The Life of Mammals, Vol. 2

Rating:
Summary: Rodents, carnivores, omnivores
Review: This, the second volume of an excellent four-volume series on mammals, balances the expected with the unexpected, the large with the small, and the well-known with the less well-known. It contains three hour-long episodes: _Chisellers_, which focuses on rodents; _Meat Eaters_, which focuses on carnivorous mammals; and _The Opportunists_, which focuses on species that take advantage of a variety of different foods. Attenborough has obviously filmed these animals extensively, and his films benefit from being viewed multiple times.

Because he is able to find beauty in things other people would not notice, Attenborough is at his best when he describes behaviors and animals which are neglected by other popular filmmakers. His awe of all creatures great and small is apparent in every movie in the series. _Chisellers_ is by far the best of the three movies in the volume. If you find rodents repulsive and has no interest in watching a movie about them, think again. Half of all mammal species are rodents, and the group is so diverse most species are interesting rather than repulsive. The movie shows a panoply of rodents, from the endearingly monogamous marmots to the slow-breeding cavies to the skillful beavers, to name a few. The beaver section contains particularly excellent footage.

_Meat Eaters_, although still worth viewing, was a bit of a disappointment. Typically, Attenborough discusses small and little-known species almost equally with the large and famous ones; _Meat Eaters_ is a rare lapse. Cats, dogs, large animals and killing may be very popular subjects, but too much of the film is devoted to large cats and large dogs killing and eating their prey. Many other types of carnivores exist, and the lives of carnivores are as complex and multi-dimensional as those of other animals. Although the film showed some small carnivores, some other scenes besides killing and eating, and a few members of the weasel and hyena families, I would have wanted to see more of those. There is also at least one glaring inaccuracy--hyenas are NOT dogs, but are related to cats and mongooses. Fortunately this is correct in the book that is companion to this series.

_The Opportunists_ is neither the best nor the worst movie in the series. It contains a motley group of animals from all different lineages, which eat diverse diets. I did not quite understand the order of the scenes, and would have wished Attenborough did not end with humans. As usual, the best scenes are the most unexpected, such as one very interesting segment in a cave.

Although some of the episodes are stronger than others, I highly recommend this video overall.