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The Trials of Life: Hunting and Escaping  (1990)

Famous killer whale hunting sequence

The fourth episode in David Attenborough's major animal behaviour series, The Trials of Life: Hunting and Escaping is an emotive and realistic account of predation in the animal kingdom.

An in-depth study into the animal world, Attenborough examines the cunning strategies a whole host of creatures use to elude capture, and the equally canny methods the deadliest predators employ. Skunks discharge their appalling odours, chimpanzees band together to hunt for colobus monkeys, and vipers kill using poison, while toad frogs blow up to twice their size to prevent being eaten.

Memorable footage documents killer whales launching themselves up the beach to capture sea lion pups, and sees them 'toying' with their victims before the final kill. Through the world-famous cinematography of the BBC Natural History Unit, Attenborough investigates a wealth of marine, land and ornithological life, bringing to light the elaborate 'cat and mouse' games played by world's hunters, and the hunted.

Copyright holder

Copyright Holder: BBC - Natural History Unit
Address: c/o BBC Motion Gallery
Room E251
Woodlands
80 Wood Lane
London
W12 0TT
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8433 2861 / 2
Email: motiongallery.uk@bbc.co.uk
Website: http://www.bbcmotiongallery.com

Film credits

Photography: Steve Downer
Photography: Kevin Flay
Assistant Producer: Alastair Fothergill
Presenter: David Attenborough
Sound: Lyndon Bird
Executive Producer: Peter Jones
Photography: Martin Saunders
Producer: Keenan Smart
Photography: Paul Atkins
Dubbing Editor: Ian Butcher
Photography: Michael deGruy
Film Editor: Martin Elsbury
Production Assistant: Ruth Flowers
Photography: Alan Hayward
Photography: Mike Herd
Photography: Rodger Jackman
Photography: Hugh Maynard
Photography: Ian McCarthy
Photography: Mike Richards
Sound: Graham Ross
Music Composer: George Fenton
Dubbing Mixer: Andrew Wilson
Photography: Andy Young
Series Researcher: Nick Upton
Research Assistant: Rupert Barrington
Unit Manager: Rita Morris
Photography: Gavin Thurston
Sound: Trevor Gosling
Photography: Red Denner
Production Company: BBC - Natural History Unit
Production Company: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
Production Company: Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc.

Related films

The Trials of Life: Arriving (1990)
Clips
David Attenborough attacked by great skuas
David Attenborough attacked by great sku...
Famous killer whale hunting sequence
Famous killer whale hunting sequence
Bluffing with suprising alarm
Bluffing with suprising alarm
Chimpanzee troop hunting colobus monkey sequence
Chimpanzee troop hunting colobus monkey ...
Stills
Killer whale hunting sea-lions on a beach in The Trials of Life: Hunting and Escaping
Killer whale hunting sea-lions on a beach...