Super Senses: The Secret Power of Animals

Season 1

2014 · 13 episodes · 13h 0m in all

Biologist Patrick Aryee and physicist Helen Czerski go beyond the limits of human perception to explore the extraordinary and surprising world of animal senses.

Episodes

1. 

   1. Sight

   19 Aug 2014 · 60 min

   This episode explores the extraordinary sense of sight in the animal world. We travel through the colours of the rainbow, across the spectrum of light our eyes can see - and beyond. Presenters Helen Czerski and Patrick Aryee reveal how caribou use UV light to avoid wolves, discover how seeing in slow motion lets dragonflies make a kill in the blink of a human eye, and show how one animal can see in pitch-darkness - without using its eyes.

2. 

   2. Sound

   26 Aug 2014 · 60 min

   Presenters Helen Czerski and Patrick Aryee journey through the world of sound - from the deepest rumbles to the highest squeaks. Using specialised technology, they experience sounds beyond the range of our human hearing. This episode reveals how alligators use low-pitch rumbles to make the water around them dance and shows what it is like to be a bat and to see with sound. Also, Helen and Patrick convert a classic camper van into a giant speaker to conduct the ultimate hearing test for a herd of elephants.

3. 

   3. Scent

   2 Sept 2014 · 60 min

   In this episode we explore the powerful world of scent and the animals that have pushed their sense of smell far beyond human abilities. In the Bahamas, Helen dives into shark-infested waters with only a small pouch of liquid as her defence. Patrick controls the behaviour of a swarm of bees using tiny traces of scent, and he gets uncomfortably close to one of the smelliest animals in the world - a skunk!

4. 4

   4. Smell & Taste

   9 Sept 2014 · 60 min

5. 5

   5. Superhuman Senses

   16 Sept 2014 · 60 min

6. 6

   6. Sixth Sense

   23 Sept 2014 · 60 min

7. 7

   7. Sense of Timing

   30 Sept 2014 · 60 min

8. 8

   8. Underwater

   7 Oct 2014 · 60 min

9. 9

   9. Sky

   14 Oct 2014 · 60 min

10. 10

    10. Night

    21 Oct 2014 · 60 min

11. 11

    11. Earth

    28 Oct 2014 · 60 min

12. 12

    12. Communication

    4 Nov 2014 · 60 min

13. 13

    13. The Most Amazing Senses

    11 Nov 2014 · 60 min