Forests

S1, E3: Shrouded in myth and legend, the forests of Germany are world famous, thanks to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. The strange creatures that actually live there are shown in the episode Forests of the four-part series Wild Germany. A lynx out hunting, red deer stags roar to call their harems together, wild boar forage in dead leaves looking for nuts. When one considers how densely populated it is, Germany is home to a surprising number of different species. Around one third of the country is covered in forest. Forests enters a world full of magic and shows the secretive inhabitants you won’t see when out for a walk. Spring in the Black Forest brings out the cherry blossom. Not long now, and the fruit used to make the famous Black Forest Gâteau will appear. A doe has deposited its fawn in the high grass under the trees. Nearby, a vixen is on the look-out for food for her cubs. She would just about be able to handle the fawn ... Life in the forest is full of drama. Humans are rarely seen, the animal adventures take place behind a thick curtain of leaves. The wildcat and the lynx have managed to reconquer some regions from which they had long disappeared. For rare animals like black stork and stag beetle, the woods offer a last refuge. The best nature film-makers in Germany spent more than five years travelling the country from the Harz mountains to the Bavarian Forest, from Saxonian Switzerland to the Palatinate Forest, collecting material on the secret lives of forest dwellers.