UK readers: Planet Earth on BBC1 tonight

[Phil]

Any readers in the UK should make sure they catch the last episode of the stunning BBC series Planet Earth at 9pm tonight. The episode is called Ocean Deep and features not only the Vampire Squid but the Dumbo Octopus too.

Life goes to extraordinary lengths to survive this immense realm. A 30 tonne whale shark gorges on a school of fish and the unique overhead heli-gimbal camera reveals common dolphins rocketing at more than 30km an hour.

Descending into the abyss, deep sea octopus fly with wings and vampire squid use bioluminescence to create an extraordinary colour display. The first ever time-lapse footage taken from 2,000m down captures eels, crabs and giant isopods eating a carcass, completely consuming it within three hours.

The episode is repeated on BBC2 next Saturday at 7pm.