Conifer Take Over the Arctic
In Conifer Take Over the Arctic, narrator Sir David Attenborough takes us on a climb up the largest living things on Earth. View the taiga from space to see just how green and extensive this region is. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
Sir David Attenborough takes you inside the most remote, extreme, and jaw-dropping corners of the planet — filmed over four years across 64 countries. Learn more.
Lesson Express
Q: What do you think of the scale of trees shown in the opening shots of the video and in the view of the planet from space?
A: Student responses will vary. Students may mention that the humans really show the scale of the enormous trees or that the planetary view shows how extensive the seasonal forest is.
Q: What changes occur when traveling south from the North Pole?
A: First, the land is barren and snow-covered; then sparse conifers grow; then dense conifer forests appear.
Q: Why is the taiga important to the planet?
A: It has as many trees as all the rainforests combined; it contains one-third of all trees on Earth; it produces so much oxygen it refreshes the atmosphere of the whole planet.
More Like This
In The Colugo Glides From Tree to Tree, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores how colugos survive on the island of Borneo by traveling great distances and gliding through the sky to find food. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Sneak a Peek at the Miniature Animals of the South American Forests, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how the world’s smallest deer is on alert as the smallest cat in the Americas stalks it! Fortunately for the deer, the cat finds moths to feast upon. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Broadleaf Woods Go From Lively To Lifeless, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes the great seasonal changes that come to the broadleaf forest. In summer, the woods are bustling with animal life, but in winter, a lonely leopard hunts in a barren landscape. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
A troop of 150 chimpanzees. That's not a typo — it's the largest chimp community ever recorded in Africa, and they all live in one stretch of forest in Uganda. Sir David Attenborough takes you inside their world in this clip from BBC's Planet Earth, and it's not exactly peaceful. Chimps are unusual among jungle animals — they move just as easily through the treetops as they do on the ground, which comes in handy when your diet depends on finding enough fig trees to feed 150 mouths. But a community this size needs serious territory to sustain it, and that means defending it.
Watch as the troop uses coordinated calls to launch a raid into a rival group's land. Once they cross into enemy territory, everything changes: the calls stop, the pace slows, and every chimp is on high alert, listening for signs of who — and how many — they're up against.
It's a side of chimpanzees you don't usually see: strategic, tense, and surprisingly military in style. Great conversation starter for anything on animal behavior, group dynamics, or how intelligence shows up in unexpected ways.
In The Colugo Glides From Tree to Tree, narrator Sir David Attenborough explores how colugos survive on the island of Borneo by traveling great distances and gliding through the sky to find food. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In Sneak a Peek at the Miniature Animals of the South American Forests, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes how the world’s smallest deer is on alert as the smallest cat in the Americas stalks it! Fortunately for the deer, the cat finds moths to feast upon. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
In The Broadleaf Woods Go From Lively To Lifeless, narrator Sir David Attenborough describes the great seasonal changes that come to the broadleaf forest. In summer, the woods are bustling with animal life, but in winter, a lonely leopard hunts in a barren landscape. This video is excerpted from BBC's Planet Earth, a breathtaking documentary series that highlights the natural wonders of our planet.
A troop of 150 chimpanzees. That's not a typo — it's the largest chimp community ever recorded in Africa, and they all live in one stretch of forest in Uganda. Sir David Attenborough takes you inside their world in this clip from BBC's Planet Earth, and it's not exactly peaceful. Chimps are unusual among jungle animals — they move just as easily through the treetops as they do on the ground, which comes in handy when your diet depends on finding enough fig trees to feed 150 mouths. But a community this size needs serious territory to sustain it, and that means defending it.
Watch as the troop uses coordinated calls to launch a raid into a rival group's land. Once they cross into enemy territory, everything changes: the calls stop, the pace slows, and every chimp is on high alert, listening for signs of who — and how many — they're up against.
It's a side of chimpanzees you don't usually see: strategic, tense, and surprisingly military in style. Great conversation starter for anything on animal behavior, group dynamics, or how intelligence shows up in unexpected ways.