Life on Our Planet · S1 · E2
Chapter 2: The First Frontier
For billions of years, land on Earth was uninhabitable. But in the seas, predation allowed species to thrive before — and after — two mass extinctions.
About this episode
For billions of years, land on Earth was uninhabitable. But in the seas, predation allowed species to thrive before — and after — two mass extinctions.
Season 1
1Chapter 1: The Rules of Life
43 minOct 25, 2023★ 8.0
Evolution. Competition. Mass extinction. Three fundamental rules have driven the rise and fall of life on Earth for over four billion years.
2Chapter 2: The First Frontier
54 minOct 25, 2023Now viewing
For billions of years, land on Earth was uninhabitable. But in the seas, predation allowed species to thrive before — and after — two mass extinctions.
3Chapter 3: Invaders of the Land
57 minOct 25, 2023
Sprawling moss, towering trees, flying insects, limbed amphibians: Early species vied for domination as the land went from hostile to hospitable.
4Chapter 4: In Cold Blood
55 minOct 25, 2023
After Earth's third mass extinction, mammals' surviving ancestors ruled the supercontinent Pangea. But lizards soon ushered in the age of reptiles.
5Chapter 5: In the Shadow of Giants
51 minOct 25, 2023
The formation of continents with varied environments allowed for an explosion of biodiversity — and turbo-charged the evolution of mighty dinosaurs.
6Chapter 6: Out of the Ashes
53 minOct 25, 2023
The dinosaurs met their end with a cataclysmic asteroid impact. Rising from the ashes, birds reinvented themselves into a dynasty 10,000 species strong.
7Chapter 7: Inheriting the Earth
52 minOct 25, 2023
Emerging from the dinosaurs' shadows, mammals went from underdogs to global power, with game-changing adaptations that would conquer land, air and sea.
8Chapter 8: Age of Ice and Fire
50 minOct 25, 2023
As the Ice Age thawed, humans rose above the rest. But the possibility of a sixth mass extinction now looms: Has our ingenuity caused our downfall?