Birth is the first dangerous step into a hazardous world, an event which reflects the lifelong labours to come. From egg-laying to live-bearing, animals employ an extraordinary variety of techniques to disperse their offspring.

Any parent knows about the problems of bringing up a child, and for animals it is no different. How do you protect your infant from daily hazards, care for it in a busy schedule, and help it survive the vulnerable years to achieve independence? Nature's answers are as varied as those in human societies.

The vital quest for food opens up an intriguing world of ploy and counter-ploy, exploitation and theft. Hungry animals find leaves defended by poisons, and seeds protected by spines and armour. But animals fight back with some tricks of their own including langurs that tiptoe through menacing thorns, macaws that have found a soothing medicine and 'criminals' who turn to breaking and entering.

Every conceivable trick is used by hunter and hunted - traps and lures, warnings and deception, ambush and camouflage. An orchid turns out to be a predatory flower mantis. Caterpillars look like snakes. In Patagonia, killer whales ambush sea-lions in the surf. These desperate battles between assassins and their victims have sharpened the skills of both in the art of pursuit and evasion.

Animals possess some amazing navigation skills to help them find their way in the world. A tiny ant makes marathon journeys over the scorching desert. An albatross flies 800 miles over open ocean before returning with food for its chick. Hundreds of lobsters march in columns over the seabed to avoid storms. All find their way with an accuracy that we have only recently achieved.