Trials of Life

Trials of Life (1990)

1990 • 1 season • Documentary, Family

On August 10, 2026

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Episode 9 — Friends and Rivals

Season 1 • Trials of Life

Released: 1990-11-29 • Documentary/Family

60%

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This installment investigates the ways in which those animals that live in social groups interact with each other. The solitary eagle is contrasted with whooper swans landing in Scotland after a 1,600-kilometre journey from Iceland. Once arrived, they must battle for territory with those already there, and pairs or families are usually victorious. Attenborough uses a group of farmyard chickens to demonstrate a pecking order. A pride of lions is shown co-operating to subdue a buffalo. Afterwards, each animal peacefully awaits its turn at the carcass. Baboons live in troops of up to 150, and their complex dominance hierarchy is examined in detail. Vampire bats display mutual assistance by regurgitating blood for any neighbour that has missed out on a night's feeding. Dwarf mongooses live in family groups of around a dozen. While some look for food or sleep, others are always posted on the lookout for predators and quickly raise the alarm if necessary. Meanwhile, some of the most extreme co-operation is demonstrated by the underground naked mole rat, whose 80-strong clusters are divided into workers (who tunnel perpetually), soldiers (who only act when danger threatens), and a single queen for breeding. Leafcutter ants are shown transporting their food deep below ground: it has to be planted in a special fungus to remove its indigestible cellulose, and each stage of the operation is carried out by a different caste of individuals.

Where to Stream Episode 9

Season 1 · Episode 9 · Streaming in USA

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Episodes

Episode 1
Arriving
1990-10-04

Episode 2
Growing Up
1990-10-11

Episode 3
Finding Food
1990-10-18

Episode 4
Hunting and Escaping
1990-10-25

Episode 5
Finding the Way
1990-11-01

Episode 6
Home Making
1990-11-08

Episode 7
Living Together
1990-11-15

Episode 8
Fighting
1990-11-22

Episode 9
Friends and Rivals
1990-11-29

Episode 10
Talking to Strangers
1990-12-06

Episode 11
Courting
1990-12-13

Episode 12
Continuing the Line
1990-12-20

Information

Episode air date	29.11.1990
Episode runtime	50 min
Episode rating	6.00
Genres	Documentary / Family
TMDB series rating	8.3
IMDb series rating	8.9
Series status	Ended
Age rating	—
Country	GB

Trailer

Cast

David Attenborough

David Attenborough
Self - Narrator (voice)

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