Episode 9

Sir David Attenborough examines the mysteries behind some of nature's most fascinating creatures and plants.

The bodies of some animals stretch and shrink in extraordinary ways. The anaconda can swallow prey twice its own body size and then go for over a year without eating. The camel's curious hump can almost double in weight, giving it the energy to travel huge distances across deserts. What is the secret behind such expandable bodies?

The blue whale and the flamingo both have strange bodies determined by their diet. Blue whales grow enormous by feeding on tiny shrimp-like creatures, while flamingos spend their lives eating with their heads upside down. Both are oddities in their own groups and yet both are curiously similar.