A crew of mariners, scientists and filmmakers are followed on this series, which begins as they cast off on a three-year expedition aboard the Sedna IV, an oceanographic schooner, to sail around the world exploring the beauty of nature, how ecosystems work and conservation challenges facing the planet.
Scientists attempt to decipher the secrets behind the songs of humpback whales.
A biologist at a research center on Barro Colorado Island in the middle of the Panama Canal introduces the crew of the Sedna IV to the rare pygmy three-toed sloth and explains why this species is threatened.
Highlighting efforts to save the Grand Cayman blue iguana from extinction.
Jaguars are studied by scientists on a private reserve in Costa Rica. Also: examining how the conversion of forest into farmland is threatening their population.
Highlighting the work of researchers protecting manatees in Belize.
A look at the threats posed to sea turtles that nest on the beaches of Costa Rica. Included: the battle between environmentalists and poachers.
The tiny island of Anuta may be the most remote inhabited island on the planet. The crew of Sedna IV shares in the daily lives of this unique community where islanders survive by making careful use of every resource available.
The Komodo dragon is the world's largest lizard and one of its fiercest predators. The crew travels to Komodo Island to observe these magnificent and deadly creatures.
Lamalera is one of the last places on earth where villagers are allowed to hunt whales in a traditional manner, but outboard motors have altered hunting methods and dramatically increased the pressure on threatened marine species.
Scientist Jean Lemire leads a crew aboard the oceanographic schooner Sedna IV on a 1,000-day journey that takes the team across Earth.
The Sedna IV crew joins a team of forest rangers using elephants to patrol and intervene in conflicts between wild elephants and humans.
As deforestation for oil palm production shows no sign of slowing down, scientists do what they can to halt the carnage and rehabilitate the last surviving orangutans on the island of Sumatra.
The Galapagos Archipelago is a model of conservation, but an increasingly common climatic anomaly is killing sea life. It's El Niño, and scientists believe climate change could cause the frequency and severity of this phenomenon to double.
The waters of Indonesia teem with a huge variety of fish, but the rapid degradation of coral reefs is threatening many unique species. Illegal practices like blast fishing and cyanide fishing are also enormously destructive to the region's wildlife.
The future for elephants, orangutans and other species is uncertain, as large-scale deforestation for palm oil is a growing problem that threatens their survival. At the current rate, nearly 98% of Indonesia's rainforests will be gone in 20 years.