<P> Behaviour seen for the first time included the sequence that was eventually selected to illustrate the series' DVD cover: that of a killer whale pouncing on a colony of sea lions on a Patagonian beach and' playing' with its young prey before consuming it . This meant some risks being taken by the cameramen, as they placed themselves in the water just feet away from the creatures in order to obtain close - ups of an attack run . </P> <P> "The savage, rocky shores of Christmas Island, 200 miles south of Java, in the Indian Ocean . It's November, the moon is in its third quarter, and the sun is just setting . And in a few hours from now, on this very shore, a thousand million lives will be launched ." </P> <P> Broadcast 3 October 1990, the first episode examines the various methods by which creatures come into the world . Attenborough's opening statement alludes to the annual spawning of the Christmas Island red crab, of which there are estimated to be some 120 million . The exercise is all the more hazardous since the species is a land crab, and the eggs have to be deposited in the sea--where the most ancient animals on the planet still live and breed . One of the most prolific aquatic egg producers is the giant clam, but some land animals also lay vast quantities, and the mantis is one example . In the Western United States, Attenborough observes a wasp that digs a burrow, conceals it, and stocks it with fresh caterpillars for her emerging young . The grubs of another start life inside caterpillars, and eat the unsuspecting hosts . The problems of larger animals are illustrated by snow geese in the Arctic, which have to defend their eggs from Arctic foxes . The process of embryonic growth inside the egg, from laying to hatching, is shown in detail . The malleefowl warms its eggs with rotting leaves, and Attenborough demonstrates the care with which it regulates them by adding sand to its mound--to have it kicked back in his (Attenborough's) face . The sea louse is a crustacean that commits suicide: its grubs consume so much of the mother's energies that she dies after birth . Mammals shown giving birth to fully formed young include wildebeest, antelope, sea lions and chinchillas . </P> <P> Broadcast 10 October 1990, this programme describes the ways that various species care for their young . Attenborough defines childhood as achieving two tasks: growing and surviving . He highlights the elephant seal as an animal that experiences a compressed childhood, being abandoned after three weeks and left for up to another eight alone, while it becomes large enough to be able to swim . For terns, there is safety in numbers as the dense population works together to drive out marauding gulls . The snow geese in the Russian Arctic show intense devotion as they escort their goslings by foot to the coast some 50 kilometres away . Scorpions carry their young on their backs, while a shrew will leave hers under a stone while she goes to feed . The eider duck is one creature that shares responsibility for its offspring: females regularly supervise the ducklings of others in a group . The mara is another that uses a crèche system, as does the bat, whose nurseries can be up to a million strong . The Florida scrub jay has a complex system of raising young known as cooperative breeding, where young stay on as helpers at the nest of their parents . Such behaviour is exhibited on a larger scale by elephants, where all females take an interest in raising a single calf . A chimpanzee's childhood is socially complicated, as an individual must learn how to behave towards others, as well as master the use of tools . Albatrosses must be accomplished fliers as soon as possible--chicks are shown being hunted by tiger sharks . </P>

The trials of life episode 10 talking to strangers