If you’ve never heard of Katmai National Park’s Fat Bear Week, it’s your lucky day: Every year, the Alaskan nature preserve kicks off hibernation season with a March Madness–style bracket in which America votes for the fattest, cutest brown bear in the park, before all the bears trundle off for their annual slumber. Each glamorous contestant is photographed twice throughout the year: a lithe “before” picture in early summer, shortly after emerging from hibernation, and then a chunky “after” picture in September. In the time between, these already floofy Alaskan brown bears will bulk up by 30-50% to survive winter months in their dens. Be careful — they might look delightfully squeezable, but they’re still some of the deadliest predators around!
For more glimpses of some of Earth’s sweetest, fiercest creatures, check out these visually stunning nature documentaries that will remind you not to get any closer than the TV screen.
This two-season docuseries captures never-before-seen footage of the planet’s most astonishing creatures, offering rare glimpses into how animals form communities. The bears episode in Season 2 showcases how this massive predator is a lot smarter than it’s given credit for — after all, it takes brains and brawn to rule the world’s more hostile environments. The docuseries is narrated by Bryan Cranston, Rashida Jones, Anthony Mackie, Rebel Wilson, Andy Serkis, David Harbour, Uzo Aduba, and Pedro Pascal.
Samira Wiley’s dulcet tones guide animal lovers on a journey most humans never get to see. Night on Earth uses high-tech cameras to capture some of the crispest, clearest footage of nocturnal animals in documentary history — for the first time, people get to see what animals truly do at night. From tree frogs in jungle nights to bear cubs in subzero temperatures, Night on Earth is an adventure you can’t miss.
Our Planet is narrated by the undisputed king of nature docs, David Attenborough. While Season 1 focuses more on the ecosystems of different environments — jungles, grasslands, oceans — Our Planet II focuses on the natural cycles of change. Polar bears are featured in Season 2’s migration episode (”World on the Move”) as well as the “Frozen Worlds” episode in Season 1.
This six-part series, narrated by Morgan Freeman, blends wildlife footage with near-magical, cosmic effects to tell the story of how everything in the natural world is connected. Hit play to get up close and personal with a cheetah sprinting across the Serengeti, penguins in the waters of the Southern Ocean, and, of course, an Alaskan brown bear guiding her cubs through their first experiences with the changing seasons.
Narrated by Tom Hardy, the docuseries Predators follows some of the deadliest animals in the world — cheetahs, lions, polar bears, and more — as they battle the elements, other predators, and each other to survive. The polar bears of Canada’s Hudson Bay, in particular, highlight the damage humans have done to the planet and how climate change is forcing these beautiful animals to get creative in finding food sources.
