(CNN) Jaw-dropping nature footage is one of the many blessings provided by this age of TV abundance. So "Planet Earth II" -- coming a decade after the original -- seeks to up the ante, in part, by incorporating an environmental message.

Narrated by the venerable (and knighted) naturalist David Attenborough, this seven-part British-led documentary -- shifting to BBC America, after the prior version aired on Discovery Channel -- again spans the globe, yielding breathtaking images in the struggle for survival.

Already a huge hit in the U.K., the episodes appear somewhat arbitrary in their classification, with the first five divided into "Islands," "Mountains," "Jungles," "Deserts" and "Grasslands."

Each of those, however, weaves in issues regarding climate change and its affect on animal populations, along with the requisite visual stunners, like two huge Komodo dragons battling for mating privileges or the peculiar mating rituals of snow leopards.

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The most arresting hour, meanwhile, might be "Cities," which chronicles the ways various species are evolving to survive in densely populated areas as humans eat away at their habitats. Some creatures are surprisingly adept in that regard, from peregrine falcons thriving among New York skyscrapers to packs of hyenas roaming the streets of Ethiopia, feasting on discarded scraps from butcher shops.

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