Isolated from the world for 80 million years New Zealand is home to bizarre animal species, geological wonders that have created some of the most amazing scenery on Earth and forests where you can literally travel back in time to meet living dinosaurs. Nova Zelândia Selvagem explores New Zealand’s unique wildlife and its extraordinary fossil record found among some of the world’s most breathtaking landscapes. 

 

New Zealand once boasted the world’s largest bird. It’s still home to the world’s oldest reptile and rarest dolphin. The giant weta is the world’s heaviest insect; fist-sized carnivorous snails eat giant worms; the forest floor is home to a giant parrot so heavy it can’t even fly; and, in New Zealand’s snow-capped mountains, carnivorous parrots feed on the kidneys of live sheep.

Each episode is led by scientists and adventurers who take us to remote and spectacular locations to explore riddles and mysteries. The physical challenges they face and the arduous conditions in which they work are all part of the story. We’re with them as they swim with sharks, dive in caves, climb to the top of mountains and work in some of the world’s most extreme environments to locate, study and record modern dinosaurs.

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2018, 4k, 6 x 48'

Directed by: Mark Strikson.

Executive production: Maurício Dias, Fernando Dias e Tatiana Battaglia.

Producer: Maurício Dias, Fernando Dias, James Heyward e Christian Beetz.

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Coproduction Grifa Filmes e Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion (Germany).

In association Making Movies (New Zealand) and ZDF/Arte (France/Germany).