@iron_ammonite - Wildlife & TV

How to grow a planet - forest in a cave, strange prehistoric plants & dinosaurs #TopTV

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:11:16 PST

"The best factual programme so far this year!"

Following on from Earth: The Power of the Planet and How Earth Made Us, Professor Iain Stewart tells a stunning new story about our planet and reveals how some of the greatest changes to the Earth have been driven by plants. Watch episode one on BBC iPlayer (while it's available). Episode 2 is on BBC2 on 14th February.

Life from Light

Episode one 'Life from Light' opens with a glimpse of the most spectacular sequence in the series - exploring the Han Son Doong caves of Vietnam (the complete sequence will feature in episode two). Three kilometers inside the cave system Iain discovers a lost rainforest that has grown where the roof has collapsed. Nothing could show more vividly the capacity for plants to colonise barren rock - just as they did when they first ventured on to land. "This rainforest exists because of one thing above all, something which has enabled plants to colonise almost everywhere on earth - light."

The sun is a key character in this film and it stylishly appears throughout in the guise of lens-flares and solar timelapses. It's the perfect symbol of all life on Earth - a star 150 million kms away.

"Plants have this truly remarkable ability to harness energy from out of space, to produce food, it's this ability to eat the sun, to manufacture life from light, that's allowed plants to dominate the planet. This is the most important natural process on earth. It's how the plant kingdom has transformed a lifeless planet into a living world."

Han Son Doong - a rainforest in a cave (Photo: Carsten Peter)

Beautifully produced

Like all of Iain's series (though I may be a little biased as I did work on How Earth Made Us), this is well produced, beautifully shot and effortlessly presented. Iain takes us on a thrilling adventure around the world, from South East Asia to the United States, Canada, Australia, South Africa and of course, his native land of Scotland. Complex concepts are made a real pleasure to grasp as Iain demonstrates them using eye-opening experiments, new scientific techniques, and superb graphics - including the best explanation for photosynthesis that I've ever seen on TV.

Although Professor Stewart is mostly known to academia as a seismologist (specialising in earthquakes), he embraces the subject of plants whole-heartedly. His real passion is how the Earth has evolved and changed over millennia, and what could have been more significant than the evolution of photosynthesis. You might say that Iain even puts his lungs into this series - spending two days locked in an airtight chamber full of plants to show the rate at which photosynthesis creates oxygen.

Mouse in a box

The airtight chamber was built to be a powerful demonstration of how plants act as the lungs of planet Earth, providing all the oxygen that sustains us. It echoes the experiment first tried by the scientist Joseph Priestly in 1772. He showed that a mouse could survive in an airtight chamber full of plants, yet could only live a short time in a box without them. "This time, I was the mouse" said Iain when I caught up with him recently...

"When I went into the chamber they sucked out half the oxygen, so they could look at the effects of oxygen deficiency. It was like being suddenly stuck on the top of a very high mountain. I started to get altitude sickness - headache, everything was incredibly slow, I was trying to do tests... I was overly deliberate and taking ages."

"All I needed to do was rest, try to use less oxygen and make sure those plants kept on photosynthesising - I kept watering them just to be sure!"

"It was funny, but after that, I started to feel much more paternal toward them".

Man in a Box (Eden Project)

Ancient air and a chilli

Iain is as enthusiastic about sharing the secrets hidden in a lump of rock as he is when scaling giant trees or exploring deep caves. One rock in particular that got him really excited was a chunk of iron ore from a freshly blasted cliff in South Africa. Like a geological Nigella Lawson he relishes in the recipe for extracting oxygen from the ore before inhaling the fruits of his labour, air that was created by plant life two and a half billion years ago.

The height of his gastronomic revelations comes when he scoffs a whole chilli, to demonstrate how plants,like spiky cycads, built up resistance to predators - the most terrifying of all (if you're a plant) being the sauropod dinosaurs who he calls the 'ultimate salad predators'. Holding up the remains of the chili Iain says "forget about cycads, THAT could have brought down a 70 tonne sauropod!"

Other highlights making this programme 'not-to-be missed' include a rainforest inside a Vietnamese cave, plants talking to each other, macro-photography of leaf pores breathing, and a climb up the biggest organism on earth - the 85-metre-tall, 1500-year-old Giant sequoia in California. Epic!

If you need more of a reason to watch this episode then here's a few clips. Otherwise, go straight to iPlayer (while the programme is still available).

Breathing 2.5 Billion Year Old Oxygen

Life in an airtight chamber

The Prof vs The Chilli

When dinosaurs evolved they posed a threat to the plant kingdom. They were the biggest herbivores ever to live on land and many of them travelled in groups, stripping plants of their leaves. In response to herbivory, plants developed defences, the most obvious being thorns and spikes. They then went on to evolve chemical weapons, in the form of foul tasting chemicals and toxins.Chillis contain a chemical called capsaicin, which is essentially a toxin.

Skateboarding Dogs & Mastermind Goldfish - Super Smart Animals on BBC One

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:51:59 PST

Weds 8th & Thurs 9th February, BBC One 8pm

Intelligent animals! Talking, solving problems, feeling emotion? Surely the stuff of fiction.

In this two part series, Liz Bonnin (from BBC Bang Goes The Theory) reveals that animals possess qualities we once thought uniquely human – such as language, culture and consciousness. Liz gets creative with dolphins, shares a eureka moment with orangutans and defends the reputation of the human race when she goes head to head with a chimp genius in a test of maths and memory. Two of the highlights is sure to be John Humphries putting a goldfish through its paces on Mastermind and Tillman the skateboarding dog wowing crowds in Los Angeles.

Prepare to be amazed, entertained, and even outwitted by the world's Super Smart Animals.

BBC Programme Page

Tillman the Skateboarding Dog
Goldie the Goldfish on Mastermind

David Attenborough selects his desert island discs for 4th time.

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:14:28 PST

For the 70th anniversary edition of Desert Island Discs Kirsty Young invited Sir David Attenborough to make his fourth appearance on the show. He was first invited to select which tracks he'd take to a desert island in 1957 by the original host Roy Plomley. Almost every track from his five appearances have been classical compositions including 'The Bell Bird' by Francisco Yglesia, 'The Fire Bird' by Igor Stravinsky and 'Spring Symphony' by Benjamin Britten, and surprisingly 'The Lord is my light' by Handel, chosen in 1979.

David Attenborough has seen more of the world than anyone else who has ever lived - he's visited the north and south poles and witnessed most of the life in-between - from the birds in the canopies of tropical rainforests to giant earthworms in Australia. But despite his extraordinary travels, there is one part of the globe that's eluded him. As a young man and a keen rock-climber, he yearned to conquer the highest peak in the world.

"I won't make it now - I won't make it to base camp now - but as a teenager, I thought that the only thing a red-blooded Englishman really should do was to climb Everest." - Sir David Attenborough.

Download the MP3 here
Listen to the show on the BBC iPlayer

David Attenborough with Kirsty Young (BBC)

Sir David's 3rd appearance in 1998

In December 1998 David Attenborough made his third appearance on Desert Island Discs with Sue Lawley. As she introduced him "He brought the blue-footed booby into our sitting rooms, and revealed the secret lives of plants. But we remember him best caught in the embrace of a female gorilla."

Download the MP3 here
Listen to the show on the BBC iPlayer

Beautiful Planet - free to use space images from Nasa

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:48:07 PST

Whilst making 'How Earth Made Us' I needed to locate a wide range of satellite imagery. Fortunately all the images produced by Nasa are in the public domain and are free to use. They're also quick to access if you know where to look...

Blue Marble

If you want to add some global sparkle to your film then your first stop might be Blue Marble from Nasa. This is an archive of free-to-use extremely high resolution images of the Earth that most TV graphics companies use to generate the 'globes' used in TV programmes.

To view the full sized image of Blue Marble you'd need a monitor as big as your house (1 thousand million mpixels) so I think the quality is high enough for most TV purposes! However, you'll need some real hardware fire-power and photoshop 8 to even stand a chance of opening it. At full resolution you can zoom fairly well into specific regions and countries.

If you have a simple desktop then a safer bet might be to use the lower resolution versions (still 2km and 8km pixels). This resolution would still be good enough for creating wide 'locators' such as entire continents or countries but it will not allow you to zoom in closer.

You can check the resolution at this link (cloudless) and also here (including atmosphere/clouds).

Download the KML file to allow you to view this as a live layer of satellite imagery on Google Earth.

ESDI

Another source for specific regions is the Earth Science data interface. if you have very specific requests then it might be worth contacting the archive staff as they are very helpful.

The Blue Marble - used by most graphics companies to generate earth shots (Nasa)

Images of natural phenomenon

Modis

The 'Rapid response system' is used to view near-real time satellite imagery which is useful for navigating and downloading more localised and regional images, as well as images of natural phenomenon such as hurricanes, plankton blooms and dust clouds. You can search the Modis archives here.

Visible Earth

Similar to the Modis archive Visible Earth is a catalogue of NASA images and animations.

Low pressure weather system showing the spin of the coriolis effect (Nasa)

Plankton Bloom - coast of Patagonia (Nasa)

Plankton Bloom in the Barents sea (Nasa)

Mount St Helens (Nasa)

Himalayas (Nasa)

Iceland (Nasa)

Photographs taken by astronauts

JSC Digital Image Collection has more than 9000 photos spanning the American space program. Although usually much lower resolution that the satellite imagery some of the photographs taken by astronauts can still be useful in creating aerial views of the planet.

I used this image of the Jet Stream in 'How Earth Made Us'. To turn it from a still image into a moving jet stream all I needed was a subtle bit of animation.

Jet Stream (Nasa)

Aurora borealis (Nasa)

Cleveland Volcano, Aleutian Islands (Nasa)

Bringing it to life

All it takes is a little 2D animation to bring some of these images alive, e.g. subtle swirls in a hurricane or plankton bloom. These effects can even be achieved in a simple editing package like final cut pro.

Hurricane Katrina from Visible Earth (Nasa)

Mixing aerials & satellite imagery

Watch the super pull-out from our presenter in the sequence below. To achieve this we used Nasa & EDSI satellite imagery and seamlessly mixed through from heli-gimble aerials.

Timelapse View from Space

Using free images you can create stunning sequences such as this one called a 'Time lapse view from space'. This was created using photographs taken by the crew of expeditions 28 and 29 onboard the International Space Station from August to October, 2011.

Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.

Happy monster fish & blue blooded crabs - Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:15:51 PST

Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures, episode 2: BBC4 January 31st, 9pm
Watch episode 1 on BBC iPlayer (while it lasts)

Professor Richard Fortey, NHM

It is estimated that 99 per cent of species have become extinct and there have been times when life's hold on Earth has been so precarious it seems it hangs on by a thread. 'Survivors: Nature's Indestructible Creatures' focuses on the survivors - the old-timers - whose biographies stretch back millions of years and who show how it is possible to survive a mass extinction event which wipes out nearly all of its neighbours. The Natural History Museum's Professor Richard Fortey discovers what allows the very few to carry on going - perhaps not for ever, but certainly far beyond the life expectancy of normal species. What makes a survivor when all around drop like flies?

I recently spoke with Professor Richard Fortey when he visited Bristol. He was full of excitement about 'Survivors' - the first TV series he has fronted, and about time too!

To palaeontologists he's known as the world expert on Trilobites - an extinct wood-louse like creature, of which there are over 20,000 different species. Trilobites dominated the oceans fauna for over 270 million years making them one of the most successful groups ever, and keeping Richard Fortey busy for over 50 years at the Natural History Museum in London. I remember when I worked at the Museum, whenever Professor Fortey passed there was a hushed reverence, the like of which I have only ever witnessed in the presence of Sir David Attenborough.

Trilobites, as visualised in 1916 by the German painter Heinrich Harder.

The Happy Coelacanth

To most non-palaeontologists Richard Fortey is best known for his popular science books, the most recent of which is 'Survivors, the plants and animals that time left behind', on which this series is based.

There lived a happy Coelacanth
In dim, primordial seas;
He ate and mated, hunted, slept,
Completely at his ease.
Dame Nature urged: ‘Evolve!’
He said: ‘Excuse me, Ma’am,
You get on with making Darwin,
I’m staying as I am.’

This curious little poem by Horace Shipp (1988) is cited in the book, and it wonderfully captures the essence of Fortey's thesis; that while some lineages change dramatically over time, others do not. Of course it is not enough to just accept that, and what Fortey does beautifully is to explore why this should be.

The star of Shipp's poem is a prehistoric fish, the coelacanth. This was thought to have disappeared with the dinosaurs 65 million years ago and then astonishingly turned up in a South African fish market in the 1930s. It turns out that it had been surviving quite happily in the gloomy depths around the Comoros Islands. 'Unfortunately there's some sort of civil war happening in the comoros so it wasn't the best time to visit' regrets Fortey, but 'who knows what other creatures from the past remain waiting to be discovered'.

'I was lucky to see so many wonderful plants and animals whilst making this series' he says with boyish enthusiasm, his eyes twinkling. This passion for prehistoric life began when he was 14 years old and first 'gazed into the eyes of his first trilobite'. 'So where better to start my exploration than with the closest living relatives of the creatures I know best'.

Tasting the past

Fortey headed to the shores of Delaware in the United States to witness a scene that has been taking place for at least 100 million years. On a few nights every May and June, when the moon is full and the tide is at its highest, creatures called horseshoe crabs come ashore, emerging in their tens of thousands to spawn and lay their eggs in the sands along this protected bay. 'They're not crabs at all but a special group called Limulidae, the nearest living relative of the trilobite.'

Mass spawning horseshoe crabs (Paul Williams)

I too have had the pleasure of filming this spectacle (see my post from May 2011) but I was there for a much more modern sight. The laying of billions of horseshoe crab eggs is the stimulus for a million migrating shorebirds - Red Knots, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Ruddy Turnstones, and Sanderlings, who gather to feed on these tiny beaches. Many fly thousands of miles to be here. It's a critical stop-over to fatten up on their way to the breeding grounds of the arctic, and each bird needs to eat more than 135,000 eggs in less than a couple of weeks. As Fortey says 'Birds have only been around for less than 90 million years' so here we have a modern ecosystem completely reliant on survivors from the past'.

Seabirds gather to feed on horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware bay (Photo: Paul Williams)

This was not the first time that Richard Fortey has been up close with these alien-looking creatures. In south east Asia he was surprised to find one served up for dinner, and as it was the closest thing to eating a trilobite he tucked in with gusto. He told me that 'it was utterly disgusting', and maybe this is one of the secrets to the longevity of the horseshoe crab.

The Great Dying

Having been around for 450 million years horseshoe crabs have had to face bigger challenges than hungry professors. They had to face the greatest extinction event the planet has ever seen, and the catastrophe that wiped out their more diverse and flamboyant cousins - the trilobites. Dubbed The Great Dying, this disastrous loss of life occurred around 250 million years ago. It was the demise of most of earths species - 96% of marine species, 70% of terrestrial vertebrates and 57% of insect families. This period had phases of major environmental change, ending with a catastrophic event, which included some of the greatest volcanic activity the world has seen.

But the strange-looking horseshoe crab, with its armoured shell and long rigid pointed tail, plodded on. So, what is it about horseshoe crabs that enabled them to survive? ‘Being able to feed on almost any organic matter helped,’ says Fortey but what 'I think is the real key to their success is that they have a special kind of blood, which is blue! rather than iron based like our own, it's copper based.' 'It coagulates when it encounters bacteria so they can 'wall up' any wounds they receive. In Delaware you see giant crabs with huge holes through them, and they just carry on regardless'.

'What is absolutely wonderful is that scientists are able to use this blue blood to test drugs and implants for toxins' 'The crabs are milked like cows..' 'but fortunately' he added 'the scientists have come to their senses and now return the crabs in a fairly healthy state.'

So what has helped the horseshoe crab to keep going for 450 million years might also be able to help us keep going a little longer too.

Crabs being 'milked' for their blue blood: Source

A cast of prehistoric oddities

During filming Fortey encountered a cast of some of the most peculiar animals on earth including velvet worms, lungfish, sponges and flesh-burrowing sea lampreys, but his highlight was the duck-billed platypus, whose lineage goes back more than 200 million years.

‘Seeing duck-billed platypuses was a thrill. I know the one on display at the Natural History Museum museum but they are such peculiar animals that to see them alive was something I had wanted to do for a long time. I had had two previous unsuccessful attempts to do so’

If you haven't see this series yet then you can catch up (while it lasts) on BBC iPlayer.

Duck-billed platypus (Dave Watts/Naturepl.com)

Deadly Giant Crystal Cave - A Journey Within. Unimaginable Geological Beauty.

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:43:01 PST

Lots of people have asked if I have any more photo's from the Giant Crystal Cave (Cueva de los Cristales), so I've created a video story-book. I hope this helps to relay some of the awe that I felt when I visited the cave in 2009. It's been called 'the deadliest place on earth', but it surely is the most incredible and beautiful place I will ever see.

"It's 50oC and has a humidity of 100%, less than a hundred people have been inside and it's so deadly that even with respirators and suits of ice you can only survive for 20 minutes before your body starts to fail. It’s the nearest thing to visiting another planet – it’s going deep inside our own." (Iron Ammonite 2009)

The Journey Within...

If you like this video I'd very much appreciate it if you would 'like' my new Facebook page.

You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel and see more of my films here.

Thanks
Paul

Credits & Further Links

Please note that some of the photographs were NOT taken by me. All photographs taken in the cave are copyright of Speleoresearch & Films. These photographs were taken by: Paul Williams (me), Carsten Peter (who took the most iconic images), Paolo Petrigniani, Tullio Bernabei, Giovanni Badino and Oscar Necoechea. Music used: Life in the Undergrowth, composed by Ben Salisbury.

Further links:
My blog post following my visit to the crystal cave in 2009
Watch the clip from the sequence that we filmed for our BBC TV series 'How Earth Made Us'
My list of the top 5 caves filmed by the BBC (includes video of the sequences)

The Queen's Eye - Gateway to the most beautiful cave on Earth

'The Queen's Eye'. Miners Eloy Delgado and Javier Delgado, the two brothers who discovered the cave's "antechamber", gave the name "The Queens Eye' because the opening to the cave resembled an eye. Photo by Tullio Bernabei.

Killer Gremlins & Cute Baby Animals - BBC Natural World is back

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:50:40 PST

BBC Two, 8pm, Weds 25th January

The Natural World is back with another run of extraordinary films starting with 'The Jungle Gremlins of Java'. To celebrate here's a montage of cute baby animals that appear in the series...

Cute Baby Animals

The Jungle Gremlins of Java

The slow loris is a real-life gremlin, extremely cute but with a venom that can cause flesh necrosis and even kill a human. Dr Anna Nekaris travels to the jungles of Java to solve the riddle of its toxic bite, but a shocking discovery awaits.

5 jaw-dropping caves - superman's fortress, santa's grotto & the chandelier ballroom

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:45:49 PST

Here's my top 5 caves as seen on the BBC.

1. Superman's Fortress - The Giant Crystal Cave of Naica

Appeared in: BBC How Earth Made Us (2010)

Probably the most incredible photograph of the cave ever taken. Photograph by Carsten Peter/Speleoresearch & Films. Published in National Geographic.

Where: Beneath the town of Naica in the Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico

Geological Features: The cave is also known as Cueva de los Cristales. It contains the largest natural crystals ever found, which are composed of selenite. The largest is 11 m (36 ft) in length, 4 m (13 ft) in diameter and 55 tons in weight.

How it was formed: Naica lies on an ancient fault and there is an underground magma chamber below the cave. The magma heated the ground water and it became saturated with minerals. The hollow space of the cave was filled with this mineral rich hot water and remained stable for about 500,000 years allowing crystals to form and grow to immense sizes.

I visited these caves in 2009, this is what I wrote at the time:

"Cueva de los Cristales is the incarnation of our most awesome science fiction imaginations - Jules Verne's Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Superman's Fortress of Solitude. At about the same time as humans first ventured out of Africa, these crystals began to slowly grow. For half a million years they remained protected and nurtured by a womb of hot hydrothermal fluids rich with minerals.

When mining began here over a hundred years ago, the water table was lowered and the cave drained. The crystals seemingly interminable development was frozen forever leaving them as aborted relics of the deep earth. It wasn't until 2001 that miners, searching for lead, eventually penetrated the cave wall and brought it to light. The very act of discovering and witnessing them has triggered their slow decay and now no one knows what their fate will be. To me they are a testament to the hidden forces of the planet, forces which operate on scales far beyond our own." More images from my blog entry of 2009

2. Santa's Grotto - The Frozen Ice Caves of Mount Erebus

Appeared in: BBC Frozen Planet (2011)

Where: Ross Island, Antartica, beneath Mount Erebus, the worlds southernmost active volcano

Name: Mount Erebus was discovered on January 27, 1841 by polar explorer Sir James Clark Ross who named it after his ships, Erebus and Terror. Erebus was a primordial Greek god of darkness, the son of Chaos.

How it was formed: The volcano constantly releases hot gases which steam up through cracks and fractures in the volcanic rocks. As soon as this gas hits the frigid Antarctic air it freezes, and over time has created an intricate network of delicate ice caves and hollow towers, some as tall as 30 feet.

Mount Erebus, Ice Caves - George Steinmetz Source

3. The Chandelier Ballroom of Lechuguilla Caves

Appeared in: BBC Planet Earth (2006)

Where: Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico, USA

Name: The cave is named for Agave lechuguilla, a plant found near its entrance.

Geological Features: Lechuguilla Cave is the sixth longest cave (130.24 miles / 210 km) known to exist in the world. It has a large variety of wonderfully named speleothems, including 20 feet (6.1m) gypsum chandeliers, 20 feet (6.1m) gypsum hairs and beards, 15 feet (4.6m) soda straws, hydromagnesite balloons, cave pearls, subaqueous helictites, rusticles, U-loops and J-loops.

It took the Planet Earth team 2 years to gain permission to film this fragile cave system. An 8-hour journey through narrow passages ending in an abseil of 60 metres in utter darkness made getting equipment in hard, especially the small jib arm vital to the filming. The crew spent 10 days underground to get these first ever high-definition images of the caves.

Crystals in the Chandelier Ballroom Image Source

4. Waitomo - The Glow Worm Cave

Appeared in: BBC Life in the Undergrowth (2005)

Where: Waitomo, southern Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand

Name: The word Waitomo comes from the Māori language wai meaning water and tomo meaning a doline or sinkhole; it can thus be translated as 'water passing through a hole'.

There are around 300 caves in Waitomo, but it's not the geological formations that make these into a subterranean wonderland, it's the larvae of their resident glow worm - Arachnocampa luminosa, a species unique to New Zealand. Like a starry sky thousands of these tiny creatures radiate their unmistakable luminescent light. This attracts midges, moths and mosquitos who soon find themselves tangled in sticky strands that dangle from the larvae like fishing lines. The larva hoists up its catch and feeds.

Image Source

5. The Dongzhong Cave School

Appeared in: BBC Wild China (2008)

Where: Dongzhong cave school, Miao village, Ziyun county, China.

Name: Dongzhong means 'in cave'

The Dongzhong cave was formed by wind and water erosion over thousands of years. Now two hundred pupils, 18 families and their livestock live here.

Photo: Rueters

Pull the udder one - it's Spider Goat! 'Playing God' #BBCHorizon

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:34:43 PST

Horizon, Playing God - Tues 17th January, BBC2 9:30pm

Spider-goat, spider-goat. Does whatever a spider-goat does! can he swing from a web?...

In tonights episode of Horizon Adam Rutherford meets a new creature created by American scientists - part goat, part spider. It's super-power - to produce large quantities of spider silk.

Spider silk is one of the strongest substances known to man. Prized for its lightness, elasticity and strength it has an abundance of untapped potential from its use in the manufacture of aircraft and racing vehicles to bullet-proof clothing and artificial ligaments. Until now the supply of silk has been limited to a few spider farms. Not only a large investment for little return, but voracious spiders have the tendancy to eat each other.

This came to the attention of scientists working in the field of synthetic biology, a new field with a radical claim - to break down nature into a kit of parts which can be rebuilt however we please, like lego. They extracted a gene from an orb-weaver spider and popped it into the DNA that prompts milk production in the udders of goats. Hay presto, not 8 legged wool spinners, but spider-goats capable of producing large quantities of silk in their milk - with the added bonus that they didn't want to eat each other.

Synthetic biology is already being used to make bio-diesel to power cars, and biosensors have been created to detect a range of substances including viruses, bacteria, hormones and drugs. Other researchers are looking at how we might, one day, control human emotions by sending 'biological machines' into our brains. To some this is just a front for Frankensteinian genetic tinkering, the most striking of which hit the headlines in 2010 when American biologist Craig Venter, announced that he had created the world's first synthetic life form paving the way for more extreme forms of genetic modification.

This should be a fascinating film.

BBC Programme Page

Meet Spider Goat

Source

Tonight I'll have one eye on the sky & one on the TV - Stargazing Live BBC2 & astronomical photography

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:31:12 PST

Stargazing LIVE BBC Two, 8.30pm, continuing tuesday and wednesday evening.

Tonight I'll be getting out my telescope once again to attempt to follow the lead of Professor Brian Cox and Dara O Briain, as they take us on a thrilling tour of the stars. This year Stargazing Live will be broadcast from the control room of Jodrell Bank observatory and tonight's episode will focus on our nearest neighbour - the Moon.

Check out their packed website for more information, clips and things to do.

Star Photography

I haven't had much time to play with star photography but below I've posted a couple of shots that I'm fairly pleased with. Here's a useful photography tutorial from astronomer Mark Thompson.
Also see the Stargazing Live photo group.

A few of my recent attempts...

Explosion of stars over the Pantanal, Brazil, Aug 2011 (6400 ISO). Like floating in space - mesmerising.

I was filming a story about these trees in the Northern Woods of Maine and using the headlights of my car I was able to illuminate the trees for a second whilst capturing a several second exposure of the stars.

I was pleased to see ths shooting star when I looked back through my images...

Close your eyes and be transported to a Magical Frozen Planet - Chris Watson's Evocative Antarctic Soundscapes

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 06:45:01 PST

Nature: Soundings from Antarctica, BBC Radio 4

I've just been to the Antarctic... well audually speaking, transported by 30 minutes of evocative soundscapes courtesy of one of the worlds top sound recordists, Chris Watson. Nature: Soundings from Antarctica was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 4 last week. If you havent taken the journey yet then I urge you to lay back, close your eyes, and float away to a magical frozen world. Listen on BBC iPlayer

(Photo: Chris Watson)

The Sound of Geology

"[Antarctica] is so quiet; its the only place in the world that you can actually hear Geology happening; all these processes that you're schooled to think take thousands and thousands of years, the movement of glaciers and the shifting of rocks ... And that's an amazing experience that process of the landscape changing"

- Jeff Wilson, Frozen Planet.

Engulf yourself in the deep and powerful sounds of geology, from the grinding and creaking of glaciers calving to the buckling of ice sheets under unfathomable pressure. But these guttural sounds are only a small part of what this programme reveals to be an audibly diverse place. The delicate sounds of water lapping under thin sheets of sea ice, and the tinkling produced when fine needle-like ice crystals move in a breeze of volcanic gases - sounds from the heart of Mount Erebus, Antarctica's most active volcano.

This is "a landscape completely in flux" Chris Watson whispers in reverence. There were moments that stunned even him. A minke whale came to the surface of the water a few metres away from him to breathe. "Wow," he said at the epic, engulfing noise. "Wow."

The Journey South

Chris Watson travelled to the South Pole for the “Frozen Planet” and you can also hear his report from this fascinating journey.

Download the audio report HERE (50:21)

Chris Watson's Website

(Photo: Chris Watson)

Good G-Reef Monty - stuck in a cave of voracious sharks. Behind the scenes of #GreatBarrierReef

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:26:42 PST

Here's a clip from BBC news which shows some of the highlights from Great Barrier Reef. Presenter Monty Halls, and producer James Brickell give a fascinating insight into how it was filmed.

The final episode of Great Barrier Reef is on BBC Two, Sunday 15th January, 8pm.

You can catch up on the first two episodes on BBC iPlayer (expires two weeks after TV broadcast)

Clip Source

Hold tight for a bird's eye view of the world in #Earthflight, BBC One

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 01:29:03 PST

Don't miss episode 3, Europe: Thursday 12th January, 8pm, BBC One

In Earth Flight, amazing sights from five continents are revealed in a whole new light as we soar with the birds. From flamingos over the soda lakes of Africa to flocks of waders landing in an invasion of horseshore crabs, and hummingbirds darting through the Grand Canyon. Episode one was a beautiful roller-coaster of a ride, and while at first glance you may expect to be engulfed in a birders wonderland, this series is far more than twitchers eye-candy. Birds are vehicles by which we are whipped along to witness incredible spectacles from the air - as if we were Bastian clinging to the back of Falkor in The Neverending Story. Sadly this show does have an ending, but not before we've revelled in some jaw-dropping moments. One of the most spectacular showed dozens of devil rays jumping out of the water in the Sea of Cortez, something I had never seen before - and as David Tennant said, apparently no one knows why they do this.

Filmed from microlights, hang-gliders, wirecams and 'spy-cams' the film provides a uniquely privileged perspective - a birds eye view of the world.

BBC programme Page

Flying Devil Rays

Series Trailer

Fish Eagles Eye View of Flamingo Hunting

In Lake Bogoria, a hungry fish eagle hunts flamingos. Earthflight uses many different filming techniques to create the experience of flying with birds as they encounter some of the greatest natural events on the planet.

Spectacular images from Earth Flight

Eagle fitter with 'spy-cam' (Image: John Downer Productions)

Bald Eagle (Image: John Downer Productions)

Eagle in flight (Image: John Downer Productions)

Pelicans flying under the golden gate bridge (Image: John Downer Productions)

S shaped flock of flamingos (Image: John Downer Productions)

Snow geese approaching statue of liberty (Image: John Downer Productions)

Vulture in flight (Image: John Downer Productions)

Geese in flight (Image: John Downer Productions)

Landing in a gannet colony (Image: John Downer Productions)

Eagle soars over the Grand Canyon (Image: John Downer Productions)

Budgies fly over Uluru (Image: John Downer Productions)

Geese fly past the statue of liberty (Image: John Downer Productions)

My memories of Working Mens Clubs - The Rules of Drinking, BBC4

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:29:15 PST

The Rules of Drinking, BBC4, 9pm Tonight.

(I do watch shows other than Wildlife) There's a crackin' episode of Timeshift on BBC4 tonight - The Rules of Drinking. It promises to be a fascinating cultural documentary, revealing the unwritten rules that have governed the way we drink in Britain. (see clips at the end of this post)

In the pubs and working men's clubs of the forties and fifties there were strict customs governing who stood where. To be invited to sup at the bar was a rite of passage for many young men, and it took years for women to be accepted. As the country prospered and foreign travel became widely available, so new drinking habits were introduced as we discovered wine and, even more exotically, cocktails. People began to drink at home as well as at work, where journalists typified a tradition of the liquid lunch. Advertising played its part as lager was first sold as a woman's drink and then the drink of choice for young men with a bit of disposable income. The rules changed and changed again, but they were always there - unwritten and unspoken, yet underwriting our complicated relationship with drinking.

This made me think of my time working in a Working Mens Club... read below.

BBC Programme Page

'House' - Bingo at the club

Memories of an ex-Pint Puller

I grew up in the South Yorkshire market town of Rotherham, where Working Mens Clubs continue to endure amongst the rise of poncy wine bars and cheap drink-till-you-drop late bars. My first job, whilst doing my A-levels in the late 90's, was as a glass collector in our towns central club. I later proudly progressed to pint puller, and eventually bingo caller. The 'rules' described in the clip below remind me of my many evenings working in what was often referred to as the last bastion of masculinity - the WMC.

This was a place of brash and gritty hard-working folk, cheeky chappie 'Del-Boy' characters trying to flog you stereos, ex-cruise singers in worn tux's warbling out oldies, and the occasional butch woman who drank from pint-pots - something which wasn't usually considered lady-like. Bitter was for men, lager in half-pint glasses was for women. Gambling and dirty jokes were as much a part of the scene as the thick smoke which choked the air.

While most people found their place in the function room or pool room, the chairman and his committee held court over the tap-room. If you were allowed a seat here, in the smallest and smokiest of rooms, you had made it to the upper echolons of the drinkers. The oldest and most respected members staked their claim on the club by keeping their own pint glass behind the bar. If we broke one of these there'd be hell to pay. It was surely a interesting part of my formative years.

The committee stand proud outside the club

Women in Pubs

Freaky fish that lives up a sea cucumbers bum - watch the sequence #GreatBarrierReef

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:55:01 PST

In case you missed it, this is the eye-popping sequence from Great Barrier Reef that I told you about last week. When a freaky fish squirms up a sea-cucumbers bum. Evolutionary adaptation at its most surprising!

Usually this is a commensal relationship, and the pearl fish doesn't harm it's host, it merely uses it as a snugly place to settle. I have to admit - it does look cosy. Some species however give an added blow to the cucumbers self-esteem - they also eat their gonads.

If you're in the UK you can watch the full episode on iPlayer, and the next episode on BBC Two, 8pm Sunday 15th January.

Join the forum - what are your favourite wildlife TV moments?

Yuk! exploding frogs, parasitic tongues & a city coated in silk - Nature's Weirdest Events BBC2

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:34:46 PST

BBC TWO, 8pm 3rd & 4th January 2011

In two freakily curious episodes Chris Packham takes us around the world to the scene of some of the weirdest natural events on the planet. From exploding toads and parasitic tongue action, to a city coated in caterpillar silk, and the incredible sea foam which turns the Australian coast into the world's biggest bubble bath. With the help of footage taken by eyewitnesses and news crews, he unravels the facts and the science behind each phenomenon.

BBC Programme Page

Read more about freaky nature on BBC Nature

Parasitic Tongue Action

The female of Cymothoa exigua, otherwise known as the tongue-eating louse, is one of almost 400 species known to attach to the tongues of fish after entering through the gills. Once in place, the parasites feed on the fish, eating away their flesh and feeding on their blood supply, fortunately the fish is able to use the swelling parasite just like a normal tongue. The male louse can also come along for the ride, attaching to the gill arches beneath and behind the female.

Exploding Toads

In April 2005, in the Altona district of Hamburg, more than 1000 dead toads were found to have inexplicably exploded prompting local residents to refer to the area's lake as "Tümpel des Todes" (Pool of Death). According to a witness these frogs swelled by three-and-a-half times their normal size before blowing up. Some of the frogs even lived a short time afterwards with their intestines sperad for more than a metre around them.

The finger was inititally pointed at a suspected viral or fungal infection, until Berlin veterinarian Franz Mutschmann performed necropsies on then toads and theorised that the phenomenon was linked to a recent influx of predatory crows. Like a scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, he believed that these crows had ripped through the amphibian's chest and abdominal cavity to pick out the liver. In a typical defensive move, the toads begin to inflate themselves, but due to the hole in the toad's body and the missing liver, this led to a rupture of blood vessels and lungs, and to the spreading of intestines. Mutschmann said "Crows are intelligent animals. They learn very quickly how to eat the toads' livers."

Rotterdam Coated in Silk

Top TV Wildlife moments of 2011 - what's yours? #FaveWildlifeTVmoment2011

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 07:47:14 PST

Here is a quick run down of 5 of my favourite moments from wildlife TV in 2011. What were yours?

Comment HERE or on Twitter using #FaveWildlifeTVmoment2011

1. The Brinicle of Death

Frozen Planet, BBC ONE, November

I could have chosen any one of many amazing wildlife moments from Frozen Planet. The desperate battle between a wolf and bison, pack hunting orcas creating waves to hunt seals, or rock stealing penguins, but if I remember just one thing from Frozen Planet then the 'Brinicle of Death' will be it. Not only for the 'how on earth did they film that' sense of awe and respect, but also for the 'holy cr*p, that's something out of science fiction' disbelief. I still can't quite believe such a thing exists, it sends shivers down my spine.

It may not strictly be a 'wildlife' moment but I'll let it pass in remembrance of all those starfish which lost their lives, frozen by the 'finger of death'.

"With timelapse cameras, specialists recorded salt water being excluded from the sea ice and sinking. The temperature of this sinking brine, which was well below 0C, caused the water to freeze in an icy sheath around it. Where the so-called "brinicle" met the sea bed, a web of ice formed that froze everything it touched, including sea urchins and starfish" - Doug Anderson

2. Children hunt worlds largest venomous spider

Human Planet - Jungles, BBC One, February.

The Jungles episode of Human Planet was a film of wonder and intrigue, which left me ensconced in a world of ancient customs, strange food and the human struggle for survival. My skin tingled as I watched young Piaroa children in Venezuela hunt and then roast tarantulas on an open fire.

Ok, so roasting tarantulas might not usually be considered a wildlife moment either, but I think of it as one of the most fascinating predator/prey relationships portrayed on TV in 2011.

3. David Attenborough gets close to the once elusive indri

Attenborough and the Giant Egg, BBC TWO, March

A list of top TV wildlife moments would not be complete without an appearance from Sir David Attenborough. My favourite Attenborough moment of the year was when he met an indri, a species of lemur that was once incredibly elusive and almost hunted to extinction. His hushed tones and reverence for the natural world heighten the emotion of this enchanting moment.

"I thought these were the most elusive, shy creatures. It certainly took me a long time to find them, but that they can now be so trusting is a marvelous testament to how people here now react towards them and cherish them. It's a heartwarming realisation that wild creatures like this, and human beings can live alongside each other in harmony" - David Attenborough

4. Squelchingly gruesome rotting elephant

Life after Death, Channel 4, February

I couldn't resist including a bit of rot in this list, so I chose Channel 4's Life after Death (number two on my rot list was the thoroughly enjoyable Afterlife - The Strange Science of Decay, on BBC FOUR, presented by George McGavin.)

Ever wondered what happens to an elephant after it dies? No, this wasn't a programme contemplating elephant heaven, it was an exploration into the squelchingly gruesome world of decomposition. The star of the show was a young male elephant, slowly decomposing in Tsavo West National Park, Kenya. He had to be put down by a vet after being severely wounded by poachers. His remains drew attention from miles around and provided a bounty of fast-food for the local ecosystem. It also provided a perfect spot for a bunch of scientists, led by Simon Watt, to delve under the skin of this rich African ecosystem as a five-tonne elephant was transformed into six million calories worth of fat, meat and guts. Under the African sun, voracious vultures, hyenas, leopards and insects picked away at the corpse day and night, until just seven days later there was nothing left but a pile of polished bones.

5. Goshawk put to the test

Animals Guide to Britain, BBC TWO March

My apologies for the self-indulgence, I had to include my favourite sequence from 'Animals Guide to Britain'. While this series was at completely the opposite end of the budget spectrum to 'Frozen Planet', I feel that we managed to create an insightful, entertaining and memorable sequence.

In controlled conditions, with the use of a series of different shaped gaps and tubes, slow motion photography revealed how a Goshawk is able to negotiate the most densely packed undergrowth. To allow her to fit though some of the narrower gaps, she has to withdraw her wings completely. The slow-motion footage revealed that, to stay airborne, she uses her large tail to give her crucial lift.

Deadly snail swallows fish whole & freaky fish up a cucumbers bum - Great Barrier Reef, New Years Day, BBC2

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:50:56 PST

Something bright and cheery to start 2012 with...
Great Barrier Reef, New Years Day, 8pm, BBC Two

For 10,000 years, more than 400 different types of coral have built thousands of individual reefs in the coral sea off the north-eastern coast of Australia. Covering over 44,400 square kilometres (133,000 sq mi) they, and more than 1000 islands, have come to define the biodiversity and character of this part of the world. Together, they form the Great Barrier Reef - the largest living structure on the planet and the only living thing visible from space.

Uncovering the secrets of this 2000km long super-reef, marine biologist Monty Hall travels from the wild outer reefs of the coral sea to the tangle of mangrove and rainforest on the shoreline, and from the large mountainous islands to tiny coral cays barely above sea level. Along the way he experiences the reef at its most dangerous and its most intriguing, and visits areas that have rarely been filmed, from the greatest wildlife shipwreck on earth to the mysterious seafloor of the lagoon, where freakish animals lurk under every rock.

More info on the BBC Programme page.
Watch Monty Halls, and producer James Brickell speak about the series on BBC Breakfast.

Freaky fish lives up a sea cucumber's bum

The freakiest behaviour of the series can be seen in episode 2, when we see the bizarre 'pearl fish' moving in to take residence up a sea cucumber's bottom!

They usually have a commensal relationship, not harming their hosts. However, some species are parasitic and not only squirm inside a sea cucumbers anus but as an added blow to the cucumbers self-esteem they also eat their gonads - some lodger!

I saw a preview of this sequence recently, it sent shivers down my spine...

A pearl fish poking its head out from inside a sea cucumber (Photograph: Richard Fitzpatrick)

Episode 1 - Nature's Miracle

The first film, shown at 8pm on New Years day, sees Monty explore the complex structure of the coral reef itself and the wildlife that lives on it. So vast it is visible from space, the reef is actually built by tiny animals in partnership with microscopic plants. It is a place full of surprises, always changing, responding to the rhythms of weather, tide, sun and moon.

Within this magical and intensely crowded world this episode reveals how the amazing reef creatures compete and co-operate - from deadly fish-hunting snails to sharks that can walk on land, fighting corals and parrot fish that spin sleeping bags every night.

Deadly snail swallows stunned fish whole

My favourite, and most surprising behaviour, is that of the deadly snails. They might not seem like deadly predators, but cone snails are equipped with a battery of toxic harpoons which can fire in any direction, even backwards. They await the cover of darkness to prey on sleeping fish. First, they waft paralysing chemicals towards the unsuspecting prey, next they start to suck the subdued fish into their expanding mouths, and finally they use a venomous barb to deliver the killer blow... Don't mess with snails!

(Read more about this incredible hunting technique on BBC Nature)

Sticky Sleeping Bag

Monty Halls with one of the whitetip reef sharks that cruise the channels off Heron Island (Photograph: John Rumney)

A green turtle on Raine Island, the largest and most important green sea turtle nesting area in the world. (Photograph: Mark MacEwan)

These brightly coloured specimens live on the ribbon reefs on the northern edge of the Great Barrier Reef. (Photograph: Tara Artner)

Monty Halls with a nautilus cephalopod in its spiral shell, taken at Osprey Reef (Photograph: John Rumney)

A tiger shark in the shallows of Raine Island Photograph: Ragini Osinga

Attenborough's annual 3D spectacular - King Penguins - New Years Eve, Sky3D @sky1insider

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 04:44:43 PST

The Bachelor King, New Years Eve, 8pm on SKY 3D.

Stunning 3D cinematography takes us into an extraordinary sub-Antarctic island, home to majestic albatrosses, brawling elephant seals - and six million penguins. Though our hero’s harsh world may be alien to our day-to-day lives, his struggle will be familiar to us all.

The last 3D wildlife film that Atlantic Productions produced for Sky 'Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough' was missed by most of Britain when it was broadcast on Christmas day 2009 (less than 70,000 viewers had Sky 3D - compare that to the 12 million that watched Frozen Planet) - but Atlantic did win a Bafta for it.

This new years eve Sky continue to establish themselves as the home of an annual 3D fiesta for geared-up wildlife watchers. With 'The Bachelor King', a tale of king penguins on an Antarctic island, Sky have cleverly jumped into the wake of the BBC series 'Frozen Planet', which was also presented by David Attenborough. With more 3D TV's in British homes (the number of Sky 3D subscribers could now be as many as 200,000) 'The Bachelor King' might get a few more goggle-eyed viewers tuning in. Alternatively, there will be a 2D broadcast - date to be confirmed.

Two more David Attenborough Sky 3D wildlife films are already in production and due to air in 2012 - Kingdom of Plants 3D, a series based at Kew Gardens, and a three part 3D series on the Galapagos.

I may be a little biased, but could Sky be getting inspiration from some of the BBC's most successful series such as 'Life of Plants' and the 3 part series from 2006 'Galapagos'? I look forward to seeing how these Sky 3D productions fare against some of the most beautiful and well crafted BBC 2D wildlife series ever produced.

Interview with David Attenborough - Why penguins? Why 3D?

An Epic Tale

This is the journey of a typical King Penguin from awkward adolescent to adult.

Three years ago, The Bachelor King left home. He partied at sea - he adventured, he matured. And now he is returning to the place where he was born and raised: Penguin City. This is one of the most densely-packed, sought-after pieces of real estate in the entire southern hemisphere and somehow he must establish his own place in it. He must find a mate. He wants to be a dad.

But how? What follows is a journey through the most challenging time of the Bachelor King's life. There is joy and terror, a ton of hard work - and some laughs. Our hero has to grow up fast. He meets the penguin of his dreams, and together they set out to raise a family. Before long, they have their egg. The two of them take turns to nurture it – one incubating, while the other zooms off to sea to find food. And then, one happy day, their chick hatches. And the hard work really begins...

Find out more about The Bachelor King and how it was made on the Sky website.

3 wonderous split-screen films of 2011 - polarity, symmetry & beauty

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 04:48:31 PST

Here are three of the many internet films that grabbed my attention in 2011. I've chosen to share these ones in particular as they have one concept in common that I felt was used to great effect - split screen. Split-screen films tend to show two perspectives on a story - one in either half of the screen, both complementing each other and often showing a polarised view of the world. These three films not only engaged me from the onset but I was visually arrested by the style, and in a world of short attention spans, they held me until the final scene.

1.The world is where we live

The symmetry between the human world and life in the wild. Created by WWF.

2. Symmetry

Is the world full of deep symmetries and ordered pairs? Or do we live in a lopsided universe? This striking video plays with our yearning for balance, and reveals how beautiful imperfect matches can be. The final shot helps to put the whole film into perspective - it's life in two directions. The video was inspired by the Radiolab episode Desperately Seeking Symmetry.

3. Splitscreen: A Love Story

The use of splitscreen illustrates the journey of two people - the purpose of which is made explicit by the final scene. It was entirely shot on a Nokia smartphone. (Also watch the making off)

Splitscreen: A Love Story from James W Griffiths on Vimeo.

Strictly Come Prancing? BBC wildlife presenters do the Elf dance - Starring David Attenborough, Backshall, Packham, Dilger & McGavin.

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 10:49:21 PST

*This is an unofficial creation and is independent of the BBC* Created using www.Elfyourself.com

Featuring some of my favourite BBC Wildlife presenters - David Attenborough, Chris Packham, Steve Backshall, George McGavin, Mike Dilger.

Have a Wild Christmas
- Paul

Fishy friday picture quiz - can you ID these reef fish?

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 04:45:57 PST

Under the cunning disguise of a fishy picture quiz I'm hoping that someone can help me ID these fish. I believe that most are from either the Maldives or the Great Barrier Reef. For a cheeky bonus point ;-) which of these start their lives amongst the mangroves before migrating to the reefs.

Please comment below or on Twitter.

I'm not a marine biologist but I've listed my best guess in the comments section. The one's that I'm particularly having trouble with are C, D and E.

Thanks very much, your help is much appreciated. Paul

A. Quite an easy one to get you started - 'just say what you see'!

B. One of the worlds most famous fish - well camouflaged

C. Now they get a little trickier...

D. Looks like a fishy mint humbug!

E. A purplish fish with a yellow spot on its back.

F. Another of the 'mint humbug' family and fairly distinctive

G. Purple and yellow - like a fishy rhubarb and custard

100yrs ago today Amundsen beat Scott to the South Pole - lost photos coming soon to the Natural History Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:58:43 PST

A new exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London opens on 20th January to commemorate the greatest 2nd place in History... Captain Scott arriving a month late to the South Pole.

It is 100 years ago today that Roald Amundsen's team beat the brits and reached the vicinity of the South Pole, a first for humanity. Amundsen and his four companions; Oscar Wisting, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel and Olav Bjaaland spent the next 3 days confirming the Pole's position before pitching a tent called 'Polheim' to mark the spot. While Amundsen's team raised the Norweigan flag, the British expedition was still ascending the Beardmore Glacier more than 500 km away (you can witness the epic scale of that glacier in Frozen Planet ep 1). It would not be until 18 January 1912, 33 days later, that Scott would find at Polheim a list of the 5 Norweigans who had beaten him in the race to the Pole. Amundsen and his team returned safely to their base, and later learned that Scott and his four companions had died on their return journey.

Scott’s Last Expedition is a new exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London. It reunites for the first time real artefacts used by Scott and his team together with scientific specimens collected on the 1910–1913 expedition. Visitors can also walk around a life-size stylised representation of Scott’s base-camp hut that still survives in Antarctica.

Scott's Last Expedition opens at the Museum on 20 January 2012

Read more about the exhibition: NHM website
The story of the photographs and where they've been for the past 100 years: BBC news
The new book The Lost Photos of Captain Scott
Read more about some of the individual images: Guardian website.

Captain Scott (centre) and Terra Nova expedition team, 13 April 1911. (© H Ponting photograph, Pennell collection, Canterbury Museum NZ, 1975.289.28)

The hut at Cape Evans, showing the large number of stores stacked outside, including dozens of sledges leaning, boxes of Fry's cocoa and a bath tub. (Photo: Little, Brown Book Group)

Photograph taken by Captain Scott of the Terra Nova team with their ponies. The "sledgeometer" on the final sledge is clicking the mileage as it goes. Many of the men in this image would return, but not all. None of the ponies would: within a few days they would be shot (© Richard Kossow)

Dr Edward Wilson, the chief of the scientific staff, sketches the mountain ranges and tributary glaciers of the Beardmore Glacier, 13 December 1911. Photographed by Captain Scott. (© Richard Kossow.)

Sir David Attenborough for Christmas No1 - A Wonderful World

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:33:33 PST

This gets my vote for Christmas number 1 (although I'm also backing the military wives). Sir David Attenborough, the voice of wildlife, gives his unique perspective on the wonders of our world. Beautiful, epic, and timely, following last nights episode of Frozen Planet in which David explained the consequences of climate change. 'On Thin Ice' revealed an alarming prediction - that by 2020 the Arctic will have completely melted.

What a wonderful world it is - let us protect it for ourselves and for all life on earth.

Miraculous 'Leap of Faith' geese captured by Viking Wilderness

noreply@blogger.com (Paul Williams) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 06:16:32 PST

It doesn't have the glossiness, or hushed Attenborough tones, of 'Frozen Planet' and 'Life' but 'Viking Wilderness' on Animal Planet filmed something that the two BBC big hitters failed to capture. It is, what I consider to be one of the most shocking behaviours in the arctic, something that I tried desperately to film in 2009. Barnacle geese chicks and their 'leap of faith'.

In a bid to get their chicks to the feeding grounds on time, the Barnacle geese parents encourage their flightless offspring to jump straight down sheer rock faces, sometimes as high as 150 feet. As the chicks abandon the safety of their rocky nests, gulls and foxes wait for the falling feast. Miraculously some of these tiny balls of fluff survive to reach the grassy bounty. Here they congregate to feed under the watchful eye of their parents. Once they are large enough they migrate to their winter feeding grounds in Scotland and the Netherlands.

As far as I'm aware, this 'leap' hasn't been filmed since 1985 so my hat is docked to the 'Viking Wilderness' team.

Read my field diary from 2009, and get an idea of the challenges we faced.

(Photo: Barnacle Geese on Svalbard, Paul Williams)