David Attenborough captures a three-toed sloth and witnesses leafcutter ants at work as he travels to South America in search of rare and interesting animals.
David Attenborough's exploration of the forests of what was then British Guiana continues, as he searches for rare animals to film.
David Attenborough reports on the rare animals he found on an expedition to then British Guiana.
Another report from the expedition that recently returned from filming and capturing rare animals in the forests of South America.
David Attenborough introduces film of fishing and bird hunting trips. He also uses special apparatus to demonstrate the electricity produced by two electric eels in a tank in the studio.
David Attenborough presents a final report on his expedition to film and capture rare animals in the forests of South America.
David Attenborough chronicles events during a sponsored nature expedition on tour of West Africa. In September 1954 David Attenborough, cameraman Charles Lagus, Jack Lester and Alf Woods, both from the Zoological Society of London, set out for Sierra Leone. They spent three months intently surveying the landscapes of Sierra Leone in search of nature’s rarest animals. Although predominantly searching for Picathartes gymnocephalus (the White-necked Rockfowl) they hoped to take back to London a representative collection of the whole of animal life in this part of Africa.
This is first episode of a six-part series in which David Attenborough searches for the Komodo dragon. David Attenborough and cameraman Charles Lagus begin their quest in Borneo, the first in the chain of islands they must cross in order to reach Komodo. There they trek through jungle to a village belonging to the Dayak tribe, where they are given a warm welcome. The Zoo Quest team are hoping to find an orangutan and, with guidance from the Dayaks, they discover and film one in the wild. However, it is an orphaned orangutan held captive by a hunter that Attenborough falls for in the end.
David Attenborough and the Zoo Quest team ventured to the islands of South East Asia in search of the legendary Komodo dragon. In this stretch of the journey, Attenborough has a close encounter with a crocodile, spends time with Dayak villagers and makes the acquaintance of Benjamin, an abandoned baby bear.
David Attenborough and his cameraman Charles Lagus explore the island of Java in their quest for the largest lizard in the world. They see gibbons having a leisurely breakfast in the treetops, stop off at the 8th century Buddhist temple Borobudur and take a glimpse into Bromo, a sulphur-spewing volcano. Attenborough also captures a fully grown python to bring back to London Zoo. This creature later makes a wriggly appearance as a guest in the studio.
David Attenborough's search for the legendary Komodo dragon reaches Bali, where he witnesses a procession in honour of an 'invisible god' and explores a temple that provides shelter to a colony of bats believed by the locals to be sacred. Back in the studio, Attenborough meets a fruit bat that is a resident of London Zoo.
David Attenborough walks through avenues of palm trees and rice fields in order to reach a small Balinese village. Once there, he encounters curious villagers and remarkable creatures, including ants that demonstrate some ingenious behaviour. In addition to exploring less celebrated wildlife, this is also an opportunity to witness the unique Balinese culture with its hypnotic music and dance based on ancient Hindu legends.
The Zoo Quest team sails to Komodo island, the home of a giant lizard known as the Komodo dragon. The first and last known sighting of these animals by a European was in 1912. Once on shore, Attenborough soon comes face to face with the prehistoric-looking creatures. A villager had recently been killed by one, and it is plain to see why they are a danger to man. Attenborough also discovers that all is not safe on board the boat.
David Attenborough begins his journey in search of birds of paradise at the Great Barrier Reef, discovering the fish, molluscs, sea anemones and birds that live among the coral.
David Attenborough's quest to find birds of paradise continues with a visit to Raine Island, home to seabirds and turtles.
David Attenborough's search for birds of paradise leads him to the New Guinea mountains, where he sets up base camp.
David Attenborough's search for birds of paradise along the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and in the mountains of New Guinea takes in other wildlife and the local tribespeople that he met along the way. This episode focuses on the people of the Wahgi Valley.
Cameras follow David Attenborough's search for birds of paradise along Australia's Great Barrier Reef and into the mountains of New Guinea.
David Attenborough embarks on the last stage of his journey through the mountains of central New Guinea in search of birds of paradise.
David Attenborough begins the story of his search for rare and interesting animals in the tropical swamps, forests and plains of central South America. He shows film of his encounter with swarms of butterflies, toucans and hangnest birds, and brings some of the animals to the studio.
David Attenborough shows some of the creatures that live on the flat, rolling plains of Northern Argentina.
David Attenborough finds rheas, a relation of the ostrich, and looks for some of the creatures that live in burrows on the pampas. Plus an interview with zookeeper J.P. McCorry.
The western part of Paraguay is a vast, flat plain, treeless except for a few patches of thorn scrub and cactus. In the rainy season it is a swamp, in the dry season a parched desert. This is the Chaco.David Attenborough shows film of people and animals living there and brings some of the creatures he captured to the studio.
David Attenborough continues his journey across the desolate plains and swamps of the Gran Chaco to visit one of the isolated patches of scrub and cactus that provide shelter for many of the Chaco animals. He brings two caimans to the studio.
David Attenborough introduces his last programme about collecting animals in the tropical swamps, forests and plains of central South America, and brings some of the creatures themselves to the studio.
This series captures the four months David Attenborough, cameraman Geoffrey Mulligan and Malagasy ornithologist Georges Randrianasolo spent travelling several thousand miles throughout the island of Madagascar. They set out to meet the people of Madagascar and study their local customs as well as film some of the remarkable animals which occur nowhere else in the world. Starting in the south of Madagascar, David Attenborough hopes to find an Aepyornis egg. The Aepyornis, or elephant bird, may have given rise to the legend of the gigantic bird known as the rukh or roc. Attenborough reconstructs an Aepyornis egg from fragments, and also sees tortoises and sifakas.
David Attenborough encounters fish that walk on land, giant chameleons nearly three feet in length and the coelacanth fish that scientists thought had been extinct for over 50 million years. The discoveries are part of a four month journey through Madagascar in search of some of the remarkable animals which occur nowhere else in the world. Attenborough brings some chameleons and tenrecs back to London Zoo.
David Attenborough looks at how the people of Madagascar worship their ancestors. Some open their tombs each year and entertain the dead with feasting and dancing; some worship on the shores of a sacred lake where they believe their forebears live on in the shape of crocodiles. David also catches a boa constrictor and brings it back to London Zoo.
David Attenborough continues his search for the rare animals of Madagascar and finds ant lions, giant moths, mud wasps and several kinds of lemur, some of which he brings to the studio. He watches flamingos and helps remove poachers' traps, which have been set to catch brown lemurs.
David Attenborough comes to the end of his expedition having travelled thousands of miles throughout the island of Madagascar. The principle objective of the expedition is to film and observe the rarest animals of the island and the search continues in the depths of the Madagascan forest. Geckoes, millipedes and paradise flycatchers are among the animals encountered as Attenborough searches for one of the most legendary animals of Madagascar, the indri. Indris are the largest of all the lemurs and are the creature some believe to be the origin of the "dog-headed man" legend, as recounted by Marco Polo. Extremely shy animals, only Attenborough's recordings of their weird, deafening wails can entice a family out of hiding, so providing a unique glimpse of these previously unseen primates.
This is the first in a series of six programmes by David Attenborough on the Northern Territory of Australia. David Attenborough, cameraman Eugene Carr and sound recordist Bob Saunders spent four months in the Northern Territory of Australia. Hoping to capture the essence of this vast territory they meet its people and explore its unique landscape and animals. Their journey starts in the south among the Aborigines of the desert, many of whom have abandoned their nomadic way of live, now living in mission stations and government settlements. But the desert holds an irresistible pull, and groups suddenly vanish to visit sacred water holes and mountains that have been the gods of the aborigines since time immemorial.
David Attenborough reaches the middle of the Northern Territory of Australia and visits three people in the otherwise deserted area of Borroloola who have chosen to cut themselves off from the civilised world.
David Attenborough continues his journey through Australia's Northern Territory. He looks at the hunting of local wildlife such as magpie geese and water buffalo. David Attenborough interviews Yorky Billy, an Australian whose family were originally from Yorkshire. Having lived all his life in the bush, Yorky Billy is an expert on the wild buffalo of the Northern Territory and imparts some useful advice on how to avoid annoying them. Back amongst an Aboriginal community David Attenborough explores burial traditions and witnesses a traditional dance that re-enacts a kangaroo hunt.
David Attenborough looks at the aboriginal artists of Arnhem Land in Australia's Northern Territory. He discovers why they paint and in doing so, gets some insight into the very origins of art.
David Attenborough ventures into the bush to discover the unique wild animals that inhabit the Northern Territory of Australia. The bush walk reveals a wealth of wildlife including bee eaters, radjah shelduck, rose crested cockatoos, termites, kangaroos, wallabies, possums, an Australian crane and several lizards including the goanna, the thorny devil and the frilled lizard. Attenborough also closely observes the extraordinary behaviour of a bowerbird, which collects a treasury of white objects to display to its mate during courtship.
The Aboriginal people are the subject of this report by David Attenborough from the Northern Territory of Australia. David Attenborough joins the Gunavidji people on the coast of the Northern Territory to obtain a better understanding of their traditional way of life. He examines the efforts of the Australian government to move Aboriginal communities away from their nomadic tradition by building welfare settlements and training schools. This programme offers a unique insight into a difficult and complex period in Aboriginal history.
David Attenborough's Zoo Quest in Colour Thanks to a recent remarkable discovery in the BBC's film vaults, the best of David Attenborough's early Zoo Quest adventures can now be seen as never before, in colour, and with it the remarkable story of how this pioneering television series was made. First broadcast in December 1954, Zoo Quest was one of the most popular television series of its time and launched the career of the young David Attenborough as a wildlife presenter. It completely changed how viewers saw the world, revealing wildlife and tribal communities that had never been filmed or even seen before. Broadcast ten years before colour television was seen in the UK, Zoo Quest was thought to have been filmed in black and white, until now. Using this extraordinary new-found colour film, together with new behind-the-scenes stories from David Attenborough and cameraman Charles Lagus, this special showcases the very best of Zoo Quest to West Africa, Zoo Quest to Guiana and Zoo Quest for a Dragon in stunning HD colour for the very first time.
David Attenborough travels to Meru National Park in Kenya to visit Joy and George Adamson and meet Elsa the lioness and her cubs shortly before Elsa's death. In the late 1950s, game warden George and his wife Joy became the carers of three orphaned cubs - Elsa, Big One and Lustica - after George had been forced to kill their mother. Big One and Lustica were eventually sent to Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands, but Elsa remained with the Adamsons. Joy's quest to train Elsa to survive in the wild and Elsa's subsequent independence became the basis for the book and film Born Free. Now living in the wild with her own three cubs in Meru National Park, David joins the Adamsons as they try and track down Elsa to check up on her wellbeing.
