Presented by anatomist Prof Joy Reidenberg and vet Mark Evans, Born In The Wild (Sex In The Wild) explores the reproductive behaviours and biology of the animal kingdom.
We focus on four species – elephant, dolphin, kangaroo and orangutan – and take an in-depth look at how these animals find, fight for and woo the opposite sex. We also explore how they mate, give birth and raise their young in extreme environments.
Why do male elephants transform into sex crazed monsters during musth? How do orangutans give birth safely high in the trees? Why is the pregnancy of kangaroos so short? And how do dolphins mate at high speed? These are just some of the themes explored in the series.
Elephants thrive in the predator ridden savannah thanks to their extreme size and their remarkable reproductive biology. They invest huge amounts of time and energy in each individual newborn… and raise their young in a protective family herd led by a matriarch.
We find out how females select the strongest mates, why elephants have the longest pregnancy in the animal kingdom, how they safely deliver a 100kg baby and we witness the remarkable first steps of a newborn calf.
Kings of them all, the Kangaroos, thrive in one of the most unpredictable, drought-prone environments on Earth – the Australian Outback. And it’s all thanks to their bizarre way of reproducing.
We find out why females kangaroos have three vaginas; how male marsupials use sperm plugs to beat the competition; how month-old babies - the size of a paperclip - can climb to a pouch and Joy experiences the extraordinary sight of a new-born kangaroo sucking on it's mother's teat...inside her pouch.
At an orang-utan sanctuary deep in the rainforest Mark and Joy come face-to-face with a super-male and uncover the latest scientific theories on how these Orang-utan kings exert their power over other males and seduce females in their territory.
We see the birth of an Orang-utan and find out what it takes to raise an Orang-utan baby. Orangs devote around 7 years to raising a single newborn – the longest duration between births of any animal. The lengthily period dedicated to raising one child is key to the success of orang-utans and all the other great apes too – including us humans.
We see a remarkable dolphin birth and find out why dolphins are born tail first. And Mark explores the difficulties of breastfeeding underwater and how dolphin and whale young avoid the biggest predators in the world - Killer Whales.
| Executive Producers | David Dugan , Jamie Lochhead |
| Line Producer | Lucy Bilson |
| Production Coordinator | Holly Marlow |
| Edit Assistant | Will Fiennes |
| Archive Producer | Cristina Miro |