Learn more about mammals<\/a><\/li>

What is echolocation and which animals use it?<\/a><\/li>

Animal vision: how do animals see?<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mammals<\/em>\u00a0| Official preview trailer. Credit: BBC Earth<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-can-we-expect-from-episode-one-of-mammals\">What can we expect from episode one of Mammals<\/em>?<\/h3>More than two thirds of mammal species are creatures of the night. They have evolved in numerous ways to overcome a time we humans find particularly challenging.<br\/>\u00a0<br\/>At night, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/mammals\/leopard-facts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">leopard<\/a>\u2019s vision is so good it can hunt even under the darkest of skies, and a fennec fox\u2019s hearing is so precise it can detect prey hiding underground. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An Africa leopard is most active on the darkest of nights when its remarkable night vision gives it an advantage over its prey. Credit: Klein & Hubert, naturepl.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/mammals\/smallest-mammal-in-the-world\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Etruscan shrew<\/a>, the smallest terrestrial mammal in the world, has honed one of the most ancient senses of all to hunt in the undergrowth; using touch to pinpoint its prey. And an armadillo\u2019s nose is so sensitive, it uses it to communicate, detecting secret scented messages sent from other armadillos. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/03\/large-hairy-armadillo.jpg\" alt=\"Large hairy armadillo\" class=\"wp-image-97784\" style=\"width:839px;height:auto\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An abandoned farm building in Argentina is home to one of the most ancient of all mammals; the large hairy armadillo. BBC Studios<\/figcaption><\/figure>When mammals combine these remarkable senses, and work together as a team, they can achieve even more incredible feats in the darkness.<br\/>\u00a0<br\/>In Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, hyenas combine forces, hunting together at night, enabling them to overpower one of the largest and most dangerous animals in Africa \u2013 the Cape buffalo. And in the Kalahari Desert, Damaraland mole rats, one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/weird-animals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">strangest mammals<\/a> of all, use teamwork to overcome the challenge of a life underground, living in permanent darkness. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"508\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/03\/Fennec-fox-Mammals.jpg\" alt=\"Fennec fox\" class=\"wp-image-97780\" style=\"width:841px;height:auto\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The size of a Chihuahua, the fennec fox is the world’s smallest wild dog. Its huge ears give it a remarkable ability to hunt prey that often hides underground. Credit: BBC Studios\/Bruno D’Amicis<\/figcaption><\/figure>Perhaps the greatest night-time success story of all are bats, who have taken to the night sky with unparalleled success thanks to an ability verging on the supernatural. Off the coast of Trinidad, fishing bats use the power of echolocation to sense in the dark. The slightest of movements, such as a fish\u2019s fin breaking the surface, is all they need to start hunting.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/03\/Greater-bulldog-bats-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Greater bulldog bats\" class=\"wp-image-97787\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In Trinidad, greater bulldog bats are expert fishermen, raking the water surface to try and spear an unsuspecting fish. Credit: BBC Studios<\/figcaption><\/figure>But having evolved these incredible senses over millions of years, many mammals are having to adapt once more to cope with a new world dominated by light-loving humans. In recent years, one of America\u2019s most successful predators, the coyote, has taken to some of the busiest and biggest cities in the world where it forages and hunts at night. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1800\" height=\"1200\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/62\/2024\/03\/Coyote.jpg\" alt=\"Coyote\" class=\"wp-image-97786\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">After centuries of persecution, coyotes are now one of the most successful mammals across North America. Thanks to their adaptability they have recolonised all the lower 48 states and have even moved into the heart of America’s biggest cities. Credit: BBC Studios<\/figcaption><\/figure><h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When and where to watch episode one of Mammals<\/em><\/h3>The first episode of Mammals<\/em>\u00a0will air on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/bbcone\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">BBC One<\/a> and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/iplayer\/episode\/p0hhz1cn\/bbc-trailers-mammals\">BBC iPlayer<\/a> at\u00a07pm on Sunday 31\u00a0March. Episodes will be released weekly. <\/p>Find out more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/tv\/how-to-watch-the-television-series-mammals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mammals<\/a><\/em>.<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here’s what to expect from episode one of Sir David Attenborough’s incredible new wildlife series, Mammals <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":37192,"template":"","categories":[1,241],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/03\/mammals-episode-one-what-to-expect-from-the-dark-episode.jpg",1800,1200,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/03\/mammals-episode-one-what-to-expect-from-the-dark-episode-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/03\/mammals-episode-one-what-to-expect-from-the-dark-episode-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/03\/mammals-episode-one-what-to-expect-from-the-dark-episode-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/03\/mammals-episode-one-what-to-expect-from-the-dark-episode-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/03\/mammals-episode-one-what-to-expect-from-the-dark-episode-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2024\/03\/mammals-episode-one-what-to-expect-from-the-dark-episode.jpg",1800,1200,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Here's what to expect from episode one of Sir David Attenborough's incredible new wildlife series, Mammals","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/37191"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}