Like 9.2 million other people over the last 6 weeks, my Sunday evenings
consisted of sitting in front of the TV, watching BBC’s Planet Earth II – a
look at the Earth’s wildlife, 10 years on from the original series. The series
has captured public imagination in a way that very few documentaries manage to,
and from regular scans through my twitter feed it’s clear that many others have
found themselves becoming as invested in the fate of the species profiled as I
have.
What I found most interesting in the series was the episode
on wildlife in cities which presented a startling look at how species have been
affected by urban land use encroaching on natural habitats. But rather than just showing animals pushed out of their habitat, the approach of this episode was to show how wildlife had continued to persist in spite of urban development. It included monkeys benefiting from human presence through foraging in fruit markets in India, as well as human activity making life harder for wildlife, in heart-breaking scenes of baby turtles
disorientated by lights coming off-shore.
Sir David Attenborough said in an inspirational moment in
the closing scenes of the last episode “It is surely our responsibility to do
everything in our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for
us, but for all life on Earth”. Programmes like this leave us awestruck at the
biodiversity of the world, but the real hope would be that they also show
people the importance of conserving the species they are watching. Research has shown an increased
environmental sensitivity in students watching nature documentaries, but there is doubt that this sensitivity carries on into action. (edit: the view that the importance of conservation often takes a back seat in such documentaries was recently commented on in the guardian here)
Such programmes need to inspire and encourage local environmental action, and an appreciation of the wildlife around us, since in reality, there is no Planet Earth two.
If anyone reading hasn't watched the series yet, i'd whole-heartedly recommend it
Here's a teaser of one of the most memorable moments from this series - an amazingly filmed scene between iguanas and snakes, the first time such activity has been caught on camera.
Such programmes need to inspire and encourage local environmental action, and an appreciation of the wildlife around us, since in reality, there is no Planet Earth two.
If anyone reading hasn't watched the series yet, i'd whole-heartedly recommend it
Here's a teaser of one of the most memorable moments from this series - an amazingly filmed scene between iguanas and snakes, the first time such activity has been caught on camera.
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