Shells: Shaped by Nature
Channel: Nat Geo Wild (DStv 182 / StarSat 221)
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Wildlife, Documentary
A tribute to the enigmatic splendor of the shells that grace Africa's marine realms.
Delve deeper into the origins and evolution of these intricate marvels through untold stories of survival, adaptation and the equilibrium of life beneath the waves.
Humans have prized seashells for as long as they have collected pretty things.
Why do they have such a hold over us?
With vibrant colours and a multitude of shapes and textures, seashells are biological treasures, magical messengers from the sea.
Seashells inspire artists, shape cultures and adorn garments. In many ancient cultures seashells were accepted as currency.
In Africa they were bartered among tribes, communities and royal courts.
They enabled long-distance trade across boundaries and between strangers.
While seashells are no longer used as money, they still hold mystical and symbolic significance in African societies.
Shells: Shaped by Nature is a tribute to the splendour of Africa's seashells, celebrating the intricate marvels that grace the continent's marine realms.
Their story begins in the unfathomable depths of the ocean far removed from tides and rolling waves where a myriad of molluscs manifest shells in every conceivable form.
Molluscs include everything from oysters to octopuses.
They all have soft, moist bodies, so many species create firm shells for structure and protection.
The material for the colours of the mollusc's shell comes from the water or the animal's diet, so they really reflect the marine environment in which they live.
Molluscs must increase their shell's size as they grow – they never shed their homes.
The shell's outward appearance is determined by the creature's rate of growth. It takes about four years for a conch snail to fashion its impressive shell.
These molluscs stand out as master architects.
Conch snails build their shells into impressive towering spires with vibrant hues and superior strength.
These medium to large snails are also sophisticated hunters with potent neurotoxins and a harpoon-like mechanism to skewer their prey with the precision and swiftness of a seasoned archer.
They then trap their impaled victims in the narrow opening of their shell.
While the conch lives a singular life beneath the water, the violet sea snail floats on the ocean's surface in colonies.
The snails craft a raft of bubbles to drift with the currents.
Their shells are extremely fragile and the underside is a rich dark purple for camouflage as they float upside down.
This keeps them less visible to predators such as fish and sea turtles.
In the wave-kissed intertidal zones, the abalone's flattened, ear-shaped shell resits the relentless waves by attaching itself to the rocks with its broad muscular foot.
The shell's iridescent mother-of-pearl interior attracts humans to marvel at nature's ingenuity.
Scallops, mussels, oysters and clams also cling to the rocks.
They are composed of two hinged halves, or valves, joined by a ligament.
Many of the bivalve shells display a perfect symmetry, like the wings of a butterfly, or human hands.
As we delve deeper into the realm of shells, we unearth stories of survival, adaptation and wonder.
Each shell a testament to the resilience and creativity of its maker.
Farmer Wants a Wife (USA) 3
Channel: BBC Lifestyle (DStv 174)
TX Time: 20h00
Genre: Dating Game Show, Reality
Dating competition series Farmer Wants a Wife, hosted by Kimberly Williams-Paisley, is back with four new rural romantics looking to sow love on the farm.
They are: Matt Warren, Jay Woods, John Sansone and Colton Hendricks.
This season they bring the heat as all-new daters look to leave behind city life for the charm of the country as they embark on an adventure that could change the course of their lives forever.
These farmers are the cream of the crop.
Farmer Matt is the California heartthrob who uprooted his life in Austin to help save his brother and sister-in-law's avocado farm - he's our fairytale Prince Charming.
Family, faith and football - that's Farmer Jay, the hometown hero who lost his football career to injury and put everything he had into rebuilding the legacy of his grandfather's farm in Alabama.
Farmer John is an urban cowboy - a high-flying St. Louis law student who dreams of living in the tradition of his family's farm in rural Missouri with his sweetheart by his side, if he can find her of course.
The cheeky charmer with a witty sense of humour is Farmer Colton - a third generation Arkansas cattle rancher, recently divorced and a single dad to his two-year-old son who is looking for a second chance at love.
The third season will dive deeper into the beauty and trials of homegrown love, and new twists will put relationships to the ultimate test.
Along the way, the farmers and their daters hit the road as they travel to Alabama for a speed dating event, Tennessee for a country ball and Texas for an overnight camping mixer.
New this season, the final daters will bring their families back to the farms where their loved ones will experience first-hand what it is like living in the countryside.
As the ladies immerse themselves in the realities of farm life, some will blossom while some will head out to pasture, and only time will tell if they have the patience, spirit and adaptability required to be a farmer's wife.
In the Season 3 premiere, "DTF? Down to Farm?": A fresh crop of four handsome farmers are looking for love and joining them are 32 women from cities all across America with a similar goal.
Both the farmers and the ladies start by diving deep into conversation in hopes that it will ignite a spark.
At the end of the day, the farmers will have to make a tough decision and select only five women that they feel most compatible with to take back to their farms and continue their journey to find love.