Attenborough turns spotlight on meerkats
Meerkat: A Dynasties Special
BBC1, 7.30pm
SIR DAVID Attenborough will probably be remembered for one thing: his celebrated “love-in” with a bunch of hairy mountain gorillas.
That’s something to be proud of, but as everyone knows, there’s an awful lot more to Attenborough’s career than that.
Most of us have grown up watching him on screen and can’t remember a time when his husky tones weren’t explaining some aspect of life, making it accessible for all. And we should all be grateful that he fell in love with film-making – albeit a different kind to that of his Oscar-winning brother Richard.
Sir David was initially turned down for an on-screen role when he arrived at the BBC in the 1950s, so he became a producer before venturing in front of the camera for Animal Patterns and the famed
Zoo Quest.
He was the controller of BBC2 from 1965 to 1973, during which he introduced colour TV to the nation, but it was that love of getting his hands dirty out in the field that persuaded him to ditch administration in favour of a well-cut safari suit.
Within a matter of weeks he went from being knee-deep in paperwork to being knee-deep in bat droppings in Borneo. “I found that much preferable,” he says. “The fact is, I enjoy doing it. I’m just relieved other people enjoy it as well.”
A vast array of programmes followed, including the landmark “Life” series. His career seems to have been blessed, but there is one thing that really upsets him – the suggestion he might have “set up” some of the most remarkable pieces of film.
“There are ways of manipulating animals and forcing animals to do things, which I wouldn’t be responsible for, partly because some of them are very cruel,” he says.
These days Sir David, 94, is keen to highlight climate change and what can be done to halt it: “We’re running out of time but there’s still hope… I believe that if we better understand the threat we face, the more likely it is that we can avoid such a catastrophic future.”
He’s so well respected he is probably one of the few people who can change the mind of naysayers. And while he’s slowed down as a roving reporter, his dulcet tones are still in demand to narrate various documentaries – and, let’s face it, those focusing on natural history just aren’t the same without him.
Fans will certainly be pleased to hear his is the voice heard telling the story of young meerkat queen Maghogho, who is trying to raise her pups in the unforgiving environment of the Makagikadi salt pans in Botswana, a place so arid that little can survive.
But she’s pushing on, with support from her extended family who, like her, are inexperienced. They’re seen battling against dust storms, fighting off rivals and waiting for the much-needed rains to come.
It’s a tale of family ties and triumph over adversity – the kind of story Sir David has witnessed hundreds of times during his career, and long may he continue to do so.