Cattle lines are drawn
IAM delighted that EARTH’S NATURAL WONDERS (BBC2) is back for another series but I’m confused, as ever, about the title. It is one of those BBC natural history spectaculars where the star of the show is the planet but the cameras come a close second.
In part it explores the most extreme environments, from steamy jungles to arid plains, but it is also about people who manage to thrive there against all the odds in spite of – and sometimes because of – changes our planet is undergoing.
In last night’s episode, this was such a strong theme I wondered what the “natural wonders” stuff was about. This is not about the Grand Canyon or Victoria Falls. It is about human endeavour, perseverance and ingenuity. Maybe the confusion about the show’s purpose goes deeper too.
We saw beautifully shot stories from the Himalayas, the Arctic north of Canada and the Siberian tundra, with human-driven change a constant theme.
In the Himalayas a primordial scene of horror and majesty unfolded as bellowing herds of yaks were driven down a steep incline to the lowland pastures. Due to the changing climate the yaks had mated later than usual and oneday-old calves were now part of this perilous, make-or-break stampede.
In Canada, Inuit elder Minnie explored the eerie, dangerous world underneath the frozen sea. As the remaining water retreated at low tide there was a short window of time to crawl beneath the icy cover and hunt for mussels.
Ancient knowledge was required for this riskiest of foraging tasks and we could only wonder how it stood up against the shrinking ice and shortening winters.
Meanwhile in Siberia hunters turned the warming climate to their advantage, digging in the melted permafrost layer for mammoth tusks. Their trade was currently legal but it was clearly not going to stay that way. Like so many of the lifestyles depicted, it was a niche vanishing fast. So it was odd to see another lengthy segment about the cattle ranches of Queensland. Beef farmers operate nation-sized ranches in this arid zone, herding their beasts by helicopter.
You could see 24-year-old Chris and his fellow cowboys as another tribe, making do in a harsh place. But they had choices and were not guarding some ancient way of life.
It was not hard to see the cattle, the meat trade and fuel-guzzling helicopters as part of the changes threatening all the other zones and peoples. If the message is “adapt to survive” it is time the cattle farmers tried it.
TRUST ME I’M A DOCTOR (BBC2) went to Exeter, where Dr Michael Mosley was investigating the wonders of beetroot – not just beetroot but all vegetables high in nitrates. Unfairly, the nitrates added to meat to preserve it are cancer-causing but those found naturally in spinach, rocket and beetroot are thought to be jolly good. An experiment proved the benefits in terms of blood pressure and oxygen intake after eating green leaves and drinking beetroot juice.
On the matter of the little grey cells things were more complicated. The volunteers showed no mental improvements but those who drank the juice and then exercised were just as sharp before a bout of cycling as afterwards.
Following this revelation for diet and healthcare, I’d like to offer this slogan to the Beetroot Marketing Board. Beet Juice: Makes You Less Stupid On A Bicycle.