7 Best Nature Documentaries Students Can Learn From

Peeking into the day-to-day lives of wild animals can be a sight to behold. Documentaries help you understand the whole aspect of nature from the comfort of your room. From these documentaries, you can better understand how elephants mourn their loved ones, the lions’ family unit, or the hunting habits of a cheetah.

You can experience an educative session on whatever thrills you about the wild and nature. Documentary films can help you acquire knowledge that sometimes is not taught in class. Therefore, these films can be the best form of edutainment for students. Here are some documentaries you’ll learn a lot from and get entertained.

Racing Extinction (2015)

Fish

The documentary digs deep into the frustrating effects of climate change on the oceans globally. Human activities such as energy consumption are feared to be the leading cause of the extinction of various aquatic life. The director of the film urges viewers to take care of the environment in a bid to protect marine species. Films that explore such themes can help you develop ideas and topics for your research paper without hiring an essay writing helper.

March of the Penguins (2005)

March of the penguins is one of the most captivating documentaries that invoke the viewers’ emotions and offers a great learning experience. The narrator takes viewers on a journey of how penguins survive in the harshest weather conditions. First, they trudge through unforgivable conditions to find a breeding spot far from the sea. And that is just the start of a tumultuous dependent relationship where the male guards the eggs while the female sets out to look for food. This documentary is available if you want a glimpse of the penguins’ family unit.

Animals Are Beautiful People (1974)

Animals Are Beautiful People is a classic film directed by Jamy Uys, who was behind “The Gods Must Be Crazy.” The definitive documentary film gives the viewers a humorous insight into the lives of the animals in South Africa while relating their behaviors to that of human beings. The documentary highlights the antics of diverse animals, including zebras, giraffes, warthogs, baboons, and much more.

The Last Lions (2011)

The Last Lions documentary brings to light the struggles that animals face. The emotionally gripping film awakens the viewers to the fact that animals face anxieties and trials through the story of a lioness named Ma Di Tau. The lioness is hell-bent on guarding her family despite the harsh conditions in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. The narrator brings out the tribulations of the lion population, which has been dropping significantly.

The Cove (2009)

Director Louie Psihoyos reveals the cruelty Dolphins are facing in Taiji, Japan. The species is on the verge of extinction since the dolphins are hunted and sold for profit. As expected, there was an outburst from animal activists globally after the documentary was released. Moreover, the Japanese Fishing Community was criticized for ignoring the cruelties perpetrated against the dolphins. The painful horrors faced by dolphins in the hands of human beings, as brought out in this film, aimed to elicit a reaction from the viewers.

Planet Earth 2006

The Planet Earth documentary is recognized as the most expensive nature documentary produced by BBC. The documentary is a series of eleven episodes focusing on the issue of flora and fauna on various global terrains. It gives insight into how animals are affected by the harsh weather conditions caused by global warming.

If you are studying a course related to ecology or environmental science, then there is a lot to learn from this documentary. The episodes are interesting because they cover different terrains, from forests to deserts and caves. It can make you a good writer of ecology papers.

Seaspiracy (2021)

Shark

In Seaspiracy, director Ali Tabrizi sets out to uncover the beauty that lies under the sea, but to his dismay, he finds out that the global fish industry is destructive. He reveals how humans kill marine life through ancient hunting and water pollution. In addition, the disposal of plastics and other non-biodegradable waste into the sea is slowly harming marine life.

The Seaspiracy documentary is another educative series that discusses the harmful effects of water pollution. So if your lecture notes on water pollution leave you yearning to know more, this film will sort you out.

Closing Remarks

Documentary films have brought out some of the most insightful information about nature and wildlife. Students can broaden their knowledge through some of these documentaries, especially when it comes to environmental conservation. Therefore, if you want to learn about the wonders of nature, what threatens it, and the people working hard to conserve it, you can catch up with some of these planet-centric documentaries.