In 1952 the Natural History Unit (NHU) was formed at the BBC and in 1954 a new series was formed called ‘Zoo Quest’ Attenborough’s job was to accompany a man called Jack Lester on a trip to find a rare bird and film it. In 1954 whilst filming on location in Sierra Leone, Jack Lester fell ill, leaving an opening to present the programmes alongside producing them as well. Zoo Quest continued for about 10 years going in search of many different animals and to many exotic places.
When he was not away filming for Zoo Quest he was busy presenting political broadcasts, quizzes, gardening and religious programmes. 1965 saw the arrival of the channel BBC2, with Attenborough in Control. He was also responsible for introducing colour television into Britain and in 1969; he was appointed the Director of Programmes and was responsible for editing both the BBC's television networks.
In 1985, Sir David Attenborough was given a knighthood for his outstanding contributions. He was also given the Order of Merit in 2005.Throughout his career he has received quite a few honorary degrees from various Universities and Institutions and various awards including Fellowship of the Royal Society. He is also a Trustee of the British Museum, the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and is the President of the Royal Society for Nature Conservation.
1993 saw Attenborough filming a groundbreaking series called ‘Life In The Freezer’ which was successfully followed in 1995 by another series called ‘The Life Of Plants’ This series was significant in the fact that new plant species and insects were found and plant behaviour was recorded. In 1998 ‘The Life of birds’ also made many new discoveries. Mainly about the behaviours of birds that was unseen and unknown about until Attenborough and his team captured the rare footage on film.
Attenborough took on the challenge of my favourite series in filming ‘The Blue Planet’ The series was aired on the BBC in 2001 after many years of pioneering filming. The series was produced by Alastair Fothergill with Attenborough narrating and co-producing. Bright (2007)
In an age when it is not uncommon for ten people to stand together on the summit of Everest, It might seem that every corner of our crowded planet has been explored. But that is far from the truth. The highest peaks on earth are still unclimbed. We still have little idea of where the world’s largest animal goes to breed and there are still thousands, maybe even millions, of animal species that remain undiscovered. All are hidden under the waves of the oceans. Attenborough (2001)
After much success with the Blue Planet Attenborough worked on more pioneering projects such as ‘The Life of Mammals’ 2002. ‘Life In The Undergrowth 2005. This was closely followed by the Phenomenal ‘Planet Earth’ which had staggering nine million viewers, which was aired in 2006. Attenborough’s next project ‘Life In Cold Blood’ outlines more unseen behaviours from reptiles and insects. And ‘Life’ which is currently airing on the BBC looks at the extraordinary lengths that animals and plants go to in order to survive. BBC (2009)
Best not to think of reptiles and amphibians as leftovers from the dinosaur age, says David Attenborough. Just look at the clever strategies our cold-blooded cousins have developed. The inch-long pebble toad, which never evolved a hop, instead bounces over rocks to escape tarantulas. The Jesus Christ lizard is named because it can race over water. As for nature in the raw, the extraordinary footage of huge Komodo dragons patiently hunting a buffalo is downright harrowing. Wright (2009)
Fig 1.1
Fig 1.2
Figures 1.1 and 1.2 BBC (2009)
References:
BBC Online 2009
Science & Nature; TV and Radio follow up
Available from;
(Accessed 21/10/2009)
Bright, M, 2007. 100 Years Of Wildlife. Frome: Ebury.
Byatt, A. Fothergill, A. Holmes, M. The Blue Planet a natural history of the oceans. London. BBC Worldwide Limited.
Wright, J. Watch This. Guardian, 19 October.
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