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S1 E1 Episode 1

Documentary

9+

50m

11 May 2008

In the area around the Cape of Good Hope Andreas Kieling finds opportunities both on land and under water to experience thrilling adventures in the pursuit of his profession. Again and again he places himself in situations which cause even the most experienced filmmakers to catch their breath. Accompanied by acknowledged experts, Andreas Kieling dives down into the kingdom of the shark. First, from the safety of a cage, he establishes eye to eye contact with the biggest predators of the ocean, the great white shark. But then he decides to go further and enjoy even closer contact with blacktip reef sharks as he searches for tiger sharks. His work on land is no less spectacular: in Shamwari Wildlife Reserve Andreas Kieling attempts to track down the most charismatic big cat on the African contact. And with great good fortune the wildlife filmmaker really does get extremely close to a shy female leopard. He is rewarded with staggering pictures of this beautiful, elegant creature. The coastal areas of South Africa, in all their breathtaking beauty, are famous for large colonies of sea lions and penguins. Andreas Kieling moves around freely in the middle of these animals and witnesses everyday life for the fascinating creatures: mating and building nests, bringing up the young and squabbling with neighbors. When Andreas Kieling undertakes a gripping expedition to the Arctic region of Canada, the contrast could hardly be greater. His aim on this occasion is to be present when mother polar bears and their cubs leave the caves where they have been hibernating for three months during the winter and undertake the tiring journey back to the pack ice region. The mothers have not eaten for over six months; they dig their caves in the fall, give birth to the cubs in the winter and then feed them from their own bodily reserves.

Season 1, 2 Episodes

Season 1 (2 Episodes)

Magic Encounters - Episode 1

In the area around the Cape of Good Hope Andreas Kieling finds opportunities both on land and under water to experience thrilling adventures in the pursuit of his profession. Again and again he places himself in situations which cause even the most experienced filmmakers to catch their breath. Accompanied by acknowledged experts, Andreas Kieling dives down into the kingdom of the shark. First, from the safety of a cage, he establishes eye to eye contact with the biggest predators of the ocean, the great white shark. But then he decides to go further and enjoy even closer contact with blacktip reef sharks as he searches for tiger sharks. His work on land is no less spectacular: in Shamwari Wildlife Reserve Andreas Kieling attempts to track down the most charismatic big cat on the African contact. And with great good fortune the wildlife filmmaker really does get extremely close to a shy female leopard. He is rewarded with staggering pictures of this beautiful, elegant creature. The coastal areas of South Africa, in all their breathtaking beauty, are famous for large colonies of sea lions and penguins. Andreas Kieling moves around freely in the middle of these animals and witnesses everyday life for the fascinating creatures: mating and building nests, bringing up the young and squabbling with neighbors. When Andreas Kieling undertakes a gripping expedition to the Arctic region of Canada, the contrast could hardly be greater. His aim on this occasion is to be present when mother polar bears and their cubs leave the caves where they have been hibernating for three months during the winter and undertake the tiring journey back to the pack ice region. The mothers have not eaten for over six months; they dig their caves in the fall, give birth to the cubs in the winter and then feed them from their own bodily reserves.

Magic Encounters - Episode 2

In this, Part 2 of the series, Kieling again travels to exotic countries. This time he is searching for the last example of various species in Indonesia, Canada and Rwanda. No other creature on earth is more reminiscent of a fabled being than the Komodo dragon. This giant lizard, whose family dates back to prehistoric times, can be up to 3 meters in length. Today these creatures are only found on Komodo and the surrounding smaller islands. And astonishingly enough, although one might think the creature is quite unmistakable, it was not discovered by the Western world until the year 1909 when a Dutch officer spotted one on the island of Komodo. Horror stories about man-eating monsters told by the natives of some Sunda Islands serve to draw attention to the huge reptile. It is certainly true that there are fatal encounters, even though human beings are not generally on the Komodo dragon’s list of favorite foods. One bite can lead to death, since the saliva of the monster lizard is highly infectious. In fact, this is how it kills its prey: goats, pigs, deer and even buffalo. Far away from the usual tourist paths, Andreas Kieling seeks an encounter with the dangerous reptile. Whether this involves wandering along remote beaches or venturing into the dense jungles, it will definitely require all his courage and detective skills to get close to the powerful Komodo dragon. Up to now very few people have heard of the existence of the blue bear, and even fewer have ever seen the creature. Finding one is the next task that Andreas Kieling has set himself - and it is a huge challenge, because searching for this, the rarest bear on our planet, in the huge, impenetrable forests and snow-covered glacial world of British Columbia in Canada, really is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. It is thought that only a hundred blue bears live here. For many thousand years they lived in isolation from their relatives, the black bears.

Details

Magic Encounters

Documentary

9+

1 Season

50m

Encounters of a very special kind are the hallmark of this documentary by the famous German wildlife filmmaker Andreas Kieling. He travels to the most remote regions of our planet in search of particularly fascinating creatures. He has the ability to amaze viewers on a regular basis by establishing close contact with the most charismatic creatures in jungles, deserts and a variety of underwater worlds, observing them in their natural surroundings and capturing their essence in unforgettable pictures. As a rule these are creatures which also attract our attention because of a rather menacing fact: they are among the last of their species and are in acute danger of becoming extinct. But there is some good news as well: due to intensive conservation measures, especially in Europe and North America, a number of species which were on the brink of extinction have increased their population numbers again, such as the steppes bison or the shy black stork in Germany. And Andreas Kieling also set off to track them down.

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