NOVA
Season 27 Episode 4 - Island of the Spirits
In the far north of Japan, thrust out into the north Pacific, is the remote island of Hokkaido. It's a land of towering volcanoes and steaming lakes, marshy valleys and fairy tale forests. Among this magical scenery, where summers are brief and winters are fierce, lives an extraordinary spectrum of life, found nowhere else in Japan. Here among the coastal lowlands, grizzly bears plunge into icy streams for salmon, Japanese cranes perform balletic courtship dances to one another, the rare and enormous Blakistons fish owl swoops on flying squirrels, and white-tailed eagles scan the rugged ocean cliffs for unsuspecting seabirds. HIgh on the mountains Asiatic pikas, arctic hares and Siberian chipmunks gather food, ever-watchful for the predatory sable. We think of Japan as a highly-populated, ultra modern society, and yet it remains a highly spiritual place where wildlife is treasured and carefully protected. Weaving Ainu legend with fascinating natural behavior, this film will follow the lives of Hokkaido's special creatures through the seasons, to capture the true essence and beauty of this other-worldly place.
Episodes in Season 27
Fall of the Leaning Tower
55 min
Time Travel
55 min
The Killer's Trail
55 min
Island of the Spirits
55 min
Decoding Nazi Secrets
55 min
Voyage of Doom
55 min
Electric Heart
55 min
Tales from the Hive
55 min
Lost on Everest
55 min
Secrets of Lost Empires: Medieval Siege (1)
55 min
Diamond Deception
55 min
Secrets of Lost Empires: Pharaoh's Obelisk (2)
55 min
Trillion Dollar Bet
55 min
Secrets of Lost Empires: Easter Island (3)
55 min
Mystery of the First Americans
55 min
Secrets of Lost Empires: Roman Bath (4)
55 min
Lost Tribes of Israel
55 min
Secrets of Lost Empires: China Bridge (5)
55 min
What's Up with the Weather?
55 min
Stationed in the Stars
55 min
The Vikings
55 min
