Planet Earth II: 6 of the show's greatest moments

In the way that it’s aquatic sister show Blue Planet II was one of the TV highlights of last year, so Planet Earth II was one of 2016’s shining lights. Coming courtesy of the esteemed BBC Natural History Unit, the series is blessed with both a phenomenal Hans Zimmer score and another masterclass in narration from Sir David Attenborough.

Planet Earth II offered us a fascinating and informative look at the natural world, with every second captured in sumptuous ultra-HD. The team snapped various seldom seen moments from across the globe and in the process managed to once again raise the bar for all nature documentaries that will follow it.

It may be some time before we see another follow up series, so it’s a welcome relief to see that the show is now available on Netflix to be binged in all its HD glory. With that in mind, and with honourable mentions to the slowly swimming sloth, the warring komodo dragons and the kickboxing frog parent, here are Planet Earth II’s greatest moments:

Snakes vs iguanas

In the interests of full disclosure, I should confess from the start to having something of a phobia of snakes. As a result of this, my opinion on this sequence is undeniably slightly skewed. However I feel I am safe to assert that this moment was the most tense and terrifying encounter ever captured in a nature documentary.

The sight of young marine-faring iguanas trying to make their way down a beach while being hunted by a seemingly never-ending onslaught of racer snakes is nail-biting stuff. The snakes lurk in every crevice and crack, showing stealth and speed as they prey upon the desperate iguanas. The fate of those who get caught is utterly horrifying, but the fact that any of them survived at all appears to be a minor miracle.

Dancing bears

While most other entries on this list are rather violent, battle-for-survival type affairs, this is one entry that earns its place simply by virtue of being so pleasantly heart-warming. High up in the Rocky Mountains, the Planet Earth team spotted grizzly bears fervently rubbing themselves against nearby trees in order to relieve their urge to itch. It’s a captivating enough spectacle in the first place seeing these huge beasts shimmy and shake, but set it to “Jungle Boogie” and it becomes strangely hypnotic.

Baby ibex cliff escape

In defiance of gravity and all logic, the Nubian ibex have taken to living on some ludicrously steep cliff faces. When their young need to drink however, they must make their way down to flat ground, despite still having perilously unsure footing.

It’s drama enough watching them try to make it down to flat land leaping from tiny foothold to tiny foothold. However, the drama is ramped up considerably when a hungry fox appears on the scene. The young ibex are then forced to engage in a breathtaking display of athletic rock climbing in order to make their escape back up the cliff face.

Caiman vs Jaguar

While many of the clashes we see on Planet Earth are a case of predator versus prey, here it was simply two deadly predators thrashing it out. The confident jaguar pounced on it’s target from the trees, leaping into the river to take on its deadly foe. The unsuspecting caiman ultimately couldn’t compete with the sheer overwhelming power of the jaguar. This particular fight ended with the cat crushing the skull of its target and dragging it off into the trees.

As if this battle wasn’t gripping enough however, the scene was made even better thanks to shots of a shocked nearby capybara watching on in disbelief.

Giraffe chase

The stand out moment from the show’s fourth episode “Deserts” was this incredible sequence which captured a pride of lions attempting to take down a fully-grown giraffe at full charge. The huge mammal is a far larger target than their usual prey, but it was an unavoidable act of desperation on the part of the pride.

The hungry lions took a huge risk and at one stage it looked like it might just pay off. However at the last moment, the giraffe shrugged off their attacks and gracefully galloped off into the sunset.

Mumbai street leopards

The final episode of the series dealt with wildlife that has blossomed in close proximity to our cities. While the pickpocketing monkeys were a real highlight, it was the sight of several skulking leopards prowling the Mumbai streets by night that really caught the eye.

Captured in eerie night-vision which heightened the tension perfectly, these huge predators stalk the backstreets of this huge city, with the human inhabitants seemingly unaware of their presence. Watching their deadly hunt unfold from afar is an incredible and unexpected sight to witness.

Read More:

Revisiting the best moments from Blue Planet II
The best comedy shows returning to Netflix in 2018
6 Netflix Originals to look forward to in 2018