Extraordinary Animals

Maggie is a seven-year-old Jack Russell that can do simple mathematical calculations by tapping correct answers using her paw. Animal experts travel to her Florida home to assess the claims for themselves, and after passing these tests she is put in competition with children the same age.

This instalment focuses on Nellie, a particularly intelligent pig who has become something of a star owing to her remarkable abilities.

This instalment focuses on Nora, the magnificent piano-playing cat.

This edition focuses on Kenny, the horse who led a pack of mounted police into an angry mob of rioters during an anti-war demonstration in 2003. While some may argue that horses are flighty by nature and incapable of deliberate acts of bravery, scientists have proven that for some special horses the opposite is true.

Spitfire is a pigeon who is using his homing skills to help an outdoors-adventure company in the Rocky Mountains. Wearing a designer backpack, Spitfire carries adventurers' photo memory cards down from the mountain and back to the shop in time for them to pick up their developed pictures. Scientists now try to understand Spitfire's amazing navigational abilities by equipping him with a GPS system.

This episode focuses on Panzee, a chimp whose learning abilities have stunned scientists. Not only does Panzee understand more English words than any other chimp in the world, she can also communicate with her human keepers, and has even developed a basic grasp of economics.

This edition focuses on some small furry animals with unexpected talents. In Tanzania, scientists have trained rats to detect patients with tuberculosis and locate landmines in fields. Meanwhile, back in the UK, ferrets are using their incredible flexibility to thread cables and unblock pipes in hard-to-reach places.

A raven in Austria has astounded scientists with his amazing intelligence and creativity. Four-year-old Ellias brings a whole new meaning to the phrase 'bird brained'. He has developed clever strategies for protecting his food, demonstrates a remarkable sense of fun and is even learning to use a computer.

This edition focuses on some truly Herculean hounds - three working dogs who are so adept at their jobs that they leave their human counterparts in the dust. There is Saxon, the pooch who can sniff out suspicious circumstances in burnt buildings; Bilbo, the craggy canine who patrols the dangerous shores of Cornwall; and Orson, the awesome avalanche rescue dog.