The Mating Game - Natural World Special

There’s a lovely scene early in this Natural World Special about how animals pair up. A male polar bear has tracked a female for weeks across the snow. She plays hard to get, quite literally giving him the run-around. But once she reckons he’s up to snuff, they begin to play, tumbling and sliding down the slopes together in a way that looks incredibly sweet and almost, yes, romantic. Later, he briefly loses intererest, so she turns
on the charm and starts adopting saucy poses, lying on her back, peering at him through her legs, and so on.

It’s hilarious, and just one example of bizarre courtship behaviour in a film that is full of irresistible moments. There are humpback whales dancing, bison fighting, flamingos mirroring and a crafty male lemur who understands the power of a touch of cologne.