Launch programmes
Sky Nature

Nature documentaries are now of such a dazzling, awe-inspiring quality that the viewer marvels almost as much at the patience and skill of the human camera-operator as the wonders the camera reveals. And the new Sky Nature channel certainly doesn’t disappoint on the wonders front: a tiny chrysalis, a crashing waterfall, a baby wildebeest, a close-up of a hippo’s nostril – all magnificent.
First up, Gangs of Lemur Island (27 May, pictured), brought us the ring-tailed lemurs of the Berenty Reserve in Madagascar – creatures that live in strictly hierarchical gangs, each staking their territory in the eternal standoff of survival. Or, as the narrative put it: “The cold war is heating up.” It’s the crucial period before the rains and food is scarce: ring-tailed babies are still fed by their mothers but in two weeks will be weaned, ready for the increase in food that wet weather brings.