The Galapagos Islands. Some of the reptiles that live here are particularly skilful at solving the problems of getting their energy directly from sunshine. Marine iguanas face a major thermal challenge every morning of their lives. During the night their bodies cooled and now they must warm up quickly in order that they can become active and start feeding. These lizards on a small islet off the shores of Minorca in the Mediterranean get their heat from another and very unusual source. The lizards are primarily insect eaters but during the flowering season they also take nectar. A cold windswept island off the coast of South Africa is not the first place you would go to if you were looking for reptiles. But here on Dassen Island among penguins and seagulls there is one of the greatest concentrations of tortoises to be found anywhere on Earth.

In the waterways of Japan live the giant salamander, the biggest of all living amphibians that grows to a metre or more in length. It too has lungs and breathes air but even so it almost never leaves the water. In North America in the eastern half of the country there are many kinds of small salamanders only a few inches long that has taken one further step away from the aquatic life.

This is a very intelligent animal. It is observing me just as I am observing it. It's a monitor lizard and its king of this country the Australian outback. Jacky dragons has its own territory and warns others to keep out. Chameleons are best known for their ability to change colour and that does help in camouflage. But actually they also use colour change as a way of communication and expressing their emotions. Malawi in central Africa may not have as many species of chameleon as Madagascar but it has one of the largest Mellers chameleon that can be 60 centimetres nearly two feet from nose to tail.

It seems that the ancestral snakes went through just such a process way back in geological history some 92 million years ago. So what did these very first snakes look like? Well the answer can be found in Asian jungles in American woodlands and gardens and even in flowerpots. In North America there is a snake that combines its great speed and extraordinary senses in a remarkable hunting strategy we are only just beginning to understand. A timber rattlesnake. To see of just how important scent can be to a snake I've come here to Carnac Island just off the coast of Western Australia. Its home to a large population of highly venomous tiger snakes.

The biggest of all reptiles alive today: the crocodiles, the turtles and the tortoises. A giant Galapagos tortoise and its climbed all the way up the flank of this great volcano and is here wandering around the rim of the crater. Tortoises being reptiles can't generate their own body heat internally as we do. Instead they must get it from their surroundings and these particular ones have come up here to warm themselves on the hot volcanic rocks among the jets of steam and sulphurous gas. They live longer than any other animal on Earth well over 120 years. They weigh up to a quarter of a tone and have shells over a metre across. Communication between alligators can be very subtle quiet but there are some occasions when they really want to make their meaning very unambiguously clear.

The gigantic python is feeding on a deer. It will take the python at least a week to completely digest this enormous meal but then it will not need to feed again for months or even a year.

Saltwater crocodile can grow to a length of 20 feet six metres and weigh a tone.

Crocodiles are among the most ancient of reptiles. Their ancestors appeared at about the same time as the dinosaurs.

Tyrannosaurus rex'head would have been 18 feet six metres above ground.
There are some 2200 different kinds of frogs and toads in the world today.

This is a shingle back or as it's called here in its home in Australia a sleepy lizard.

The flowerpot snake and it's completely blind. It doesn't need to see because it spends all its life underground.

The king snake pretends to be venomous when its not.

Tortoises are one of the few animals here that can actually dig.

Gopher tortoises may seem to be unassuming creatures but their engineering skills are essential for the survival of the whole ecosystem.

Marine turtles have altered their front legs really radically and turned them into oar-like flippers.

The tortoise is so well armoured it's in no danger from the snake.

Being cold-blooded brings considerable advantages to a crocodile.

The most impressive of sounds of all come from the American alligator.

As well as birds there are amphibious rodent's capybara and spectacled caiman.

Life in Cold Blood movie series online | The Cold Blooded Truth movie - The penguins and other birds thanks to their warm blood are active no matter how cold it is but the tortoises have to wait for the day to warm up before they can get about their business. This particular species is called the regal horned lizard because it has this splendid crown of spikes at the back of his neck. A leopard gecko. It like most geckos is nocturnal and it manages to get all the heat it needs from the rocks which retain something of their warmth for several hours after the sun has set. It's the temperature which has determined that. If it had been a few degrees lower both eggs would have developed into females. Crocodiles have their sex determined by temperature in a similar way. The South American waxy monkey frog is exceptional. Its one of the few that can tolerate direct sunshine for any length of time. And that is because it secretes a wax from glands on its neck. In the rainforests of Central America the air is heavy with moisture. So the poison arrow frogs can risk basking in the little patches of sunshine that dapple the forest floor and if they begin to dry out they can retreat into the leaf litter.


Life in Cold Blood movie series online | Land Invaders movie - The most numerous and successful of all amphibians however have kept their legs and developed them spectacularly. Some are walkers. Others are climbers. There are hoppers. There are even gliders who use the membranes on their feet like parachutes. If their skin is very moist we call these creatures frogs. The golden frog has a powerful poison in its skin so it can afford to be conspicuous. The South American red-eyed tree frog a close match for the leaves on which it habitually sits. The tiny poison-arrow frog is carrying his tadpole pig-a-back. A toad that can live in as parched a desert as this is impressive evidence of the versatility of the amphibians the way they can adapt their behavior and their anatomy to live so far away from water.




Life in Cold Blood movie series online | Dragons Of The Dry movie - Like all chameleons it catches its food with its tongue. It eats tiny flies. Grasshoppers are popular with normal-sized chameleons. The tongue contains a tapered rod encircled by muscle. As the muscle contracts the tongue shoots forward off the rod. The tip physically grasps the prey. And then longitudinal muscles contract to pull the tongue back onto its rod bringing the prey with it which may weigh half as much as the chameleon itself. The whole action in reality is completed in a second or so. The canopy of a tropical forest is full of food and lizards clamber around looking for it in many ways. Chameleons use their toes to grip the things and geckos use theirs to stick to leaves for their toes have adhesive pads on the ends. Most geckos feed on insects but some take nectar from flowers. And a few collect liquid from insects in much the same way as we take milk from cows. The Australian desert is also home to one of the most powerful of the family. Monitors are the kings of lizards. It can grow up to two metres long six feet and it's a highly intelligent animal. It has got very acute senses of sight and hearing and taste and smell. It can run continuously for a very long time.


Life in Cold Blood movie series online | Sophisticated Serpents movie - To prevent misunderstanding most venomous snakes warn other animals including human beings to keep out of their way. Some snakes do that with sound. Others such as cobras give a visual signal by expanding the skin around their heads to form a conspicuous hood. The threat of a bite is far better defense for a snake than the bite itself. The most formidable the king cobra. Highly venomous and about four metres 14 feet long. Disputes between rival male king cobras are potentially very dangerous indeed for this species specializes in eating other kinds of snakes. The marshes of northern Argentina home to one of the largest of live-bearing snakes the anaconda. The anaconda spends so much of its time in water and is such a powerful swimmer that it can be properly considered aquatic.


Life in Cold Blood movie series online | Armoured Giants movie - A tortoises shell is so familiar to us it's easy to forget what an extraordinary construction it is. But how did it originate? Nearly all reptiles are covered in scales and so were the tortoise's ancestors. But then as they evolved a radical change took place. The ribs expanded outwards so that they enclosed the hip and the shoulder joints. They enlarged and fused with other bones beneath the skin. They widened and eventually they joined together to form a bony box. And the basic armour was complete. It was over 200 million years ago that the first turtles took to the water. But they were not alone. Another group of reptiles were also making the same move and they too were armoured giants. Crocodilians like turtles and tortoises has barely changed since the time of the dinosaurs. Today crocodile's caiman and alligators live in tropical waters throughout the world. Crocodiles and tortoises are obviously very different but they do have one thing in common. Armour.