Eight memorable moments from Our Wild Adventures
Our Wild Adventures starts on 大象传媒 Two on Sunday 9th May 2021.
In this 8 part series we're taking a trip back through the natural history archives with some of the 大象传媒’s favourite wildlife presenters, as they share some of their Wild Adventures from around the world.
Read on for a taster of the many memorable moments featured in the series....
Safina the baby elephant, Sue Gibson
In the first episode Africa, camerawoman Sue Gibson remembers the time she spent in Kenya, filming a baby elephant called Safina.
Baby Safina got herself into a slippery situation
It is a race for survival for baby elephants because they need to keep up with their herd and the group can travel up to fifteen kilometres a day. Baby Safina got herself into a slippery situation while she was on the move and struggled to get to grips with the muddy road!
Baby Safina is on the move and takes a tumble
Safina the baby elephant struggles to get to grips with a muddy road.
Siberian tigers, Liz Bonnin
Siberian tiger populations have been in a rapid decline over the past century. There are now only around 500 left in the wild in their native Eastern Russia.
Liz and the team braved the elements to lay camera traps
Liz Bonnin looks back on one of her most memorable wild adventures helping out a team of scientists near Vladivostok who were trying to locate a population of rare Siberian tigers. That was no mean feat with three metres of snow on the ground and temperatures 25 degrees below zero. Liz and the team braved the elements to lay camera traps in the hope of capturing a glimpse. And the teams’ resilience finally paid off – in more ways than they could ever have imagined.
A very rare tiger
Serga is the only confirmed female Siberian tiger in the Ussuryisk Zapovednik reserve.
Iceberg bites back, Chris Packham
Chris Packham looks back on a most memorable trip to Greenland. He suffered what he calls “landscape culture shock” as he flew in over the icy terrain - a world away from his home in the New Forest.
the glacier certainly reminded the team who was boss
Chris and a team of scientists wanted to uncover the hidden forces that explain why the Store Glacier of Greenland produces so many icebergs. They worked on a research yacht in the danger zone at the front of the glacier.
They were fully aware that when you work with ice there's always a chance that tonnes of frozen water could shear off and cause a wave capable of sinking the boat or worse… and the glacier certainly reminded the team who was boss.
Big calving on the Gambo
Half of the team get very close to a calving iceberg on board the expedition ship Gambo.
Crested black macaques, Colin Stafford-Johnson
Peanut, Hero and Tarzan are three cheeky monkeys living on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia.
...the monkeys totally stole his heart. They nearly made off with his camera equipment too!
They’re crested black macaques and a species found nowhere else in the world. They mainly live in trees and are named after the narrow crest of hair that runs along the top of the head from behind the overhanging brow.
When wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson visited Sulawesi for the first time, the monkeys totally stole his heart. They nearly made off with his camera equipment too!
Mischievous monkeys
Colin discovers that sometimes he has to share his camera equipment with the monkeys
Swimming with sperm whales, Steve Backshall
Steve Backshall recounts the time he got up close to one of the largest animals on earth – the sperm whale.
Steve remembers the adult whale being like 鈥渁 ballerina鈥�
They can weigh 45 tonnes and use their size to generate the loudest sound in the animal kingdom. He joined a baby and an adult female.
Female sperm whales live in family groups up to 20 strong. But the youngsters can't dive deep, so a babysitter stays at the surface to look after them. It could be mum or aunt, or even grandma.
When Steve was under the water with them, they seemed to be playing with him, mirroring his movements. Even though a sperm whale’s tail has the power to easily kill a human, Steve remembers the adult whale being like “a ballerina”, pirouetting through the water in an amazing display of agility.
The playful and giant sperm whale
Steve Backshall gets up close to a baby sperm whale and its baby sitter.
Gentle giants, Gordon Buchanan
North America is a place where nature’s heavyweight champions reign supreme.
Gordon really got to know the bears and he became smitten with them.
Ocean giants rule the waves and prehistoric predators lurk in the swamplands. But it’s the gentle giants Gordon Buchanan fondly remembers, from the time he spent in the American wilderness trying to gain the trust of a wild bear family.
He spent a whole year in Minnesota following the lives of a bear called Lily and her cub Hope. While capturing the trials and tribulations that the mother and cub faced, Gordon really got to know the bears and he became smitten with them.
Bear cub playmate
Young cub Hope turns to Gordon Buchanan for entertainment.
Mega moths, Dr George McGavin
We head south of the Equator as Dr. George McGavin shares his memories of his wild adventures in the rainforest of Papua New Guinea.
George was in his element when he found a whole host of gigantic moths!
Whilst filming Lost Land of the Volcano George was in his element when he found a whole host of gigantic moths!
Moth mayhem
A moth trap sheds light on an incredible diversity of species.
Forest elephants of the Congo
In a very personal journey, wildlife cameraman Vianet Djenguet tells us about the time he returned to his beloved homeland of Congo.
This trip was so special it makes him realise why he became a wildlife cameraman in the first place.
He describes the jungle of the Congo as "the best place to see wildlife in the whole of Africa." As he treks through the jungle, he sees buffalo, western lowland gorillas and forest elephants. This trip was so special it makes him realise why he became a wildlife cameraman in the first place.
Meet the forest elephants
Vianet catches a rare glimpse of Congo鈥檚 forest elephants.
