Victoria Stone

A Little Fish in Deep Water

Lake Tanganyika is an 'Ocean' in Africa. Millions of years ago it was colonized by a little fish called 'Cichlid'. Otters, crocodiles, cobras and cormorants all hunt the fish in clear water. How the Cichlid survived and evolved is an incredible story for, millions of years later, there are over 200 new species - all found only in Lake Tanganyika. Incredibly, they have evolved to look like coral reef fish. There are cichlid equivalents of tuna, snapper, gobies and goatfish. They have evolved bizarre methods of breeding with mouth-incubation, lekking and, unique amongst fish, there is even a cuckoo. Despite all their specialization over millions of years, if an opportunity presents itself, the little fish can behave like their unspecialized ancestor. In the climax of the film, they bang together to feast on a hatch of sardine fry. This is the story of how one little fish has conquered a lake.

Predators of the Wild: Cheetah and Leopard

Cheetah and Leopard... no animal can match the intensity of their power and grace. On the horizon, the next victim draws near, crouched in the grass, senses honed, an explosive rush, claws extend and then the final clamp of fangs in a jugular embrace. Discover what separates these predators from all others. The cheetah, the ultimate tactician, single minded in its abandon for the lightning-fast gazelle. And the leopard, an invincible opportunist lying in wait for the unwary. Both driven by pure instinct and the constant pressure to kill.