Items11The creator’s order
  1. 1BBC EarthBBC EarthThe BBC Earth YouTube channel This is the official home for clips from David Attenborough series such as Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and Blue Planet II, so the filmmaking is as good as wildlife television gets. Most uploads are single scenes lifted from those series, which makes the channel ideal…0
  2. 2Deep LookDeep LookDeep Look films small animals through macro lenses and microscopes, and the result is some of the most beautiful science footage on YouTube. The full episodes from KQED in San Francisco and PBS Digital Studios mostly run around four or five minutes and pair the images with one clear explanation,…0
  3. 3Ze FrankZe FrankTrue Facts, his animal series on YouTube Ze Frank lays a deadpan running commentary over real wildlife footage, and the jokes work because the biology underneath them holds up. This is the most purely entertaining channel here, and the easiest way to win over a friend who thinks invertebrates are…0
  4. 4AnimalogicAnimalogicAnimalogic is for anyone who wants the why behind an animal: why it looks the way it does, how it hunts and how it got that way. Episodes are quick and funny but packed with evolutionary context, and new ones arrive weekly. Some recent uploads are livestreams of well over an hour, which suit…0
  5. 5Cornell Lab of OrnithologyCornell Lab of OrnithologyThe Cornell Lab of Ornithology's YouTube channel This is where a leading bird research center shares its field footage, and the courtship displays alone are worth subscribing for. Many clips are a minute or so of one species doing something astonishing, which makes the channel perfect for a quick…0
  6. 6Monterey Bay AquariumMonterey Bay AquariumThe Monterey Bay Aquarium's YouTube channel Sea otters, penguins, sharks and jellies are the stars here, and the videos are as much about conservation work as cute animals. It is a gentle, family-friendly channel that shows what happens behind the exhibits, from feeding routines to rescues. Start…0
  7. 7Monterey Bay Aquarium Research InstituteMonterey Bay Aquarium Research InstituteMBARI's YouTube channel The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute films deep-sea animals with remotely operated vehicles, so you see creatures in their own habitat, often narrated by the scientists who study them. Expect jellies, siphonophores and squid that look invented, plus clear…0
  8. 8EV NautilusEV NautilusNautilus Live, the ship's YouTube channel The Ocean Exploration Trust, founded in 2007 by Titanic discoverer Robert Ballard, streams its deep-sea dives from the research vessel Nautilus. The edited clips keep the scientists' live commentary, and their genuine delight at each new animal is half the…0
  9. 9Jonathan Bird's Blue World (2008)Jonathan Bird's Blue World (2008) 8.6/10 on IMDbFirst aired May 17, 2008The full series on its BlueWorldTV YouTube channel Underwater cinematographer Jonathan Bird takes viewers along on dives around the world in this Emmy-winning public television series, and the episodes are free on YouTube. Each one is a proper adventure with a science lesson inside it, pitched for…0
  10. 10Bizarre BeastsBizarre BeastsBizarre Beasts picks one strange animal a month and asks what makes it so odd, which turns out to be a great way to learn how evolution and ecology work. Hosts Hank Green and Sarah Suta keep it warm and nerdy, and each episode runs long enough to go beyond trivia. Start with The Only Octopus With…0