The beginnings of mankind can be traced back 3.2 million years to Ethiopia and the advent of Australopithecus, a type of ape which, like humans, was bipedal; these early members of the human family faced many dangers, including the sabre-toothed cat.

A pregnant basilosaurus, an 18-meter, carnivorous whale which lives in the Tethys Sea, is forced to kill the young of a smaller whale to ensure the survival of her unborn calf.

In the depths of the Ice Age while a group of mammoths are traveling south on a dangerous journey across the Alps many become trapped in bogs or fall to predators, but the biggest dangers are awaiting their return journey through the Netherlands.

Revealing the exotic, oversized creatures that inhabited South America one million years ago, such as the deadly smilodon, the largest of all sabre tooth cats.

Special effects filled documentary beginning 49 million years ago; the world is heavily forested and birds rule the planet, preying on small mammals; whales have not yet evolved and their ancestors walk on the land.

Going back 25 million years to the time of the indricothere, which was the largest mammal ever to live on dry land, being seven metres high and weighing 15 tons; the only threat to an adult would have been the hyaenadon which was the size of a rhino.

Dazzling computer animation highlights this six-hour "speculative documentary" following the lives of dinosaurs from their beginning to their zenith -- and their eventual decline during the Cretaceous period. The computer-generated imagery and animatronics used in the series show dinosaurs in a way you would expect to see in a feature film.

Prehistoric nature documentary presented by Nigel Marven.

Cavemen evolve into Homo sapiens over more than 3 million years.

Stunning computer animation brings the most ferocious giants of the Ice Age back to life, creating a portrait of their wild existence and puzzling extinction. Also, details about their lives and disappearance are revealed through the work of paleontologists, who uncover fossilized bones of these lethal creatures.

Dinosaur tales are told using fossil evidence and computer graphics.

The planet is teeming with myriad life forms, both plant and animal, all interlocked in a struggle for survival. As time goes on, some living things are forced to adapt and change to survive. This series chronicles some of the most unusual, if not downright bizarre, behaviors that living organisms have devised to keep their species alive. The 11-episode series was four years in the making, taking camera crews to every continent and habitat.