Planet Earth II

Animals dependent on our planet’s grasslands take the spotlight this week on Planet Earth II
(Image credit: BBC NHU/Chadden Hunter)

Animals dependent on our planet's grasslands take the spotlight this week on Planet Earth II

Animals dependent on our planet’s grasslands take the spotlight this week. A quarter of all land on Earth is covered by grass. It's almost indestructible, and the speed at which it grows makes it an abundant source of nutrients for wildlife.

This week, it's the turn of the nomadic animals to shine, those that spend their lives on a never-ending journey following the seasonal growth of the grass.

There are some adorable baby animals, including bizarre-looking saiga antelope and caribou, who can run faster than an Olympic sprinter at just a day old, but the star of the show has to be Africa's Jackson's widowbird and its impressive courtship rituals.

Watch out, also, for the extraordinary footage of the agile harvest mouse as it escapes a barn owl.