Absurd Planet

Aired 2020-04-22

Say hello to Mother Nature’s all-star cast of confounding beasts, featuring Madagascar’s own death-metal lizard: the satanic leaf-tailed gecko.

Aired 2020-04-22

Dive into an undersea world that's swimming with flirty amphibians, fishy friends, and sea-slug vacuums that keep things clean.

Aired 2020-04-22

Time to talk about the birds, the bees and all the other animals with strange mating rituals. When two scorpions make love, it’s anything but lovely.

Aired 2020-04-22

For Earth’s largest rodent, life’s a beach. For mayflies, it lasts only one day. What counts isn’t quantity, but quality — and occasional cannibalism.

Aired 2020-04-22

Bizarre dramas unfold in the world’s wet and wild oceans, including a leopard seal and a crustacean that team up to ruin an octopus's day.

Aired 2020-04-22

The miraculous Jesus Christ lizard and goo-spewing bombardier beetle stand out among nature’s oldest, fastest and just plain kookiest creatures.

Aired 2020-04-22

Take to the skies to discover amazing murmurations of starlings and adorably pudgy puffins. Don’t mind the flying snakes, those wingless weirdos.

Aired 2020-04-22

A butterfly that drinks turtle tears is just one of many organisms with unusual appetites and even odder methods of hunting and digesting their food.

Aired 2020-04-22

Get ready for a rumble in the jungle. Whether clawing, crashing or headbanging, animal gladiators like to fight if love or status is on the line.

Aired 2020-04-22

The parade of curiosities kicks off with a tiny lizard that fits on a fingertip and monkeys with huge noses. Some Hawaiian sand is fish poop — fact.

Aired 2020-04-22

Humans share a surprising number of traits with their critter kin, such as using tools, yawning, soaking in saunas and flipping real estate.

Aired 2020-04-22

Did you know goats speak in different regional dialects? Incredible facts about everyday animals lead to one conclusion: being different is awesome.