Nature for you. Creatures catch and eat other creatures. Why are we making such a big deal about it?

I'm guessing you didn't watch it?


I caught up with it last night. Stunning TV as ever from Mr Attenborough & the Planet Earth crew. Even when they showed how they filmed on the Island I was on the edge of my seat. Seeing all those penguins in one place was mesmerising and then the battered ones was heartbreaking

Yes I did.

Beautifully filmed and narrated and a perfect example of nature in action. It seems to me that most of us humans have become too isolated from the process.

I wouldn't say isolated. We're a nation of animal lovers and hate seeing them hurt.

Agreed, but in a year's time we'll all have forgotten about the programme, yet newly hatched iguanas will still be running to get away from the racer snakes and penguins will still be getting battered to death on the rocks in search of food. That's how it is.

Whilst I agree that doesn't stop me having empathy* for the little tykes when I'm watching it happen. The way those racer snakes went after the hatchlings (in additional to the amazing cinematography) made it all very dramatic.

*empathy is probably the wrong word given the Iguanas don't have 'feelings' in a human sense.

Shot entirely in a way to make you feel for the iguana hatchlings. Without them the racer snakes would probably starve to death or attack each other for food. Maybe we should show that as well?

People will always feel sorry for babies, whether animals or humans

Unless they're wasp babies. Because [LIFTED] wasps.

The Flash - my top moments from season one - the Quantum Leap and Star Wars references made me laugh out loud. (8+D

Mark

Planet Earth II. Still amazing footage but nothing quite as butt clenching as the iguanas and snakes from last week.
I did wonder whether some of that eagle footage was shot by a person or whether they'd managed to get a tiny camera actually strapped onto an eagle.

You didn't watch the end of the show then when they tell you how they filmed it?

No, I did watch but was trying to avoid giving away the answer

According to an interview I read with the producer, the racer snakes do often eat each other as well, even when they're not starving, just because the feel like it. It's pretty gruesome, apparently, which is why they didn't show it on Sunday night just after people have had their dinner . if you watch it back the shots of the caught iguanas were all quite... tastefully done, so I suspect we weren't getting quite the 'nature, red in tooth and claw' picture anyway.

It was great the way they made the eagle sit still so they could strap on the GoPro