Episode Information

Whether it’s a powerful punch or a toxic touch, extreme endurance or stupendous speed – animals are built to survive. Evolution has tweaked their bodies and behaviors to make them into ultimate survival machines, with an array of hidden ingenious adaptations just waiting to be revealed.

In this exhilarating new series, which combines stunning natural history footage with the latest science, we explore the top 20 extraordinary abilities creatures have evolved to make it in the animal kingdom.

The usual suspects are explored - such as the cheetah, whose acceleration is greater than a Porsche 911. But we also discover species like the peacock mantis shrimp, which packs the greatest pound-for-pound punch in the animal kingdom, with its speedy jab reaching over 20 meters a second and producing as much force as a bullet. Plus the frog that secretes a painkiller 200x stronger than morphine and the spider that constructs sophisticated underwater breathing apparatus.

Each episode focuses on one category of adaptation, covering a diverse range of topics from measurable metrics to the weirdest and most extraordinary. That doesn’t just mean the fastest and strongest - we also delve into the most elaborate relationships and bizarre behaviors nature has to offer. For each of these categories we will feature our top 20 animal species.