Animal Erotica in Independent Documentaries

This section also includes made-for-TV specials centering on animals.

African Wild Dogs: A Tale of Two Sisters (1990, Partridge Films; Animal Planet): 8:32-8:38 (wild dog-u2), 8:48-8:52 (wild dog-u2), 16:54-16:59 (wild dog-u2)

Appears to be the same documentary as "Nature: Wild Dogs of Africa," which seems to lack the first two urination scenes.

Amazing Animal Adaptors (Transatlantic Films/TVNZ/Discovery Channel): 52:32-52:39 (right whale-u2)

Animals are People Too! (1998? TV documentary, Lindsay Wagner; COMM): N

Animals are the Funniest People (1983 TV documentary, Loretta Swit; COMM): N

Australia's Outback: The Vanishing Front: N

Bewitched by a Dolphin

I haven't seen this one myself, but I'm told there's a scene in which a male dolphin with a visible erection swims around a male diver.

Big Cat Diary (Discovery Channel; COMM): 21:07 (lion-u~)

Big Dogs, Little Dogs (A&E; COMM): 54:34-54:59 (dogs-u2,u3), 1:09:04-1:09:08 (beagle-p4)

Birds Do It, Bees Do It

WolF Wielder reports: "It's a documentary on animal sex. Pure and simple. Sometimes plays on Cinemax, Showtime and HBO. Oddly enough it has to my knowledge never played on channels like Discovery or the Learning Channel. It has good scenes of sex acts between elephants, and rhinos. Kangaroos are also in there. There is even this scene towards the end where a bull mounts another male, probably a steer, as a part of a artificial insemination thing. If you find a copy, I highly recommend it." (The film is directed by Nicholas Noxon and Irwin Rosten.)

Beasts of the East (Animal Planet, COMM): N [identical to the "Wild Discovery" episode of the same title]

Beauty, Bonny, Daisy, Violet, Grace, and Geoffrey Morton: horses-c, b

This is a British documentary, in PAL format, with a fairly explicit scene of draft horses breeding, and a lengthy (about 20 minutes) birth scene later in the film.

Black Forest Journey: N

A Cat's World (The Learning Channel, COMM): 54:45-54:55 (cat-u3)

Comme des Betes ["Like the Beasts"]

A French documentary, about 70 minutes, no subtitles, originally in PAL (European video format), but occasionally converted by kind souls into NTSC (American video format). It contains some of the most explicit animal mating scenes available (lions, elephants, tigers, cattle, donkeys, baboons, deer, goats, wild ass, kangaroos, tigers, and numerous others), and I don't know if it's available commercially in the States. The video quality of NTSC copies varies widely; it's best to make sure you're getting a first-generation copy from a PAL original. A webpage about this film is here. You can also order it from me here.

Doctor Dogs (TLC; James Belushi, narr.): N

Dogs (TLC; a film by Robin Lehman): N

Dog's Best Friend (WGBH Boston; Dick and Jane Productions): 07:10 (dog-u), 20:05-20:15 (dog-s,t)

A Dog's World (The Learning Channel, COMM): ~44 (dog-u-4)

Dolphin Destiny - Captivity to Liberty (Editel Australia, 1992)

"WP" reports: "Documentary about the dolphins of Atlantis (sea park in Perth, Australia) who needed to be rehabilitated and returned to the wild after the park closed."

The Dolphin Dilemma (Thirteen / WNET, 1992)

"WP" reports: "Presents the argument for and against dolphinariums and marine parks. Highlights the problem of that dolphins are generally not good in captivity, but without the captivity to raise public awareness, they would be a lot worse off. Then moves on to research, human-dolphin interaction and the effects of it. No sexual content."

The Dolphin Story (1996, Lightworks; narrated by Kiefer Sutherland): 19:57 (dolphin-g~), 31:54 (dolphin-g), 48:14 (dolphin-g~)

Dolphins - Angels of the Sea - Ancient Love (part two) {I'm missing part 1} (Creature Feature, 1995)

"WP" reports: "An Australian based documentary has a large proportion of the beginning focusing on Sea World. Second half centres mainly on whales and whale watching. Interestingly it starts with a story of Dolphin love which has some zooish overtones. Numerous slit shots and non explicit mating scenes. Also contains a belly exam." [Note - Available on video through Eagle Entertainment (075) 592 1244 {Australia - this number will now have changed to 8 digits}]

Dolphins of the Shadow Land (AP): 23:50-24:49 (dolphins-p/c3), 26:08-26:20 (dolphin-p3), 43:12-43:22 (dolphin-v3), 45:04-46:08 (dolphins-p/c3)

Encounters with Whales (The Whales of Platypus Bay Pty Ltd., 1992): (a couple of humpback-g's, but I forget where)

Extreme Alaska (Discovery Channel): N

First Dogs (Discovery Channel; COMM): 22:38-23:04 (Buddy, Clinton's chocolate lab, urinating)

The Flying Vet (Australian Broadcasting Company, 1995): N

A Friend in Need (World Environment Day)

"WP" reports: "A relatively standard documentary with some fairly heavy environmental undertones. A little gruesome in its picture choices - lots of whaling, but some good general footage of dolphins. No sexual content."

Free Willy Story: Keiko's Journey Home: slit shots at 1:14, 3:42, 15:57, 33:53, 43:12, 44:32, and 52:22

The Frozen Kingdom (Wolfgang Bayer, cinematographer): N

Grizzly Diaries (Discovery Channel): 20:18-20:21 (bear-s3), 33:00-33:24 (bears-c3), 48:12-48:56 (bears-s3)

Hammerheads: Nomads of the Sea [Discovery Channel]: 29:40-30:23 (hammerhead-b3)

Hidden Treasures of America's National Parks: N

Himalaya (PBS; John Shrapnel, narrator): N

Hollywood's Amazing Animal Actors (1996, The Learning Channel; COMM): 25:14-25:15 (mule-a/v4 [Francis the Talking Mule: guess what--he's a mare!]), 1:06:21-1:06:22 (bear cub-s3)

A Horse's World (The Learning Channel; COMM): 05:04 (gelding-s4), 15:30-16:20 (horse-b3), 35-15-35:22 (horse-d4), 37:08-37:12 (mare-u2), 48:12 (stallion-p3), 48:40-48:45 (mare-a,v,u3), 49:00-49:18 (horses-c2)

How Animals Do That (Discovery Channel): 15:32-15:34 (wolf-p3), 15:46-15:53 (wolf-p3), 56:07-56:19 (elephants-c3)

Jack Hannah's Predators on the Prowl: A Halloween Special: N

Jungle Cat (1959, Disney, 70 minutes): N

(despite my TV guide saying it had mating scenes)

Keepers of the Kingdom (documentary by Simon Trevor): N

Kindred Spirits (Animal Planet): 25:47-25:48 (dolphin-v3)

The Leopard Son (documentary by Hugo Van Lawick): 08:41-09:11 (leopard-u)

Life with Big Cats: Tippi Hedren and Shambala (1998, Animal Planet): N)

The Living Desert (award-winning Disney documentary): N (although I missed the first part)

Living With Leopards (COMM; a special on TBS): leopards-c [thanks LeopardPaw]

Lolita: Spirit in the Water: N

A couple very fleeting orca slit shots, plus an orca birth scene so brief you can miss it if you blink.

Love, Lust, & Marriage: Why we stay and why we stray (an ABC News special with John Stossel)

I missed this program, which aired on 10/21/97, but a commercial for it showed courting penguins, kangaroos, and lions, and promised "an intimate look at the mystery of the mating game." Dang, that might have been good. Anyone see it?

A New Home in Newport...The Oregon Coast Aquarium: N

Pferde in der Camargue ("Horses in/of the Camargue")

Echse reports: "On German television a long time ago, I saw this documentary about the Camargue horses (it was more than explicit: it was outstanding when I was younger) and you could get documentary films from IMWF (Institut Fuer Den Wissenschaftlichen Film) in Germany about the mating habits of horses. Some of the films are on 35mm and I was told to ask a guy in Switzerland (who had made a (don't know if it is the same) documentary about the mating habits of Camargue horses) if he would allow me to get a copy on video, but they are rather expensive (90 DM for a 10 min video) so i did not follow his tracks."

Phantom Tiger (1998, Cicada Films/Channel 4, Discovery Channel): N

Presidential Pooches: N [Thanks MZ]

Procreation in the Wild

Another documentary, very similar to "Comme Des Betes," though not quite as explicit, with many of the same scenes, plus some extra species. Both films came from the same collection of footage, although this film is a little clearer, since it's in native VHS format. "PitW" is available commercially in the United States (Critic's Choice Video, Illinois, 1-800-367-7765, item# AATXV000101, $29.95 plus $5.50 shipping). The film is advertised as 90 minutes, but is actually about 80, and 10 minutes of that are some graphic fight scenes I found distasteful. Still, the tiger, elephant, camel, kangaroo, and giraffe footage, among others, is quite good.

Puppies! (PBS; PLEDGE; narrated by Powers Boothe): 22:00 (great dane-p~), 42:22-42:46 (beagle-t,s)

Racetrack! (a British documentary): This (unfortunately) black & white film opens with a scene of a mare giving birth, and is followed by an excellent mating scene, complete with a genital wash of both mare and stallion. If this were in color, it would be stunning.

Rannoch the Red Deer (John and Simon King; Animal Planet): 5:18-5:23 (stag-a/d4), 25:30-25:52 (red deer-b2), 48:20-48:23 (doe-d4), 56:11-56:38 (red deer-b3)

The Right Whale (1999, BBC/Animal Planet): 53:00-53:55 (right whales-c3)

The Science of Whales (Discovery Channel, 1998): An orca slit shot at about 19 minutes into the episode; I missed the part before that.

Secret Life of Sharks (COMM; Discovery Channel): 33:36-34:21 (shark-b2)

Smithsonian: Fantastic Journey (sharks, cheetahs, etc.): N

The Snow Wolves (a film by John Howe): N

Tiger Hunt: The Elusive Sumatran (1998): N

Totally Animals II (CBS, with host John Ritter): N

Touched by a Dolphin (ABC, with host Sharon Lawrence): lots of very brief dolphin slit shots, the best of which (by a small margin) are at 12:00-12:01 {4}, 17:14-17:18 {4}, 26:29-26:31 {4}, and 51:44-51:45 {4}. There's also a birth scene at 7:30-7:37 {3}.

In the Tracks of the Rhino (Discovery Channel): 02:34-02:39 (barasingha-d4), 28:29-28:31 (rhino-d3), 29:01-29:07 (rhino-d3), 30:01-30:05 (rhino-d3), 30:17-30:18 (rhino-d4), 41:55-41:58 (rhino-d3), 42:14-42:18 (rhino-u3), 42:39-42:40 (rhino-u,v2), 45:05-45:22 (rhinos-c3), 57:28-57:52 and beyond (rhinos-c3)

Voices From a Silent World: Moments with a family of Dolphins. (Dolphin Reef, Eilat, Israel. [1995/1996]) (Winner of the 1996 Underwater Film Festival)

"WP" reports: "Video which follows a pod of dolphins around Dolphin Reef in Eilat. There is no underlying theme or plot as such, just more like snippets of dolphin life. Includes a mating scene and birth scene (explicit)."

War Dogs (Discovery Channel; narrated by Martin Sheen): 3:17-3:20, 4:55-4:59, and 5:16-5:19 (German Shepherd-s/t3); 32:59-33:06 (German Shepherd-p3); 56:47 (black lab with HUGE scrotum)

When Animals Fuck

This nature documentary, according to the people who sell it, is the same as "Procreation in the Wild" (listed above), with a different title. The sellers plan to change the title back and update their website accordingly.

Why Dogs Smile and Chimpanzees Cry (a two-hour Discovery Channel special): 5:43-5:50 (elephants-c3)

Wild Film (Penguin Films Limited): N

Wild Horses -- An American Romance (PBS, 2000): N

Wild Neighbors: 15:15-15:20 (bears-c)

Wolves at Our Door (a Discovery Channel special): N

The Wonderful World of Dogs: 03:55 (dog-d), 6?, 16:15-16:25 (dog-d), 18:20-18:40 (dogs-c), 32:30-32:50 (dogs-c)

The World's Most Dangerous Animals: N

You Ain't Seen Nothin': Tales of the Kentucky Derby: 13:00-13:30 (horses-c)