David Attenborough presents ‘extraordinary animal drama and wildlife spectacles’ in Ireland and the UK in a new series for the BBC.
A five-part natural history series titled Wild Isles aims to emulate what the Planet series has done to the world’s wildlife, encouraging people to “protect and restore nature for future generations.” I urge you to do it.
Filmed over three years using 4K technology, the BBC One series explores the challenges nature faces and what can be done to make Ireland and the UK wild in the future.
Attenborough (96) said:
“I can assure you that the British Isles have not only stunning scenery, but extraordinary animal drama and wildlife spectacles that rival anything I have seen in my travels around the world.”
The Natural History series has an introductory episode that explains why Ireland and Britain are of global importance to nature. The rest of his four-hour episodes will feature his four key habitats: forest, grassland, freshwater, and marine.
The series sees new behavior filmed around the island, including red deer stags rutting in one of Ireland’s wildest corners and bluefin tuna congregating in the Celtic Sea.
It also shows how wild horses in England are fighting to acquire females. Black grouse and hen harrier courting in Scotland. Mayflies hatch in the river. A fox hunting rabbits at night. And a bee on a broom.
This series uses aerial photography to capture the Irish and English countryside, and motion-controlled time-lapse photography to highlight the changing seasons.
Low-light cameras reveal the animals’ favorite nocturnal lives, while macro photography reveals miniature worlds of rock pools, ponds, and grasslands.
Executive Producer Alastair Fothergill said:
“People will be amazed at what’s happening right next to their home.”
Jacques Bootle, Director of Commissioning, Science and Natural History, said:
“You would think the meadows of Somerset are as beautiful as the Serengeti, and the North Atlantic as wild and dramatic as the Southern Ocean.”
The series is co-produced by The Open University, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
