A Perfect Planet
SUNDAY 3 January,
8pm BBC1 Factual
Sir David Attenborough takes us on a journey across the globe to explore how forces of nature, including sunlight and the oceans, shape and support Earth’s wildlife.
This first week it’s all about volcanoes and how, even though they are destructive, they also support animals such as lesser flamingos in Tanzania plus iguanas and finches on the Galapagos Islands.
The waters of Lake Natron, in the shadow of an active volcano in Africa’s Tanzania, are so corrosive that they burn the skin and eyes of most creatures that dare to venture into it.
However, for the lesser flamingo, the salt islands at the centre of the lake are the perfect nesting site, because predators can’t reach them.
Daunting
The downside is that, once the chicks have hatched, they face a rather daunting and dangerous trek out, as hungry marabou storks gather to pick off any stragglers. There’s astonishing footage of the flamingos in episode one of
A Perfect Planet, a new natural history series from Sir David Attenborough about the forces that enable wildlife to thrive on Earth, starting with volcanoes.
‘The flamingo sequence is one of the most memorable I’ve seen,’ says Sir David. ‘It’s impossible not to identify with these poor little chicks.’
To get to the inaccessible nesting site, the camera crew had to deploy an unusual piece of technology.
‘Lake Natron is not just remote, it’s also one of the world’s most toxic and caustic bodies of water,’ explains producer Huw Cordey. ‘The only safe way to reach and film a nesting colony is by hovercraft – and that isn’t something you’ll find locally!’
Spectacular
One had to be shipped from the UK, and even then the crew faced a huge challenge to get the incredible footage.
‘There’s the sulphurous stink, the stinging eyes, the chemicals attacking the legs, the blindness from the white of the salt and the intensity of the sun,’ says camera operator Matt Aeberhard.
‘But if you can cope with all that, you’ll be rewarded with one of the most spectacular events in nature!’