Following on from yesterday, something to whet your appetite for Wednesday’s Frozen Planet! Spine-tingling footage from the Arctic and Antarctic…proving they’re not just barren, wintry landscapes!
On Wednesday the BBC’s new flagship series, Frozen Planet starts, taking us to the ends of the Earth; the Arctic and Antarctic, and the dramatic desolation of these harsh environments.
When I met Sir David Attenborough earlier this year, we talked about the making of the series and he professed admiration for the cameramen who risked their lives diving under the thick ice in subzero temperatures to capture some of these incredible shots.
The series also features an incredible chase as wolves hunt down bison in temperatures of -50 degrees and winds of up to 100mph. Whilst the wildlife might be used to it…here the crew describe how they had to adapt to their new environment to get this stunning footage.
Very sad news today as the BBC have decided to no longer support the BBC Wildlife Fund. This incredible unique charity has helped fund 87 charities and countless wildlife since it was founded in 2007. The Wild Night In last year alone helped raise £1.2 million pounds which went towards saving a diverse range of wildlife not just in the UK but all over world…bats, great bustards, chimpanzees, Siamese crocodiles, Moray Firth dolphins, African elephants, gorillas, jaguars, dormice, orang-utans, Galapagos penguins, red squirrels, seahorses, sharks, tigers, water voles, slow worms, and many more.
The BBC has been forced to make cuts…but this charity doesn’t rely on the TV Licence fee, instead relying on corporate sponsorship to pay for the small team of passionate staff supported by enthusiastic volunteers (like me, who would give over my time all over again to help the charity!)
But you can still do something to save this charity from extinction…sign the petition to Chris Patten, the politician who might be able to overturn this decision.
This cheeky little white-toothed shrew is one of four potentially new shrew species found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Known for their long noses, these small mouse-sized mammals aren’t actually rodents but related to moles with sharp teeth, sharp eyesight and extremely good sense of smell to hunt out their invertebrate dinner.
Photo : Jake Esselstyn
Scientists have discovered that these beautiful Blainville’s beaked whales enter a ‘stealth mode’ by becoming silent and not communicating with each other when near the surface. Little is known about these animals as they spend most of their time diving deep in the ocean. Below a depth of 450m the whales communicated with a series of clicks, buzzes and whistles. But it’s thought at the shallower depths they are at more risk of being discovered by killer whales and so enter their radio silence.
Photo NOAA
Photographer David Slater encountered a bit of monkey business in a national park in Indonesia…these photos aren’t his, but some crested black macaques’ masterpieces. Despite not having had much human contact before, the monkeys were very interested in all their equipment. One day after David left his tripod set up…he returned to find a curious monkey playing with it. David thinks the noise of the shutter kept the monkeys interested and in the end they took hundreds of pictures!
Photo : David J Slater/Caters News Agency
When we asked Sir David Attenborough if he thought there was still life out there to be discovered I don’t think either of us expected so many to be found recently in just one area! The WWF have been working on the Frontier Report, which shows that over the last ten years an incredible 1,060 previously unknown species have been found on the island.
This brightly coloured bird is the wattled smoky honeyeater…others include a frog with fangs, a tree kangaroo and 2.5 metre long river shark. It’s thought the relatively low human population of the area has aided the vast variety of wildlife though now illegal logging is stripping the island’s forests.
Photo : WWF
After the success of last year’s competition, this year there are ten more threatened British species who need a name. They all have scientific names…but don’t have a less tongue-twister common name which might help endear them to the public in their fight against becoming endangered.
Last year brought us such wildlife as the Queen’s executioner beetle and the sea piglet shrimp. Go to the Guardian’s website for the ten species and see if you can give a name to these beautiful species!
Photo : Libor Hudík/Natural England
You wouldn’t want to bump into one when you’re barefoot in the garden…but these prickly little critters are facing a population crisis. Recent research suggests numbers are down as much as 25% in the last 10 years. It’s thought the increase in farming and forgotten hedgerows mean they are more isolated than ever before. But a new scheme hopes to help them…Hedgehog Street! Find out how you can your garden can become a haven for hedgehogs with some simple changes
Photo : Andrew Milligan/PA
Just got back from the live internet interview with Sir David Attenborough…! If you were watching maybe some of your questions made it to the man himself? Don’t worry if you missed it, the highlights will be up on the website soon, and in the meantime, try out the Attenborough quiz!
During the evening, viewers were able to vote on their favourite Attenborough moment…and as suspected, the moment mountain gorillas took him in as one of their own came very high!
