David Attenborough documentaries are events that capture the natural world like no other. In a career spanning seven decades, the 92-year-old has made it his life’s mission to bring never-before-seen moments to the masses, transporting people from the comfort of their own homes to the heart of the jungle and the depths of the ocean.
We have scaled craggy summits, explored the vast plains of Africa and endured the unforgiving Arctic to witness nature in all its ferocious majesty.
Every heart-stopping, awe-inspiring moment from Attenborough’s colourful back catalogue is worthy of acclaim, but here’s the thing – they keep getting better. Here are seven in particular that captivated the world.
(Credit too, of course, to the many naturalists, camera operators, editors and composers who actually made the films.)
1. David the chimp
Politics and power aren’t just reserved for Westminster. In the first of Attenborough’s new five-part series, Dynasties, leading chimp David (good name) faced a coup from his own troupe. Toes twitching, deep in thought, the alpha male with cauliflower ears surveyed his surroundings, aware that at any moment the mob could launch an attack in pursuit of his crown.
It was Game of Thrones with Senegalese chimps, and David’s fight to reign supreme had all the hallmarks of a Shakespearean epic as Jumpkin and Luthor led the insurrection.
A tangle of shaggy bodies tussled and rolled, limbs flying as the chancers knocked seven bells out of their leader and left him for dead.
But if you come at the king, you better not miss. While the troupe moved on to pastures new, David bided his time, regaining his strength like Rocky Balboa before defying the critics to track them down and reclaim his title once again.
The ultimate comeback king, the great British public were fully invested in David’s tempestuous tale.
2. Iguana vs snakes chase
This heart-thumping chase, captured on camera for Planet Earth II, was peak edge-of-your-seat viewing – so much so that it won the Bafta for Must See Moment.
The nation held its breath as a new-born iguana stuck two fingers up to death, wriggled and writhed though a racer snake-infested beach in search of the safety of the sea.
After a frantic sprint with danger lurking on all sides, the young iguana crashed headlong into a knot of snakes, which smothered him like a deadly shawl, coils tightening as his lifeblood slowly drained away.
But in a dramatic twist, the young daredevil darted free, shimmying through a loop of snake and firing himself at top speed towards the rocky incline which, if he could reach the summit, would guarantee his freedom. With every leap his life hanging in the balance, every twist and turn met with venomous fangs, gnashing in their unrelenting desire to kill. But this iguana chose life.
The underdog of the hour, he said not today, lads, and the entire internet was struggling to digest what they had just witnessed.
3. Transgender fish
Not a day goes by that we don’t think about the Asian Sheepshead Wrasse, a fish based off the coast of Northern Japan that is able to change its gender. Yeah, you heard us. Unless you’re an expert in this particular species of fish, that’s not something you would know. We didn’t, and neither did the rest of the country until we all tuned in to watch Blue Planet II.
There are some people who think that the ocean-based Attenborough series don’t quite reach the heights that the likes of Planet Earth and Africa are able to, but all it took was a female Wrasse, after trying and failing to seduce her love interest, to disappear into a hole in the coral reef and undergo a transformation so inconceivable, we were left re-evaluating everything we thought we knew about the deep blue sea.
Over the course of a few months the male hormones kicked in, her head and chin grew in both length and width until finally, she became a he, using his newfound status to challenge the established leadership and find himself a mate.
We’d never seen anything like this.
4. Giraffe fight
The reason Sir David’s documentaries have achieved the level of status that they have is because they tell stories in a way that no other nature documentary has ever been able to.
They transport the viewer right into the heart of a critical moment, imbuing creatures great and small with human characteristics in which we recognise ourselves, our allies and our rivals.
Take the Africa series, for example. A giraffe who has assumed leader-status is challenged by a young chancer who fancies his shot at the big time. In a scene akin to a Western, the two bulls size one another up, jostling side by side, before an eerie stillness ensues.
Then, out of nowhere, they use their six-foot-long necks like whips to lamp one another, delivering blow after blow. It’s an epic battle in which the winner will claim all of the spoils and the loser will be exiled to the desert.
To give viewers a real sense of the giraffes’ power, the action is slowed right down to a crawl, with every jolt and ripple captured on camera. For a moment it looks as if the score has been settled, the young bull taking the opportunity to land a critical shot on his opponent, who crashes into the dirt.
He’s down, but not out.
As the young giraffe prepares to strike one last time, the alpha male ducks, like Muhammad Ali, and lands the final, devastating blow, leaving the entire nation to collect their jaws from the ground.
5. Swimming sloth
Attenborough takes everything you think you know about the natural world and flips the lot on its head – and fish that can change gender aren’t the only creatures making waves.
The pygmy three-toed sloth has all of the traits you’d expect: they spend 15 to 20 hours a day in the trees, they move at just 0.24 kilometres per hour, and they can swim. Wait, what?
Around 9,000 years ago, the sea level rose drastically around the tiny island of Escudo de Veraguas, and all of the species living there were forced to evolve, a challenge which they certainly rose to.
The nation sat up, simultaneously bemused and awe-struck, as Planet Earth II’s resident lovesick male sloth took to the waters in search of a mate after hearing her cry ring out across his habitat. Head barely above the water, the little chap sloth paddled like his life depended on it, reaching the trees which, he assumed, would lead him to his prize. But this sloth’s story was far from over.
He arrived to find that his presumed love interest already had a baby, which would remain with its mother for six, long months, meaning that this female was strictly off limits.
He was forced to take to the water once more. It wasn’t the happy ending everyone was hoping for.
6. Turtle hatchlings
The devastating effect that mankind is having on the natural world is becoming an ever more prevalent feature of Attenborough’s documentaries, and none more so than the fate of the baby turtles in Planet Earth II’s ‘Cities’.
What should have been a simple journey to the ocean from the Barbadian beach on which they hatched swiftly became anything but, and full-blown tragedy ensued. The hatchlings became disorientated by the lights of the city, confusing the glow from cars, buildings and street lamps with that of the full moon reflected on the water – a tool that they use to guide themselves to safety.
The promise of life was quickly crushed as the hatchlings headed towards their destruction, falling down storm drains or trying to dodge cars, while others fell victim to opportunistic crabs lying in wait, taking advantage of the situation.
It was far from an easy watch, and it felt like the entire nation was in mourning.
The production teams who capture these never-before-seen moments make a point of not interfering with their subjects, allowing the events, however cruel and unforgiving, to play out.
But there’s an exception to every rule, and this time the camera crew decided to give their little flippered friends a lifeline, popping them back in the ocean where they belong.
We love a happy ending.
7. Killer whale hunt
A key feature of many of Attenborough’s documentaries has been the immense force of this apex predator, patrolling the oceans in pursuit of sea lions, seals and whales.
But there was one moment in particular which households across the nation found difficult to stomach. Nature is a cruel mistress, but this was too much for many.
We watched, horrified, as a pod of orcas managed to separate a young grey whale from its mother following a relentless chase that ran both adult and baby ragged. It was the ultimate fight for survival, a mother battling to save her offspring from the jaws of death, a fate to which the calf eventually succumbed.
It wasn’t for the faint hearted, and the country was united in its grief.
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