the tides create opportunity for animals, like the bottlenose dolphins who move into shallow waters at high tide to feast on mullets. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
In Watch Animals Work Together to Catch Sardines!, narrator Sir David Attenborough explains how sharks, dolphins, and gannets work together to eat as many sardines as possible. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Blue Planet, a definitive documentary series diving into the mysterious depths of the sea to discover the natural history of the world’s oceans and the rarely seen marine life that reside there.
Most of our sub-par pictures just take up space on our phones and show off the insides of our pockets, but one blurry photo launched an almost two decades-long scientific endeavor.
A search that began with a picture of a tail in the trees eventually took researchers deep into Lomami National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo on a quest to find out exactly what kind of monkey they were dealing with. Using microphones, cameras and genetic testing, they gathered enough evidence to confirm that the animal is a distinct species, now named Colobus congoensis — the first time a monkey is being named after the Congo!
It belongs to a group of plant-eating primates that live high in trees and do not have thumbs, but the Colobus congoensis has some unique characteristics. It uses a roaring call that announces its presence through dense tropical forest and has distinctive pinkish-orange lips that researchers think could act as a visual signal, perhaps helping it attract a mate. It also gives you someone to blame if your sibling asks, “Who ate the last orange creamsicle?!”
Scientists still have a lot to learn about this monkey, but it seems rare and limited to a particular habitat in the central-eastern part of the country. Researchers hope that officially recognizing it as a separate species will help protect both the monkey and the environment it depends on.