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Wildlife documentaries have a strange way of making you feel both tiny and enormous at the same time. One moment you’re holding your breath as a snow leopard stalks her cub across the Himalayan cliffs; the next you’re laughing at a pygmy seahorse that’s basically a speck of plankton. The genre has exploded over the past decade, and with so many streaming options, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. That’s why I’ve narrowed it down to the 7 best wildlife documentaries about animals that genuinely earn their spot in your watchlist.
If you’ve been around the documentary world for a while, you’ve probably seen our roundup of the 7 Highest Rated Documentaries That Redefine the Genre. These wildlife picks take that same level of ambition and turn it toward the natural world. So grab your remote, cancel your plans, and settle in for a journey that will leave you awestruck.
1. Planet Earth II (2016)
When the BBC released Planet Earth in 2006, it set a benchmark. But Planet Earth II didn’t just meet that benchmark; it vaulted over it with a 4K camera rig and a drone the size of a shoebox. Narrated by the indispensable David Attenborough, this series took five years to film, across 40 countries and 117 shoots. The result is sensory overload: a sloth’s languid courtship, a snow leopard’s cameo on a ridge so remote that previous footage barely existed, and the now-legendary snake vs. iguana chase that has more tension than most thrillers.
Why does it make the list? Because it captures animal behavior that had never been seen on this scale. The filmmakers used stabilized remote cameras to follow gibbons as they swing through the jungle canopy, and a thermal-imaging camera to show a lioness hunting at night. If you watch only one entry on this list, make it this one.
2. Our Planet (2019)
Netflix hit a home run with Our Planet, a series that pairs jaw-dropping visuals with a clear-eyed message about climate change. Produced in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund, it spans every major habitat—from frozen poles to deep-sea vents—and spends just as much time on the delicate balance of ecosystems as it does on the animals themselves. You’ll see a walrus cliff fall, a chameleon catching a caterpillar with its tongue, and a blue whale gliding through a plankton bloom like a ghost.
The narration is less observational and more urgent. David Attenborough warns that “we have a choice” in nearly every episode, and it never feels preachy. What sets Our Planet apart is its ability to show beauty and destruction in the same breath. For a double dose of cinematic nature, you might pair it with another documentary ranking on this site, though you’ll find it hard to beat this series’ raw impact.
3. Blue Planet II (2017)
If you thought the first Blue Planet had revealed all there was to know about the ocean, think again. Blue Planet II spends four years exploring 39 countries and every depth zone, and it returns with footage that belongs in science fiction: a octopus that uses a coconut shell as a portable shelter, a fish that shoots water to knock down insects, and a predator that literally leaps out of the water to grab a seabird. The pilot whales and their grief rituals near the end will hit you harder than almost any scripted drama.
The series also brought to light the issue of plastics pollution and its effect on marine life. One particular scene—a mother albatross trying to feed her chick pieces of plastic—is a gut punch. But for every heartbreak, there’s wonder. The team used a special low-light camera to capture the bioluminescent glow of deep-sea creatures, and it’s hauntingly beautiful.
4. The Hunt (2015)
Most wildlife shows focus on the spectacular chase, but The Hunt flips the script by showing both sides of the predator-prey relationship. Narrated by Attenborough, this series is a masterclass in patience and strategy. You watch a cheetah sprint past the point of exhaustion, a polar bear resort to a desperate dive, and a colony of army ants create a death bridge. But you also see the prey—the wide-eyed gazelle, the crab that skitters sideways—and you’re left rooting for both.
The series took over two years to complete, and the behind-the-scenes episodes explain how the camera operators lost feeling in their hands from shooting in freezing temperatures. The dogfight between a peregrine falcon and a cormorant is one of the fastest aerial sequences ever filmed. If you love action and strategy, this is the wildlife documentary for you.
5. Dynasties (2018)
While most nature documentaries take an omniscient point of view, Dynasties gets personal. Each episode follows a single family line of a charismatic species—the chimpanzees of Senegal, the emperor penguins of Antarctica, the tigers of India, the lions of Kenya, and the painted wolves of Zimbabwe. You’re not just watching animals; you’re watching a soap opera that spans years.
Take the chimpanzee episode, which centers on a male named David as he fights to maintain his status against rivals. The betrayal, loyalty, and raw violence are Shakespearean. The crew openly admits they were sometimes paralyzed by fear, but they kept filming. This series won a BAFTA for good reason. It reminds us that individual animal lives are as complex as our own.
6. Night on Earth (2020)
When the sun goes down, a completely different world emerges—and Night on Earth is the first series to capture it in startling detail. Using low-light cameras, infrared thermal imaging, and moonlight sensors, the filmmakers reveal nocturnal behavior that has been nearly invisible to human eyes. A lioness pounces on a wildebeest in pitch darkness, a glass frog glows under UV light, and a bat picks off a moth with surgical precision.
The episode on urban wildlife is a particular treat, showing how animals like raccoons, foxes, and leopards adapt to city life. The narration by Samira Wiley is warm and inviting. This is a shorter series—six episodes—but it holds its own alongside the big names. In fact, its technical bravura echoes the innovation in the highest rated documentaries of all time.
7. My Octopus Teacher (2020)
This Netflix film is a different beast entirely. My Octopus Teacher is less a nature documentary and more a love story. It follows filmmaker Craig Foster for a year as he free-dives every day in the kelp forest of False Bay, South Africa, and builds a relationship with a wild octopus. The connection that develops is genuinely emotional; the octopus learns to recognize Foster, plays with him, and eventually wraps her arms around his hand.
The documentary captures the octopus’s final days, as she lays thousands of eggs and then slowly withers away. Foster admits it felt like losing a friend. What makes this film special is its intimacy. It set a Guinness World Record for the most-watched documentary on Netflix, and it’s easy to see why. It proves that the best animal stories are often the most personal ones.
How to Get the Most Out of a Wildlife Documentary Marathon
You’ve got the seven best picks, but how you watch them matters. Here are a few tips to turn a casual evening into an unforgettable experience:
- Go 4K if you can. These series were shot in ultra-high definition, so a 4K HDR screen makes a real difference.
- Watch with a good sound system. The scores by Hans Zimmer (for The Hunt) and Steven Price (for Planet Earth II) are half the emotional impact.
- Take breaks between episodes. Your brain needs time to digest the scale of what you’ve just seen.
- Pair each show with some light reading about the species. Knowing the threats they face makes the footage more urgent.
- If you have kids, skip the most intense predator scenes until they’re old enough to handle them. My Octopus Teacher is a great first watch.
These seven documentaries—each in its own way—broaden your understanding of what it means to be alive on this planet. Some will make you laugh, others will make you cry, and at least one will probably change your mind about something you thought you knew. When you’ve worked through them, go back to that list of genre-redefining documentaries for more recommendations. The natural world is deep enough to fill a lifetime of viewing.
