BRINGS CLOSE-UP VIEWS OF NEWBORN ANIMALS
IN an animal sanctuary in Kenya, an African elephant calf tentatively explores his surroundings.
He’s already learned to walk after 22 months in his mother’s womb, and now he will spend the next eight years by her side until he has learned all the skills he needs for adulthood.
This adorable creature is featured in a new threepart Sky documentary series – Wild Animal Babies.
The show is presented by British biologist Patrick Aryee, who has worked with Sir David Attenborough on programmes including Frozen Planet.
Viewers will be taken on a journey all over the world, from Australia to Costa Rica, watching infant animals such as wildebeests, lions and kangaroos tackling life’s biggest hurdles.
“Every day, across the planet, animals are taking their first steps,” says Patrick. “For each newborn, the first minutes, days and months are the toughest.
“All of these animals are united by the same challenge, to make it through this most vulnerable time of their lives.”
There is also a “very clear storyline” to the show according to Patrick. “The animals are very adorable, but the series goes deeper than that,” he says. “We look at different things, from what it’s like when your brothers and sisters are your closest rivals, or what happens when you are part of a whole crowd of youngsters.
Cute
“We then give a shout-out to all the dedicated parents who are having to adapt to their new lives bringing up their young. It’s very relatable. And of course, seeing the very fluffy and cute baby animals is what a lot of us need right now in lockdown!”
The presenter, who has also appeared on Countryfile and Springwatch, also reveals struggles parents can relate to. He says: “One that sticks out for me is the sea otter. The challenge the mother has is she needs to swim in the sea to find food for herself and her pup, but in order to do this she has to dive in icy cold waters for around four minutes. What happens if the baby can’t swim? She has to do two things at once – fluff up the pup’s fur so it can bob at the top of the surface of the water while she dives down to forage for food.”
Patrick also reckons this the perfect time to get out and look at British wildlife.
“I think the UK’S wildlife is definitely underrated,” he says. “We don’t necessarily have creatures that are poisonous or exotic, but we get such a variety of animals – common seals, whales, basking sharks, falcons, tiny robins, badgers, Welsh mountain ponies, foxes... the list goes on.
“In this series we covered puffins, which was really spectacular. We wanted to show there’s a lot of drama going on within the wildlife on our shores.” ● Watch Wild Animal Babies tomorrow at 8pm on Sky Nature and NOW TV.