BBC Earth: Life Story

An animal's first steps are the foundation upon which their future success depends.

On reaching adulthood animals strike out on their own to find their place in the world.

To survive, animals need somewhere to live. But finding and defending a home comes first.

To gain power an animal must find a way to rise through the ranks of its society.

It's time to win a mate and the stakes could not be higher.

Offspring are the next best thing to immortality. Parents take great risks to raise them.

Highlights showcasing the most spectacular stories from the series.

The Life Story team spent 1900 days filming the series, in 29 countries across six continents. They traveled a total of 1,850,798 miles - the equivalent of circling the globe 78 times.