ZDF Studios Picks Up Two Wild Series

ZDF Studios has acquired the distribution rights for two new documentaries from Off the Fence’s Wild series.

Wild: Medics travels across the globe to explore how various animals self-medicate with natural remedies and cures. It shows elephants consuming clay to soothe their stomachs, dolphins passing around a puffer fish for a high, Japanese macaques lowering their stress hormone levels in their version of a hot tub and much more.

Episode one, “Nature’s Pharmacy,” covers animals’ instincts in selecting natural remedies, including the aforementioned elephants, as well as chimpanzees, who chew leaves to rid themselves of parasites. Episode two, “Natural Highs,” centers on animals using elements to get high, including the dolphins previously mentioned and lemurs, who use millipedes to send themselves into a trance. “Fertility” shows how some species have developed ways to improve their chances of extending their bloodline, including orchid bees, who concoct alluring perfumes, and certain birds, who build herbal nests to give their offering an immune system boost. “Nature’s Spa” examines the strategies some animals have developed to cope with tension, aches and pains.

The four-parter Wild: Senses, meanwhile, delves into the diversity of animal perception. It explores how various creatures have evolved adaptations to see, hear, touch, taste and feel the world around them. From heat-sensing vipers that detect the warm blood of their victims to platypuses who have 40,000 electroreceptors in their bills to identify signals produced by their prey to salon using smell to navigate back to the stream of their birth, the series offers a range of stories.

“Off the Fence has done it again by producing another two brilliant Wild series, beautifully filmed and full of intriguing stories,” said Ralf Rückauer, VP Unscripted at ZDF Studios. “These titles are made for primetime to be enjoyed by all the family.”