The last episode of the series showcases Africa, home to the greatest wildlife gatherings on earth and vast ecosystems. It delves into the lives of intelligent chimpanzees using tools in Ivory Coast, and the diverse cichlid fish in the Great Rift Valley's lakes. The film also explores the survival strategies of animals in the Namib Desert, including the brown hyena and the aardvark.
But even in this land of plenty, wildlife faces huge challenges. Crucially, it is addressed the impact of climate change and human activities, highlighting the plight of endangered species like the northern white rhinoceros and the decreasing populations of elephants and cheetahs due to poaching. However, it also offers hope, illustrating successful conservation efforts like the recovery of the mountain gorilla population in Virunga National Park.
The documentary is a vivid reminder of the richness of African wildlife and the urgent need for conservation efforts to preserve our planet's biodiversity.

Virgilio Martínez is the chef/owner of Central, a restaurant in Lima, Peru that currently sits at number four on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. After a decade spent cooking in kitchens around the world, Martínez only found his true identity as a chef when he began exploring the different regions of his native Peru, from the ocean to the Andes. While some chefs are obsessed with a 'sense of place,' Martínez strives to offer his guests a sense of many places — entire ecosystems over the course of a tasting menu.
Martínez always had an adventurous spirit, but growing up in Peru during the 70s and ‘80s meant that many parts of the country were closed off to him. As a teenager, he learned that pursuing a career in the kitchen would allow him the freedom to travel all over the world. The chef ended in charge of a restaurant in Madrid. This is really where Virgilio started to develop his experimental style. Martínez decided to leave Spain to go and work on opening his own restaurant in Peru. He decided to explore the idea of cooking dishes based on altitudes and ecosystems. Martínez runs Central’s kitchen with his wife, Pia León. They developed the altitude-based menu concept together. Martínez’s sister, Malena, has a science background, so he brought her on as part of the team to explore different terrains in search of ingredients that they could use at the restaurant. Virgilio remarks: 'We use 180 ingredients, and 50 percent of them are unknown.' The altitude-themed tasting menu was introduced in 2012, and the following year, Central landed at the bottom of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Two years later, it soared to number four.

A group of brave individuals risk their lives to save the last of the world's mountain gorillas; in the midst of renewed civil war and a scramble for Congo's natural resources." Virunga National Park in the Congo is a place of unique natural beauty. It is the home to a plethora of wonderful animals and vegetation but as is so often the way, it has several serious problems that threaten it. It's the location of human violence, corruption and exploitation. The disasters that specifically loom are two different groups, the M23 and SOCO International. The former are a violent rebel force who engages in an ongoing civil war with the Congolese government and the latter are a British energy company who specialise in oil exploration. Both M23 and SOCO invade the park in their own ways and neither seems very interested in the laws that have been set up to protect the flora and fauna that exist there, far less the people who live there. It seems hardly surprising in the case of M23, as they are a paramilitary organisation who can hardly be expected to be concerned with such things but it is the more legitimate big business SOCO who seem more worrying if anything. We discover in fact that they have been involved in a bribery campaign, utilising M23 as enforcers. It's a very murky situation where big money walks all over an impoverished nation and disregards a natural space that they can see no value in in their pursuit of financial profit.

Water plants create some of the most beautiful, bizarre and important habitats on earth. To hold on in torrents, plants use a kind of superglue. Some are armed with vicious weapons to fight titanic battles for space. Others form perfect spheres and escape from animal enemies by rolling. Where nutrients are washed away, plants turn into hunters of animals, laying traps and even counting to ensure their success.
In this episode we explore those watery worlds with David Attenborough, from Croatia to Brazil, from Colombia to Thailand, the brilliantly coloured flowers smother lakes, and in one magical river in Brazil, the water bubbles like champagne as plants create the atmosphere itself.

Weather controls the distribution of freshwater on Earth. David Attenborough narrates how this uneven distribution has given rise to an incredible diversity of species and habits, from the driest desert to the lushest tropical rainforest. Featuring a colony of ants banding together into a raft every time its home in the Amazon floods, a rain frog that manages to eke out an existence in one of the world's driest habitats on Earth, and the last wild camels that survive the Gobi Desert's bitter winters by eating snow that blows in from Siberia.

This episode takes you on an enchanting journey through the vital waterways of Britain and Ireland. From the serene reed-beds of Somerset to the bustling ecosystems of Scotland's lochs, the film unveils the intricate dance of life sustained by freshwater. Marvel at the agility of dragonflies and the aerial prowess of hobbies, witness the arduous journey of Atlantic salmon as they return to their birthplaces to spawn, and observe the fascinating life cycle of the mayfly. Discover the impact of reintroduced beavers in Scotland, creating new wetlands that buzz with life. The episode doesn't shy away from showcasing the challenges these ecosystems face, from climate change to pollution, emphasizing the delicate balance that sustains these vibrant freshwater habitats.
‘Freshwater’ is a mesmerizing ode to the streams, rivers, and lakes that are the lifeblood of the Britain and Ireland isles, supporting a diverse array of life in one of the planet's most beautiful settings.