Plot Synopsis

PETS: WILD AT HEART is a two-part documentary that uses HD spy cameras, night-vision cameras, drones, miniature on-board cameras and digital high-speed cameras to explore how household pets may seem familiar while existing alongside their companions in a secret world of wild behavior and natural abilities. The first episode looks at the wild side of playful pets, including why hamsters love to run in a wheel, how dogs pick up the rules of the pack and how kittens learn to be solitary hunters. The latest science also reveals why budgies talk, how a cat scales a vertical wall with the help of a special claw, why hamsters stuff their faces with more food than they can eat and the real meaning behind a rabbit's hop. Then, the second episode reveals pets' hidden senses and secret communication skills. Dogs take a car trip through Paris, using their legendary sense of smell to show us a very different city. A hamster uses his remarkable senses to stage a great escape and then deploys more navigational talents to find his way home. Cats become intoxicated on the scent of a plant and suffer the consequences. PBS aired the U.S. premiere of PETS: WILD AT HEART on Wednesday, October 21, 2015 at 8pm (check local listings), showing the program on back-to-back Wednesdays as part of the network's NATURE series.