Wild Caribbean
Encyclopedia
Wild Caribbean is a four-part BBC
nature documentary
series exploring the natural
and cultural history of the Caribbean Islands and Sea
. It was first transmitted in the UK on BBC2 in January 2007
. The series was produced by the BBC Natural History Unit
and narrated by actor Steve Toussaint. This series also aired in Australia
on ABC1
each Sunday at 7:30pm from 15 February 2009.
The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's "Continents" strand. It was preceded by Europe: A Natural History
in 2005 and followed by Wild China
in 2008.
The first episode gives an overview of the variety of the Caribbean’s natural history, revealing the hidden wild side of the islands. Spotted
and bottlenose dolphin
s cruise the shallow sand banks around the Bahamas. The mangrove forests of Barbuda
’s shallow lagoons provide ideal nest sites for the Caribbean’s largest colony of frigatebird
s. The birds are filmed jostling over the best locations and collecting floating sticks on the wing. The nearby islands of St Lucia, St Vincent
and Dominica
have a different character. The thickly forested slopes of their volcanic mountains harbour rare hummingbird
s and parrot
s. Their fertile soils also attract people, but scenes of the Montserrat eruptions of recent years show the threat they live with. The deep waters off Dominica are breeding grounds for sperm whales, filmed engaging in tactile social behaviour at the surface. Caves are a feature of Cuba
’s limestone
geology, and provide homes for millions of bats as well as Cuban boas and secretive hutia
s, the latter filmed for the first time in the wild. The southerly ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao), swept by dry trade wind
s, are virtual deserts. Every year, 20,000 Caribbean flamingo
s arrive to breed on their salt pan
s. The clear waters around Bonaire have the greatest variety of reef fish anywhere in the Caribbean. The final island to be featured is Trinidad
, cut off from South America
by rising sea levels 2,000 years ago. Its island fauna include many mainland species such as red howler monkey
s, capuchins and scarlet ibis
.
Coral reef
s, which thrive in the warm, shallow waters around Caribbean Islands, are the subject of the second programme. Hard corals are the reef-builders, and grow their tough external skeletons by extracting nutrients from algae
growing within them. Time-lapse
footage shows coral polyps emerging at night to trap drifting plankton
. Marine life featured includes Caribbean reef squid
, octopus
and blue tang
s. At Silver Bank
, a coral outcrop north of the Dominican Republic
, up to 3,000 humpback whale
s pass through annually. The shallow reefs are an ever-present threat to ships, but each sunken wreck provides a perfect habitat for a new reef to grow. Nurse shark
s take advantage of the shelter, and sergeant major
s lay their eggs directly on the wreck. Around the mountainous islands, reefs plunge into the deep ocean at drop-offs. A wreck 200m down harbours deep sea life forms including sea lilies and rusticle
s, formed as bacteria and fungi eat the steel hull itself. Stretching for 180 miles off the coast of Central America
, the Caribbean barrier reef
is the second largest coral structure on Earth, and home to an abundance of life. By day, large creatures such as loggerhead turtles and the rare Antillean manatee
s browse peacefully, but at night, tarpon
and other predators emerge to hunt. The final scenes show the annual gathering of snapper
s, triggered by a full moon. As they rise to the surface and release clouds of milt and eggs, whale shark
s move in to take advantage of the sudden feast.
Around six hurricane-strength storms strike the Caribbean between June and November each year. This episode examines their impact on people and wildlife. Hurricane winds generate destructive waves which can cause catastrophic damage to offshore reefs. Some corals are tough enough to withstand the buffeting, but other are ripped up. However, providing they come to rest in a suitable location, even broken fragments can regenerate. Storm surge
s cause widespread damage to coastal developments and beaches, and sea turtle
s are particularly vulnerable. Four-fifths of the green turtle hatchlings on Grand Cayman
were lost when Hurricane Ivan
struck in 2004. Low-lying islands can be completely inundated by storm surges. The brown anole
s of The Bahamas may well drown, but their eggs can survive submersion for six hours. Coastal mangrove
s provide an important natural buffer against hurricanes. Further inland, the plants and animals of the tropical forests have evolved strategies to survive hurricanes. Tabonuco trees fuse their roots together to form a solid anchor, and hummingbirds move to unaffected parts of the forest. A single extreme event can be devastating for species with a restricted range. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo
decimated the Puerto Rican parrot population, leaving only three breeding pairs. By contrast, green iguana
s have used floating debris to colonise new islands, showing that resilience and adaptability are the key to survival. With climate change
scientists predicting more frequent and intense hurricanes in future, the ability of the Caribbean wildlife to survive and recover from them will be severely tested.
The final instalment takes the form of a journey along the Caribbean shore of Central America, which runs for 1700 miles from Panama
to Mexico
. The Panama Canal
is 25m above sea level and relies on outflow from rivers in the surrounding rainforest
to maintain the water level. Wildlife along the banks includes capybara
, coati
s and spider monkey
s. The Bocas del Toro
islands now lie a few miles off the coast of Panama, but were once part of the mainland. The mantled howler
monkey is a mainland species stranded by the rising sea level. Others such as poison dart frog
s are evolving into new forms, or adapting their behaviour; three-toed sloth
s have evolved to eat mangrove leaves and even swim between trees. Further north, coastal mangrove swamps are rich hunting grounds for two different creatures: white-faced capuchins are shown cracking open clam
shells and Utila spiny-tailed iguanas catch fiddler crab
s. Plankton blooms in the deep waters around the Bay Islands triggers a food chain. Whale sharks suck in mouthfuls of baitfish, and bonito
s join the feast. Mexico’s limestone Yucatan peninsula
is riddled with flooded cave
s, home to strange creatures including remipedes and isopods. Offshore, Terneffe is one of many coral atolls. Rare American crocodile
s hatch in its sheltered mangroves, and magnificent frigatebirds mob red-footed boobies
as they return to feed their chicks, forcing them to regurgitate their catch in mid air. The programme also features the indigenous Kuna
people of the San Blas Islands
, and the Miskitos of Honduras
.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
nature documentary
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
series exploring the natural
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
and cultural history of the Caribbean Islands and Sea
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
. It was first transmitted in the UK on BBC2 in January 2007
2007 in television
2007 in television may refer to:*2007 in American television*2007 in Australian television*2007 in British television*2007 in Canadian television*2007 in Japanese television...
. The series was produced by the BBC Natural History Unit
BBC Natural History Unit
The BBC Natural History Unit is a department of the BBC dedicated to making television and radio programmes with a natural history or wildlife theme, especially nature documentaries...
and narrated by actor Steve Toussaint. This series also aired in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
each Sunday at 7:30pm from 15 February 2009.
The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's "Continents" strand. It was preceded by Europe: A Natural History
Europe: A Natural History
Europe: A Natural History is a four-part BBC nature documentary series which looks at the events which have shaped the natural history and wildlife of the European continent over the past three billion years. It debuted on UK television on BBC Four in February 2005, and was repeated on BBC Two in...
in 2005 and followed by Wild China
Wild China
Wild China is a six-part nature documentary series on the natural history of China, co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and China Central Television and filmed entirely in high-definition . It was screened in the UK on BBC Two from 11 May to 5 June 2008...
in 2008.
1. "Treasure Islands"
- UK broadcast 16 January 2007
The first episode gives an overview of the variety of the Caribbean’s natural history, revealing the hidden wild side of the islands. Spotted
Spotted Dolphin
Spotted dolphin refers to either one of two closely related dolphin species, being:* Atlantic spotted dolphin, Stenella frontalis* pantropical spotted dolphin, Stenella attenuata...
and bottlenose dolphin
Bottlenose Dolphin
Bottlenose dolphins, the genus Tursiops, are the most common and well-known members of the family Delphinidae, the family of oceanic dolphins. Recent molecular studies show the genus contains two species, the common bottlenose dolphin and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin , instead of one...
s cruise the shallow sand banks around the Bahamas. The mangrove forests of Barbuda
Barbuda
Barbuda is an island in the Eastern Caribbean, and forms part of the state of Antigua and Barbuda. It has a population of about 1,500, most of whom live in the town of Codrington.-Location:...
’s shallow lagoons provide ideal nest sites for the Caribbean’s largest colony of frigatebird
Magnificent Frigatebird
The Magnificent Frigatebird was sometimes previously known as Man O'War, reflecting its rakish lines, speed, and aerial piracy of other birds....
s. The birds are filmed jostling over the best locations and collecting floating sticks on the wing. The nearby islands of St Lucia, St Vincent
Saint Vincent (island)
Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
and Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
have a different character. The thickly forested slopes of their volcanic mountains harbour rare hummingbird
Hummingbird
Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 7.5–13 cm range. Indeed, the smallest extant bird species is a hummingbird, the 5-cm Bee Hummingbird. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings...
s and parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s. Their fertile soils also attract people, but scenes of the Montserrat eruptions of recent years show the threat they live with. The deep waters off Dominica are breeding grounds for sperm whales, filmed engaging in tactile social behaviour at the surface. Caves are a feature of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
’s limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
geology, and provide homes for millions of bats as well as Cuban boas and secretive hutia
Hutia
Hutias are moderately large cavy-like rodents of the family Capromyidae that inhabit the Caribbean Islands. They range in size from , and can weigh up to . Twenty species of hutia have been identified, and half may be extinct. They resemble the nutria in some respects...
s, the latter filmed for the first time in the wild. The southerly ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao), swept by dry trade wind
Trade wind
The trade winds are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics, within the lower portion of the Earth's atmosphere, in the lower section of the troposphere near the Earth's equator...
s, are virtual deserts. Every year, 20,000 Caribbean flamingo
Caribbean Flamingo
The American Flamingo is a large species of flamingo closely related to the Greater Flamingo and Chilean Flamingo. It was formerly considered conspecific with the Greater Flamingo, but that treatment is now widely viewed as incorrect due to a lack of evidence...
s arrive to breed on their salt pan
Dry lake
Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...
s. The clear waters around Bonaire have the greatest variety of reef fish anywhere in the Caribbean. The final island to be featured is Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, cut off from South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
by rising sea levels 2,000 years ago. Its island fauna include many mainland species such as red howler monkey
Guyanan Red Howler
The Guyanan red howler is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, native to Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad, French Guiana and Brazil....
s, capuchins and scarlet ibis
Scarlet Ibis
The Scarlet Ibis is a species of ibis that inhabits tropical South America and also Trinidad and Tobago. It is the national bird of Trinidad and is featured on the Trinidad and Tobago coat of arms along with Tobago's national bird, the Rufous-vented Chachalaca.-Taxonomy:This species is very...
.
2. "Reefs and Wrecks"
- UK broadcast 23 January 2007
Coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s, which thrive in the warm, shallow waters around Caribbean Islands, are the subject of the second programme. Hard corals are the reef-builders, and grow their tough external skeletons by extracting nutrients from algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
growing within them. Time-lapse
Time-lapse
Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby the frequency at which film frames are captured is much lower than that which will be used to play the sequence back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and thus lapsing...
footage shows coral polyps emerging at night to trap drifting plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
. Marine life featured includes Caribbean reef squid
Caribbean Reef Squid
The Caribbean Reef Squid , also known as just the Reef Squid, is a small torpedo-shaped squid with fins that extend nearly the entire length of the body and undulate rapidly as it swims...
, octopus
Octopus
The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms...
and blue tang
Acanthurus coeruleus
Acanthurus coeruleus is a surgeonfish found commonly in the Atlantic Ocean.- Description :...
s. At Silver Bank
Silver Bank
Silver Bank is an area in the Atlantic Ocean north of the Dominican Republic and southeast of the Territory of Turks & Caicos. It covers an area of 1680 km² . It is separated from Mouchoir Bank in the west by Silver Bank Passage, and from Navidad Bank in the east by Navidad Bank Passage...
, a coral outcrop north of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, up to 3,000 humpback whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
s pass through annually. The shallow reefs are an ever-present threat to ships, but each sunken wreck provides a perfect habitat for a new reef to grow. Nurse shark
Nurse shark
The nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, sometimes referred to as the Nur Shark is a shark in the nurse sharks family, the only member of its genus Ginglymostoma...
s take advantage of the shelter, and sergeant major
Sergeant Major (fish)
The Sergeant Major or píntano is a large, colourful damselfish. It earns its name from its brightly striped sides, which are reminiscent of the insignia of a military Sergeant Major...
s lay their eggs directly on the wreck. Around the mountainous islands, reefs plunge into the deep ocean at drop-offs. A wreck 200m down harbours deep sea life forms including sea lilies and rusticle
Rusticle
A rusticle is a formation of rust similar to an icicle or stalactite in appearance that occurs underwater when wrought iron oxidizes. They may be familiar from underwater photographs of shipwrecks....
s, formed as bacteria and fungi eat the steel hull itself. Stretching for 180 miles off the coast of Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, the Caribbean barrier reef
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System
The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System stretches over 1000 km from Isla Contoy at the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula down to the Bay Islands of Honduras...
is the second largest coral structure on Earth, and home to an abundance of life. By day, large creatures such as loggerhead turtles and the rare Antillean manatee
West Indian Manatee
The West Indian Manatee is a manatee, and the largest surviving member of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia . The West Indian Manatee, Trichechus manatus, is a species distinct from the Amazonian Manatee, T. inunguis, and the West African Manatee, T. senegalensis...
s browse peacefully, but at night, tarpon
Tarpon
Tarpons are large fish of the genus Megalops. There are two species of Megalops, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.They are the only members of the family Megalopidae.- Species and habitats :...
and other predators emerge to hunt. The final scenes show the annual gathering of snapper
Lutjanidae
Snappers are a family of perciform fish, mainly marine but with some members inhabiting estuaries, feeding in freshwater. Some are important food fish. One of the best known is the red snapper....
s, triggered by a full moon. As they rise to the surface and release clouds of milt and eggs, whale shark
Whale shark
The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow-moving filter feeding shark, the largest extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of and a weight of more than , but unconfirmed claims report considerably larger whale sharks...
s move in to take advantage of the sudden feast.
3. "Hurricane Hell"
- UK broadcast 30 January 2007
Around six hurricane-strength storms strike the Caribbean between June and November each year. This episode examines their impact on people and wildlife. Hurricane winds generate destructive waves which can cause catastrophic damage to offshore reefs. Some corals are tough enough to withstand the buffeting, but other are ripped up. However, providing they come to rest in a suitable location, even broken fragments can regenerate. Storm surge
Storm surge
A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...
s cause widespread damage to coastal developments and beaches, and sea turtle
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
s are particularly vulnerable. Four-fifths of the green turtle hatchlings on Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman is the largest of the three Cayman Islands and the location of the nation's capital, George Town. In relation to the other two Cayman Islands, it is approximately 75 miles southwest of Little Cayman and 90 miles southwest of Cayman Brac.-Geography:Grand Cayman encompasses 76% of...
were lost when Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan
Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde-type hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlantic hurricane season...
struck in 2004. Low-lying islands can be completely inundated by storm surges. The brown anole
Brown Anole
The Brown Anole is a lizard native to Cuba and the Bahamas. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, and is now found in Florida and as far north as southern Georgia, Texas, Taiwan, Hawaii, Southern California, and other Caribbean islands.This species is highly invasive...
s of The Bahamas may well drown, but their eggs can survive submersion for six hours. Coastal mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s provide an important natural buffer against hurricanes. Further inland, the plants and animals of the tropical forests have evolved strategies to survive hurricanes. Tabonuco trees fuse their roots together to form a solid anchor, and hummingbirds move to unaffected parts of the forest. A single extreme event can be devastating for species with a restricted range. In 1989, Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
decimated the Puerto Rican parrot population, leaving only three breeding pairs. By contrast, green iguana
Green Iguana
The Green Iguana or Common Iguana is a large, arboreal herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana native to Central and South America...
s have used floating debris to colonise new islands, showing that resilience and adaptability are the key to survival. With climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
scientists predicting more frequent and intense hurricanes in future, the ability of the Caribbean wildlife to survive and recover from them will be severely tested.
4. "Secret Shores"
- UK broadcast 6 February 2007
The final instalment takes the form of a journey along the Caribbean shore of Central America, which runs for 1700 miles from Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. The Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
is 25m above sea level and relies on outflow from rivers in the surrounding rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
to maintain the water level. Wildlife along the banks includes capybara
Capybara
The capybara , also known as capivara in Portuguese, and capibara, chigüire in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador ronsoco in Peru, chigüiro, and carpincho in Spanish, is the largest living rodent in the world. Its closest relatives are agouti, chinchillas, coyphillas, and guinea pigs...
, coati
Coati
Coatis, genera Nasua and Nasuella, also known as the Brazilian aardvark, Mexican tejón, hog-nosed coon, pizotes, crackoons and snookum bears, are members of the raccoon family . They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, and south-western North America...
s and spider monkey
Spider monkey
Spider monkeys of the genus Ateles are New World monkeys in the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil...
s. The Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro Archipelago
The Bocas del Toro Archipelago is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea in northwest Panama. The archipelago separates Bahía Almirante and Laguna de Chiriquí from the open Caribbean Sea. The archipelago is located in the Bocas del Toro District of Bocas del Toro Province. The major city is Bocas...
islands now lie a few miles off the coast of Panama, but were once part of the mainland. The mantled howler
Mantled Howler
The mantled howler , or golden-mantled howling monkey, is a species of howler monkey, a type of New World monkey, from Central and South America. It is one of the monkey species most often seen and heard in the wild in Central America...
monkey is a mainland species stranded by the rising sea level. Others such as poison dart frog
Poison dart frog
Poison dart frog is the common name of a group of frogs in the family Dendrobatidae which are native to Central and South America. These species are diurnal and often have brightly-colored bodies...
s are evolving into new forms, or adapting their behaviour; three-toed sloth
Three-toed sloth
The three-toed sloths are tree-living mammals from South and Central America. They are the only members of the genus Bradypus and the family Bradypodidae. There are four living species of three-toed sloths...
s have evolved to eat mangrove leaves and even swim between trees. Further north, coastal mangrove swamps are rich hunting grounds for two different creatures: white-faced capuchins are shown cracking open clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
shells and Utila spiny-tailed iguanas catch fiddler crab
Fiddler crab
A fiddler crab, sometimes known as a calling crab, may be any of approximately 100 species of semi-terrestrial marine crabs which make up the genus Uca. As members of the family Ocypodidae, fiddler crabs are most closely related to the ghost crabs of the genus Ocypode. This entire group is composed...
s. Plankton blooms in the deep waters around the Bay Islands triggers a food chain. Whale sharks suck in mouthfuls of baitfish, and bonito
Bonito
Bonito is a name given to various species of medium-sized, predatory fish in the Scombridae family. First, bonito most commonly refers to species in the genus Sarda, including the Atlantic bonito and the Pacific bonito ; second, in Japanese cuisine, bonito refers to the skipjack tuna , which, in...
s join the feast. Mexico’s limestone Yucatan peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
is riddled with flooded cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
s, home to strange creatures including remipedes and isopods. Offshore, Terneffe is one of many coral atolls. Rare American crocodile
American Crocodile
The American crocodile is a species of crocodilian found in the Neotropics. It is the most widespread of the four extant species of crocodiles from the Americas. Populations occur from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of southern Mexico to South America as far as Peru and Venezuela. It also lives...
s hatch in its sheltered mangroves, and magnificent frigatebirds mob red-footed boobies
Red-footed Booby
The Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. As suggested by the name, adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings...
as they return to feed their chicks, forcing them to regurgitate their catch in mid air. The programme also features the indigenous Kuna
Kuna (people)
Kuna or Cuna is the name of an indigenous people of Panama and Colombia. The spelling Kuna is currently preferred. In the Kuna language, the name is Dule or Tule, meaning "people," and the name of the language in Kuna is Dulegaya, meaning "Kuna language" - Location :The Kuna live in three...
people of the San Blas Islands
San Blas Islands
The San Blas Islands of Panama is an archipelago comprising approximately 378 islands and cays, of which only 49 are inhabited. They lay off the north coast of the Isthmus, east of the Panama Canal...
, and the Miskitos of Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
.
Merchandise
A DVD, soundtrack CD and book were released to accompany the TV series:- A Region 2DVD region codeDVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
, 2-disc DVD set (BBCDVD1998) featuring all four full-length episodes was released on 5 February 2007. The DVD includes a bonus 30 minute documentary, Wildlife on One: Iguanas. A Region 4DVD region codeDVD region codes are a digital-rights management technique designed to allow film distributors to control aspects of a release, including content, release date, and price, according to the region...
version was also released by ABC DVD/Village Roadshow on 1 March 2009.
- The original score by David Lowe was released on 29 January 2007 as a soundtrack CD, Wild Caribbean, on the EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
label.
- The accompanying paperback book, Wild Caribbean: The Hidden Wonders of the World's Most Famous Islands by Michael Bright, was published by BBC Books on 4 January 2007 (ISBN 0-563-49383-6).