Name: Talking to Strangers
Released: 1990-12-06

Trials of Life

S1 · E10 — Talking to Strangers

S1:E10 · Talking to Strangers

Episodes

12 episodes in this season

Arriving

50 min

Growing Up

50 min

Finding Food

50 min

Hunting and Escaping

50 min

Finding the Way

50 min

Home Making

50 min

Living Together

50 min

Fighting

50 min

Friends and Rivals

50 min

E10

Now Playing

Talking to Strangers

50 min

E11

Courting

50 min

E12

Continuing the Line

50 min

Trials of Life

TV Series

199050m8.4

DocumentaryFamily

Now playing

Talking to Strangers

Season 1 · Episode 10 · Dec 6, 1990

This episode concentrates on communication. In Kenya, Attenborough accompanies a tribesman who calls to a honeyguide, which in turn answers him and leads the pair to a bees' nest. The tribesman extracts the honey, and some is left to reward the bird. African hunting dogs are shown hunting gazelles, of which the target is the individual that leaps lowest. Larks evade merlin by sending a similar message: by continuing to sing while being chased, it tells the pursuer that its prey is fit and therefore will be difficult to catch. (In 80% of cases this turns out to be true.) Vervet monkeys' cries are among the most complex. Their utterances are effectively words: a vocabulary that defines each of their predators, so an alarm call is specific to a particular threat. Some creatures transmit their presence by display, and Attenborough observes thousands of fireflies illuminating the darkness. Sounds travel further underwater, and over 200 species of fish use them to communicate. In turn, sea lions have become adept at sensing their proximity. However, the most visual aquatic animal is the squid, which uses colour change and posture to communicate. Finally, Attenborough swims with dolphins. They converse with a series of ultrasonic clicks, and each has a family call inherited from its mother: effectively a 'surname'. They also use normal sound, body posture and touch - in short, in terms of ability to communicate, they are man's closest rival.

6.0episode rating

More details

Trials of Life

TV Series

199050m8.4

DocumentaryFamily

Now playing

Talking to Strangers

Season 1 · Episode 10 · Dec 6, 1990

6.0episode rating

More details