You would not believe how much our five year-old knows about animals in Africa, after being glued to the BBC’s recent ‘Africa’ TV series. He’s an expert in everything from drongo birds and naked mole rats to the digestion habits of hippos.

He’s going to love BBC Earth Wonders, a new app from the Beeb based on its voluminous wildlife archives.

Released for iPhone and iPad, the app includes 50 video clips culled from famous series including Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and Life, as well as more than 500 photographs.

You and your children can browse all this content by spinning a virtual globe, then darting in on specific countries to see what they have to offer.

The videos have to be downloaded – more than 700MB in all – so make sure you have a patient child and room on your iOS device. They’re also 30-second clips rather than longer videos.

The app also lets you explore its videos and photos by theme, while offering a new picture every day of the year, providing a reason to keep checking back.

BBC Earth Wonders costs £2.49 on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. It’s not specifically aimed at children – this is an all-ages app – but we think kids like our son who are absorbing new animal info like sponges may love it.