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Hello, and welcome to what promises
to be a very special evening.

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Tonight,
on the occasion of his 90th birthday,

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we are privileged to be celebrating
the life and career of a man

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whose passion and knowledge
of the natural world

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has fundamentally changed
how we see the world.

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His unique ability to help us understand
our planet is little short of remarkable.

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He is frequently referred to as the
greatest broadcaster of all time.

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He's even beaten David Beckham in a
poll of the coolest men on the planet.

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I am, of course, talking about the
one and only Sir David Attenborough.

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Tonight, we've got a rather
different programme for you.

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And top of the menu right now is salmon.

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And for that he must fight.

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Ladies and gentlemen,
it gives me the greatest of pleasure

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to welcome Sir David Attenborough.

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Welcome, welcome, welcome,
to your little television party.

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Well...

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I think they are pleased to see you.
First things first, happy birthday.

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How... How is 90?
- Thank you very much. - How does 90 feel?

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Well, I haven't got used to it yet.
- No? - I hope it'll be okay.

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Like 80, you know, like, say... No,
it won't be like 60. But it'll be good.

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In your 90th year,
building up to the birthday,

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it strikes me you've been as happy as ever.
I've been talking to people behind the scenes.

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They say, Argentina to Australia
and everywhere in-between.

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Just remind us of what you've been
filming in the last 12 months.

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Well, I filmed that big dinosaur,

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the biggest one yet found in Argentina.

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I filmed luminous earthworms in France,
believe it or not.

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I've been on the Barrier Reef.
So, I've had a good time.

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Your fascination with the natural
world is obvious to all of us.

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And it's interesting that the
beginnings of your career in television

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were really the beginnings of television. I
mean, that's when it really got off the ground,

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in those very early 1950s.
How did you get into television?

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Oh, by accident.
And certainly not by design.

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Because I had never seen television,
in 1952.

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And the number of people
who could see it were tiny.

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They were just in London.
A few thousand people.

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And then I was working in publishing,

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on an extremely boring job,

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putting commas into manuscripts,
or occasionally taking them out

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if I was feeling bad tempered.
And it was indescribably boring.

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And I saw...
Saw an advertisement in the paper

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that said the BBC
wanted a radio producer.

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Talks producer. And I thought, "Well,
I can talk. I must know how to talk."

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And so I applied and I...
I got a polite refusal.

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I didn't get an interview or anything.
- Right. - just said, "No, thank you very much."

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Which is understandable.
I'm sure they got thousands.

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And then about a fortnight after that,
I got another letter

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from someone else in the BBC saying, "We're
starting this new thing called television.

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"Which a lot of people are rude about "and
we think, but there could be something in it.

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"And we've seen your...
We've seen your application

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"and you're the sort of person we are
looking for. "Would you like to apply?"

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And you ranged across as a young
producer, all subjects, then.

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I mean, what would you have been covering
as a young producer? - Non-fiction. - Right.

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And so I did... I mean, I started off

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by doing an archaeological quiz
called Animal, Vegetable, Mineral.

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But I did political talks,
I did political discussions.

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I did gardening.
What else did I do? Knitting.

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They had prog...
They had a programme on knitting. Yeah.

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By 1954,
you had honed your skills enough

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to be allowed to work on something...
I mean, R was naked Zoo Quest.

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And, actually, it would go on to
be a very, very popular series.

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You were working as a producer or
you were working as a presenter?

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I was working... Oh, no, not at all.
I was entirely a producer.

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I had no intention of being a presenter.

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And the only reason I did was because the man
from the zoo, jack Lester, became very ill.

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Yes.
- And it was a live show.

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So I was told by the
head of the television,

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"Okay, the only other person
who can do this is you."

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So I appeared by accident, really. - So
you travelled around the world for Zoo Quest,

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with your companion at the time.
It was a cameraman called Charles Lagus.

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He's a slip of a lad, David. He's just 88.
And we went to hear some of his memories

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of those early days working with you.
- I met this young man called Attenborough.

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We seemed to hit it off straight away.

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And David's knowledge just staggered me.

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When we first got off this
aeroplane and started walking

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there would be the odd bush
animal that walked past, you know.

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He instantly knew what it was,
what genus it was.

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Look at trees,
he knew what 'tree it was.

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His zoological knowledge

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in a country he'd never been to,
he'd never been out of England,

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was absolutely brilliant.
I mean, he was just so reliable.

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We slept in hammocks.

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We spent a lot of time
eating boiled rice.

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And, yet, we just got on and did it.
It just seemed natural.

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But it was quite good coming
back and having a proper meal.

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When you look at that film,
what are your memories?

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Are you suddenly back there?
Are you taken back to the moment?

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Yes. Yes, I truly am.

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They were marvellous trips, of course.

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And you couldn't do anything like it
now because there were no mobile phones.

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There were... When you left, you left.

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And so the animals that
you would bring back then,

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one of the most notable is the python.

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Well that was one we caught
in Indonesia, in java.

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Did you catch it?
- Well, yes, I did.

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Because, you see, poor old jack, he'd left.
And I, in order to carry on this charade,

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that I was an animal collector...

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You know, I had to actually...
I had to do the business.

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How do you... How do you catch a python?
- With great difficulty.

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And... And considerable alarm,
I don't mind telling you.

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Okay.
Well, let's just take a little look

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at the Zoo Quest
episode with the python.

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Helping me control, this python

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is Mr Lanworn from the Reptile
House in The London Zoo.

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Who, in fact, has it in his care now.

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How is he?
- Well, he is doing very fine, actually.

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He's doing... He's doing... Well, here's a very
good example of how he constricts his food.

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Shall I just show you or will you
lose your hand? - No, I don't think so,

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I'll be able to get out eventually. - While I leave
Mr Lanworn to untie himself from this snake,

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we must say good night.
So, from us both, good night.

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David, I think that must have been
the last time you used Brylcreem.

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You did look very smart there. Let's talk, then,
about making a name for yourself on screen.

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You did that with Zoo Quest.
It became hugely popular.

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And then something
rather unusual happened.

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As we know, again, it was the fledgling
days of television, it was 1965,

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and they said to you, who was
becoming this televisual presence,

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"Would you like to come and run BBC Two?

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To be the controller of BBC Two?"
What was your plan?

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Well, it was just about the best job

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you could possibly have in broadcasting,
really, if you were interested in programming.

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And the brief was, "Whatever you do,
make it different from BBC One."

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They'd go a bit further. They said,
"Provide an alternative to BBC One."

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Now, actually,
you can't define what an alternative...

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What is the alternative to football? It's
certainly not Beethoven's string quartets.

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I mean, people will play quartets like
football just as much as anybody else does.

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So, in the end, we decided as long
as we got a new kind of programme,

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it would be... It would do. So, we
developed new things in every genre, really.

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We had new kinds of drama, we had
classic serials from the great authors.

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We had new sports, we had a floodlit
rugby league, which we started.

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And we started snooker,
I don't mind telling you.

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So then,
you'd been controller of BBC Two.

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You'd made such a good job of
that that you were then promoted

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to Director of Programmes and you
were very diverse and innovative.

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Interestingly, the big landmark series
was something that you became known for,

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this was Civilisation, there was the Ascent of
Man. There were lots of comedies too, David.

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There was The Likely Lads,
and Monty Python's Flying Circus.

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Well, joining us to tell us more, please
welcome the wonderful Michael Palin.

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David.

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Good to see you.

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So, Michael,
Monty Python at the time, of course,

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cult status for many decades, but,
at the time, it split audiences

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a lot of people didn't like it and
didn't get it. And it certainly

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among a lot of the sort
of management of the BBC,

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it was not popular. - I must say,
you were very good. You were the one...

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A lot of other BBC executives
avoided us completely.

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And you came up and said, "Well, you know,
"the fact that you're not on every night

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"and the problem is that you get taken
off "when Horse of the Year Show overruns,

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"means you're gonna become a cult show."
- Yes! - "And cult shows are never forgotten."

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And I thought, "What a Load of
old rubbish." But he was right!

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Nice thing about Python was that we
were... The BBC let us just get on with it.

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Nobody supervised the programme
or watched what we were doing.

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And we were able to hone
it over sort of 13 shows.

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There was a lot of very bad stuff that we
did and there was a lot of very good stuff.

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But, it was amazing, the BBC let us just
carry on experimenting in our little basement.

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And, David,
you mentioned the sports programming

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that you were responsible for as Director
of Programmes. It was Match of the Day.

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You introduced One Day Cricket.
And you mentioned the snooker.

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And of course,
you decided to put snooker on

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at a time, much like a lot of the
technology that you've used subsequently.

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Because it was only then that people
could see the different colours. - Yes.

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And did people think
snooker would be good TV?

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No, it was a classic line.
I had to explain.

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That you see, although the people with
colour sets could see it in colour,

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the majority of the people
couldn't see it in colour.

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So the commentator had
to help them understand.

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And I impressed this on the
commentator during the first show.

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And he, sort of, after he'd got into
the show and the game was progressing,

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and he was doing the hushed tones,
you know.

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He eventually said, "And now,
he is going for the blue.

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"And for those of you with
the black and white sets

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"the blue is next to the green."

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David you are very well
known for quizzing visitors

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to your home, on some of the...
They are very exotic, very rare objects

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that you've collected over the years,
indeed. Michael, you were put to the test

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back in 2002, I think it was. - I was. I was
quaking in my boots! - Oh, come along, now.

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Let's take a look at this
documentary live on air.

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Yes, well, object number three is?

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It's extremely heavy. I would have
thought it was an egg of some kind.

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But I can't imagine any animal. - It is an egg?
This is cut from inside of some creature?

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Yes, it's an... It's an egg.
- Dinosaur egg.

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Full marks. Ten out of ten.
- Really?

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There are two thing you can always
say under these circumstances.

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Either it's a ritual object...
...or else, money.

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There's always two. You can always
say one of the two, one or the other.

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Okay.
- And that is money. - Ritual...

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We're rather a good comic team,
I think, David, actually.

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So it is your turn then, Michael.
We're giving you the turn... - Yes.

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You're gonna turn the tables. - I have
something that probably won't be that difficult.

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But I've got something which
I procured in my travels

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and I wonder if you know what it might
be, where it's from, what it's for?

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Money or ritual object?
- Would you like to use it? - Use it?

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First of all, David,
it's the wrong way up.

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I was gonna say a flower arrangement.
- No? - No. Turn it the right way up.

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Well... Well, it's either a
neck rest or a bottom rest.

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And I reckon that's a bottom rest. - Yeah.
- And I reckon it must be an African one.

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Yeah, people would carry them around,
actually, like that, you know. - Exactly.

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He got that annoyingly quickly,
didn't he?

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That is from the Karamojong people.

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Is it? - I mean, brilliant. - It is.
- And these very, very big guys,

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they're enormous people, and they just take
these around and whenever they want to sit

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just sit on these.
I mean, it's really... It looks easy,

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but actually it's got...

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Actually that's not bad, really.
There you are. Well...

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Beautiful, economic, clever... It's a...
- It's a wonderful thing.

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But it's the only thing they have apart from
their spears as far as I remember, is that right?

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One of them had a Rolex watch, actually.
Seriously, quite seriously.

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Michael Palin,
thank you very much indeed.

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David, I think it would be fair
to say that you have probably

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travelled more places than
anybody else who has ever lived.

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But there is one place
you still haven't been to.

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Good evening, Sir David and good evening, everyone.
And welcome on board the International Space Station

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where we are orbiting 400 kilometres
above the Earth's surface.

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Sir David, your adventures and your
words have inspired us enormously

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00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:04,074
and changed the way that
we look at our Earth.

215
00:16:04,160 --> 00:16:07,198
Britain has a long history
of scientific endeavour.

216
00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:10,636
And just like the naturalists
and explorers of our history,

217
00:16:10,720 --> 00:16:13,599
it's important that we tell
the story of the scientists,

218
00:16:13,663 --> 00:16:17,253
conservationists, and explorers
of today to the next generation

219
00:16:17,317 --> 00:16:22,080
to change our future for the better.
So from here in space above the Equator,

220
00:16:22,160 --> 00:16:25,869
I would like to wish you, Sir David,
a very happy 90th birthday.

221
00:16:32,760 --> 00:16:37,350
You had then, as is clear, spent a
very successful time as a backroom boy,

222
00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:40,353
running BBC Two,
being Director of Programmes.

223
00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:43,512
You had risen pretty high and
you decided, extraordinarily,

224
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:47,331
and this seems to be a, sort of,
pivotal point in your life. It was 1972,

225
00:16:47,395 --> 00:16:51,276
and you resigned those big jobs.
You said, "I don't fancy this anymore."

226
00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:56,351
I mean, what was your thinking? And it must have
been, personally, a pretty momentous decision.

227
00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,838
Well, I don't know. I mean,
you know, it paid off the mortgage

228
00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:02,753
and the children...
The children had left school

229
00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,350
and had been educated.
And... What was I going to do?

230
00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:08,736
And what I, what I thought I was...

231
00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:13,279
What I know I enjoyed most was making programmes.
So why not go back and make programmes?

232
00:17:13,360 --> 00:17:18,434
1979,
Life on Earth makes it onto our screens.

233
00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:23,318
It is a ground-breaking series. It's a
13-part series. It was hugely popular.

234
00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,918
It made you a household name. What
was the inspiration for that series?

235
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,599
Why did you passionately want to make it?
- While we are... When I was running BBC Two,

236
00:17:31,680 --> 00:17:37,477
we started a new kind of documentary
which was 13 part, one-hour programmes.

237
00:17:38,040 --> 00:17:42,839
Which set out to, more or less,
say, by implication to viewers,

238
00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:47,437
"Look, if you want to know about
this that you've often heard about,

239
00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:52,558
"stay with us for 13 hours week by week.
"And at the end of it, we will have given you

240
00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:54,976
a reasonably responsible
outline of what it's about.

241
00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:58,271
But I knew, you see, the, the subject

242
00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:01,273
that you could really make
a mind-blowing series about

243
00:18:01,360 --> 00:18:04,273
would be the history of life on Earth,

244
00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:08,035
from the very simplest to
the primates like ourselves.

245
00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:10,839
And that could easily
fall into 13 parts.

246
00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,311
And I thought, "By golly,
that's a thing I'd like to do."

247
00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:17,995
My worry was that while I
was Director of Programmes

248
00:18:18,080 --> 00:18:21,311
that some other perisher was going to...

249
00:18:21,400 --> 00:18:25,030
and say, "What about this wonderful
idea of doing the history of life?"

250
00:18:25,120 --> 00:18:28,351
And I couldn't, in all conscience,
then say, "No."

251
00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:33,513
But fortunately nobody did.
And so, as soon as I resigned,

252
00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:38,676
I suggested to the BBC that maybe this
would be something they might consider.

253
00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,953
It was a huge hit with viewers.
It was full of extraordinary moments.

254
00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:46,712
But, of course, the most celebrated
moment from Life on Earth is...

255
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,256
I don't even have to say what it is.
It's this magical sequence here.

256
00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:51,820
Let's watch it.

257
00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:57,351
There is more meaning
and mutual understanding

258
00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:00,910
in exchanging a glance with a gorilla

259
00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:04,936
than any other animal right now.

260
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,550
And this is how they
spend most of their time

261
00:19:08,640 --> 00:19:11,917
lounging on the ground,
grooming one another.

262
00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:16,874
Sometimes they even
allow others to join in.

263
00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:50,991
Extraordinary. Well, joining us now
to tell us more about that moment

264
00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:55,350
is someone who was just a fresh-faced
research assistant in Rwanda at the time.

265
00:19:55,440 --> 00:19:58,273
He's now the Chairman of
The Gorilla Organisation.

266
00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:00,860
Please welcome Ian Redmond.

267
00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:12,756
Happy memories I can tell, watching that
clip. David, what was the original purpose

268
00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,958
of filming this sequence
among the gorillas?

269
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:20,313
Well, I wanted to... One of the key
things in the history of humanity,

270
00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:25,796
in the evolution of humanity, was the
moment when our ancient primate cousins

271
00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:30,670
developed the ability to put
thumb and forefinger together,

272
00:20:30,760 --> 00:20:34,589
so they could hold. Initially, of course,
branches so they could swing around.

273
00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,136
But if you can do that
you can hold a tool.

274
00:20:37,200 --> 00:20:40,431
If you can hold a tool,
you can make weapons,

275
00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,354
you can make all kind of
objects that you wanted to.

276
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:48,877
So, the opposable thumb,
as it's called, is a crucial thing.

277
00:20:49,480 --> 00:20:53,758
And I wanted to
illustrate that with apes.

278
00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:58,789
And, Ian, were you surprised
when you saw the behaviour

279
00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,474
of these gorillas around David?

280
00:21:01,560 --> 00:21:04,393
Well, at the time the gorillas
were used to one observer.

281
00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:06,856
So it was very unusual to have
a group of people coming in.

282
00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:12,034
Right. But gorillas seem to have
this concept of a friend of a friend.

283
00:21:12,120 --> 00:21:15,318
And if they know someone and there's
somebody else they don't know with them

284
00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,679
because they're with that someone...
Okay.

285
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:24,555
And before you visit gorillas, you're given
a sort of briefing in gorilla etiquette.

286
00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:28,076
And David absorbed it,
almost like second nature.

287
00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:32,233
I was preparing myself to talk
about the opposable thumbs,

288
00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:34,914
when I felt a hand on my head...

289
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:40,235
And I turned around and there was this huge
gorilla. And she actually started, like,

290
00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:44,678
by putting her big forefinger
in my mouth. Like that.

291
00:21:44,760 --> 00:21:48,394
And I thought, "This is not the moment
to talk about the opposable thumbs."

292
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,632
And it went rather out of my mind,
really.

293
00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:57,220
And I was, sort of, Lying there in...

294
00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:02,831
I suppose, it really was a
kind of paradise, really.

295
00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:06,038
Because you're being
accepted by an animal

296
00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:11,917
which was immensely powerful
and which was clearly friendly

297
00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:15,834
and accepting you on your own terms,
as it were.

298
00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:18,753
And there are very few animals
that you can do that with.

299
00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:21,336
You can't do that with lions.
You can't do that with...

300
00:22:21,400 --> 00:22:24,034
It's a mutual trust. - Yeah, it's
a mutual trust. - You're trusting them

301
00:22:24,098 --> 00:22:27,276
and they are trusting you.
- And David what is so extraordinary

302
00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:30,113
that this has become a sort of
emblematic moment in your career,

303
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:36,074
it almost was not filmed at all.
- Well, john Sparks, who was the director,

304
00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:41,354
was worried about this because it might
appear to the audience that we were,

305
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:44,959
as it were,
were a part of Blue Peter or something,

306
00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:50,199
and that these were tame gorillas.
And he didn't want them to appear tame.

307
00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:54,553
But Martin saw this, it was the cameraman,
said to him after a bit, he said,

308
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:57,154
"We really ought to be filming it,
you know."

309
00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:01,359
And so he pressed the
button and got that footage.

310
00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:05,673
And, so, Ian, this was 38 years ago,
I think, that this was filmed.

311
00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:09,755
The situation then was perilous for
these gorillas, what about today?

312
00:23:09,840 --> 00:23:12,096
Well, then the gorillas
were at their lowest ebb.

313
00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:15,391
We thought there were about 250
mountain gorilla in the Virungas.

314
00:23:15,760 --> 00:23:19,549
A few years before that footage,
a poll among school children

315
00:23:19,640 --> 00:23:23,429
had gorillas in there with spiders
and sharks as the scariest animals.

316
00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:27,874
And so having a well-known TV presenter
being accepted in a trusting way

317
00:23:27,949 --> 00:23:31,431
by a family of gorillas
transformed people's attitudes.

318
00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:36,754
The result of that was a coalition
of organisations got together

319
00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:41,830
and things changed. Decades later, we can
say that there's a census going on right now,

320
00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:44,216
we're expecting there
to be nearly 1,000.

321
00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:48,954
So, from 250 to 1,000, not all in the
Virungas, but in the two populations.

322
00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,271
So, it's one of those rare things,
a conservation success story

323
00:23:52,360 --> 00:23:56,637
which this man played a significant role in.
- Fantastic.

324
00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:06,554
just before you go, do tell me,
the little baby gorillas,

325
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:12,319
did they thrive, were they fine?
- Pablo grew up to be a splendid silverback,

326
00:24:12,400 --> 00:24:15,791
became one of the most successful
silverbacks of the study.

327
00:24:15,880 --> 00:24:19,556
And POPPY who is a little
younger than Pablo,

328
00:24:19,640 --> 00:24:23,110
is still with us and still producing
babies and she's one of the elders

329
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:26,290
in the gorilla population.
But, yes, we follow their lives,

330
00:24:26,354 --> 00:24:28,616
it's like a never-ending soap opera.

331
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,071
And every year we learn new
things about gorilla society.

332
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:36,153
Ian Redmond, thank you so much for
joining us tonight. Fascinating.

333
00:24:44,160 --> 00:24:46,834
So, in the interest of BBC non-bias

334
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,956
we thought it entirely necessary that we should
hear the gorillas' side of the encounter.

335
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:55,352
So, our friends at Aardman
Animations have lent a little hand.

336
00:24:56,440 --> 00:24:58,696
He was talking very quietly.

337
00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:02,111
And he's very tall.
Yeah, I noticed he's very tall because,

338
00:25:02,200 --> 00:25:05,397
when he's sitting down,
he's really sprawly.

339
00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:12,036
But, yeah, I mean, he could get
close if he came into my space.

340
00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,136
I mean,
I wouldn't let him walk all over me.

341
00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,989
But, I think David
Attenborough's probably got a...

342
00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:22,877
Got an empathy with nature.
And not just animals, you know,

343
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,460
but any living things, you know.

344
00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:30,079
It's like he's sitting down with a mate
and he's telling you all these stories.

345
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:32,754
What is he?
He's not an archaeologist, is he?

346
00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:37,998
What... What's his... He's not naturist,
he doesn't go around naked, does he?

347
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,260
Does he?

348
00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:50,235
You're not a naturist, are you?
- Why do you ask?

349
00:25:50,320 --> 00:25:54,036
Well, they mentioned it.
Now, David, obviously you are someone

350
00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:56,714
who is watched,
who is admired all over the world.

351
00:25:56,800 --> 00:26:00,430
But I'd say nowhere more
than here in Britain.

352
00:26:00,520 --> 00:26:03,319
Sir David,
on behalf of the whole country

353
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:06,597
I want to wish you a
very happy 90th birthday.

354
00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,714
Like so many, I grew up watching
you and learning from you

355
00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:14,953
as your enthusiasm opened my eyes
to the natural world around me.

356
00:26:15,480 --> 00:26:20,717
Your lifelong service has created the
most extraordinary educational legacy.

357
00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:24,270
And even today, you're pioneering
the latest technologies.

358
00:26:24,920 --> 00:26:29,598
Britain is incredibly proud to have
the greatest naturalist on the planet.

359
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:35,000
For just as you treasure the world
so the world, rightly, treasures you.

360
00:26:35,080 --> 00:26:39,396
Thank you for all that you've given to
us and all that you're continuing to do.

361
00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:41,994
And I wish you a very special evening.

362
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:50,514
David, it is surely true what
the Prime Minister says there,

363
00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:55,037
you know, technology has done so
much to bring the natural world

364
00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:58,112
into people's living rooms
and into their consciousness.

365
00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:00,793
When you started, I mean, it's
brilliant looking at that, isn't it?

366
00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,597
I mean, the technology was so much more
difficult, I'm guessing, to work with

367
00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:10,314
cause it was so simplistic.
- Yes, but now we have absolutely everything.

368
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:12,696
In fact, I truly think

369
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,878
there is almost no circumstance
that we can't film.

370
00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,949
The new thing that we're doing,
of course, about bioluminescence

371
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:25,158
is the latest step forward.
Martin Dorne, who is the cameraman

372
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,835
is passionate about experimenting
electronically with new cameras

373
00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:34,673
and new ways of doing things, in order to get
these shots of very bioluminescent animals.

374
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:37,559
And as you were saying, five years
ago that would've been impossible.

375
00:27:37,640 --> 00:27:41,349
Let's just remind ourselves
of the fascinating sequences

376
00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:46,151
that have been captured using some of
the world's most incredible technology.

377
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:50,279
We really know very little of what
goes on in the heart of a bivouac,

378
00:27:50,360 --> 00:27:54,877
like this. But this optical
probe may help us find out.

379
00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,914
Here is the nursery,
full of young, developing grubs.

380
00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:07,296
The lions are now so at ease,

381
00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:11,917
our spy in the den can often
approach to within a whisker.

382
00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:18,519
Once they're thoroughly warmed up, marine
iguanas can maintain their body temperature

383
00:28:18,600 --> 00:28:21,114
just about as constantly as I can,

384
00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:25,956
and what's more, at about the same
level or, indeed, slightly higher.

385
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:31,477
With an EGO-degree view and
an extremely powerful lens,

386
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:35,515
the camera can zoom in
from a kilometre away.

387
00:28:38,880 --> 00:28:44,114
Another revelatory film technique
involves slowing down the action

388
00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:48,713
simply by increasing the number
of images taken per second.

389
00:28:54,520 --> 00:28:58,957
As the sophistication of time-lapse
photography has increased,

390
00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,839
so we've been able to show that plants

391
00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:06,199
can be as competitive and as
aggressive as many an animal.

392
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:24,393
So, of course, that was time-lapse that we saw
there, which I think you are a great fan of.

393
00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:27,040
It reveals so much that
the naked eye can't see.

394
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:30,397
And one of the cameramen
responsible for many of those

395
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,154
really magical films
is called Tim Shepherd.

396
00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:36,198
You've described him as a genius,
no less.

397
00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:42,074
We've got a new sequence here which Tim
has made especially for you this evening.

398
00:29:42,160 --> 00:29:44,660
For me?
- For you.

399
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:16,900
Beautiful.

400
00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:19,660
Nice, huh?

401
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:28,195
Thank you very much, Tim. Yeah.
- Whilst we are on the subject of technology,

402
00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,436
talking,
doing pieces to camera under water

403
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,816
is surely one of the
trickiest things to pull off.

404
00:30:33,880 --> 00:30:36,793
Maybe the bubble helmet
was going to be the answer.

405
00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:40,112
Yes, it's a hideous memory to me.
I'm sorry to see it again.

406
00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:43,033
It's a long time ago now,

407
00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,871
having been talking to camera
on land for a long time.

408
00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:50,510
There was a new series about the,
under water,

409
00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:56,309
which was being produced by a friend of mine
called Alastair Fothergill who was the director.

410
00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:01,839
And he explained that if I was going to be a
narrator it was going to be quite difficult.

411
00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:04,416
I could do it sitting on the ship,
of course, on the boat.

412
00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:09,392
But how was I going to talk about coral
or sharks or whatever, under water?

413
00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:14,639
Alastair said, "I've got a great idea.
"We've got a new technological thing,

414
00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:20,509
"it's called the bubble helmet. "See? And what
we do is that you put that on your shoulders

415
00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:24,734
"and screw it down
"and then you'll be able to talk

416
00:31:24,820 --> 00:31:27,105
"cause there's a microphone in there."
And I said,

417
00:31:27,169 --> 00:31:29,669
"It doesn't seem a very good idea to me,
at all."

418
00:31:30,360 --> 00:31:32,736
And I said, "What's all this
business of screwing it down?

419
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:35,913
He said, "Well, you've got to screw
it down "cause otherwise it'll leak."

420
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,833
I was, "That's all very well,
but how are we going to get it off?"

421
00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:41,958
"Oh, we'll be able to get it off in,
you know, five minutes or so."

422
00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:45,069
I said, "Five minutes is a very long
time, especially if it goes wrong."

423
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,443
He said, "It won't go wrong.
"But I'll tell you what,

424
00:31:47,507 --> 00:31:51,273
if you're nervous about it, we'll test
it." This was when we were gonna film

425
00:31:51,337 --> 00:31:54,359
electric eels in the Amazon and
I was gonna talk about them.

426
00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:58,115
"We'll do it in the hotel
swimming pool," he said.

427
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:00,616
So, he put this on my shoulders.

428
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:04,116
Well, getting your head inside
that is not easy actually, see?

429
00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:06,700
Your nose gets caught.
- Oh. Yes, yes.

430
00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:12,639
And when you screw that down on the...
You really do feel trapped.

431
00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:16,793
So, I waded into the pool
and then very gingerly,

432
00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,111
sort of, submerged myself,
and water started coming in.

433
00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,199
And I thought, "It takes about
five minutes to get this off."

434
00:32:23,280 --> 00:32:27,480
So I came out in a hurry.
And Alastair said, "What's the matter?"

435
00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:31,536
You know how directors are. Yeah.
- Oh, yes.

436
00:32:31,600 --> 00:32:35,237
"What's your problem?"
I said, "It is full of water."

437
00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:41,030
So he said, "Well,
you must be doing something wrong."

438
00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:44,795
I said, "I just walked into the
pool and it's filled with water."

439
00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:48,918
He said, "I'll show you."
So he took it. He put it on.

440
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:53,793
And I had some pleasure in screwing
it down. I said, "Go on in there."

441
00:32:53,880 --> 00:32:56,759
He went in there, he came up
quicker than me, with water...

442
00:32:56,840 --> 00:33:01,150
And he took it off and he said, "There must be
a fault." I said, "Well, thank you very much."

443
00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:05,432
So, we then... We then partly decided
that, actually, we wouldn't use it.

444
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:09,036
Of course, when you're
filming in the great outdoors,

445
00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,397
even with sometimes the
most hi-tech equipment,

446
00:33:12,800 --> 00:33:15,918
as we just heard,
things don't always go to plan.

447
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,470
Because this snow is not white...

448
00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,830
Red and black, venom lack.

449
00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:33,552
Red and yellow,
and I get out of the way.

450
00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:40,511
The volcanoes of today
are mere feeble flick...

451
00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:47,638
The influence of this
continent is global.

452
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:50,700
What happens here matters.

453
00:33:53,560 --> 00:33:56,060
That's the first time I've
ever known you do that.

454
00:33:57,360 --> 00:34:01,035
They reunite once they come back here

455
00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:03,620
onto their own patch of shingle.

456
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:08,395
It's so effective,
that even a rich woodland like this

457
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,020
can seem totally devoid of birds.

458
00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,831
But that,
that's a completely different sound.

459
00:34:15,920 --> 00:34:18,420
That's an aeroplane.

460
00:34:19,320 --> 00:34:24,677
He is so charged up,
this being the breeding season,

461
00:34:24,760 --> 00:34:30,076
that he'll display,
to almost anything, including me.

462
00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:34,230
No doubt. This, surely...

463
00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:40,353
This surely is one...

464
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:47,672
When it came to allocate a scientific
name to this bird, called it...

465
00:34:49,560 --> 00:34:52,060
Paradisaea apoda.

466
00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:05,713
Even when things threaten to
get a bit frisky and dangerous,

467
00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:10,511
you always look relatively calm. When
you've been filming, when has been the time

468
00:35:10,600 --> 00:35:13,926
when you've thought, "I really need to get out of
here." Has there been a moment when you thought,

469
00:35:13,952 --> 00:35:16,553
"This is actually a danger to my life",
with a wild animal?

470
00:35:17,000 --> 00:35:22,552
Well, I was with one chap who was
an expert in elephants and rhinos,

471
00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:27,275
and we were driving along and...

472
00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,673
He suddenly lent over to me and said,
"Do you hear that?"

473
00:35:30,760 --> 00:35:33,435
And I said, "What?" He said, "Well, there
was "a pitter-patter, Didn't you hear that?"

474
00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:37,110
I said, "No, what was it?"
He said, "We were charged by a rhino."

475
00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:41,399
I said, "Were we?" He said, "Oh, yes,
yes, but it was a dummy charge."

476
00:35:41,480 --> 00:35:44,836
I said, "Was it?" He said,
"I'll show you." He put in reverse.

477
00:35:44,920 --> 00:35:48,879
I said, "No need,
I'll absolutely take your word for it."

478
00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:51,520
He said, "No, no, no, no."
So he reversed.

479
00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:55,389
And a rhino came out of the
bush at about 40 miles an hour

480
00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:59,189
and hit the back of the
Land Rover with its horn,

481
00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:02,955
lifted up the back end of
the Land Rover and shook it.

482
00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:06,271
And then retreated and came back
and dealt with the back wheels,

483
00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:10,517
ripped up the tyres and all that. I said,
"That was a hell of a dummy charge."

484
00:36:12,840 --> 00:36:17,392
And completely wrecked the Land Rover,
actually. Yes, that was quite dangerous.

485
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:21,318
David, let's take a look
at a very touching moment.

486
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:24,911
It was filmed just a few years
ago for the series Africa.

487
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:28,591
You met this little baby rhino called
Nicky, you'll remember, of course.

488
00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:33,874
And what was remarkable about this
little rhino is that he was blind.

489
00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:40,511
But, just as we think we're finishing,
someone won't let us go.

490
00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:45,740
Hello, little fellow.

491
00:36:46,440 --> 00:36:50,871
He starts to squeak.
And we're able to have a little chat.

492
00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:09,274
Think about it,
he's got a black world, doesn't he?

493
00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:13,152
And he's got smell. And he's got sounds.

494
00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:18,312
So, he's more likely to be responding
to sound if he hasn't got the vision.

495
00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:22,198
And just inquisitive, I suppose.
Are you coming back?

496
00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:42,096
just remarkable.
Well, joining us in the studio now

497
00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:44,720
from the Lewa Wildlife
Conservancy in Kenya

498
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:48,515
where those moments were filmed
is Sarah Watson. Sarah, welcome.

499
00:37:52,600 --> 00:37:55,718
Tell us a little bit about this
remarkable little creature's background,

500
00:37:55,800 --> 00:38:00,038
about Nicky. - Well, he is blind.
And we realised that he was, you know,

501
00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:03,670
black rhino quite early on, sort of,
when they're about one or two weeks old

502
00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:06,320
are meant to follow their mothers
out and about in the bush,

503
00:38:06,760 --> 00:38:09,831
but he wasn't doing that.
So, it was at that point we thought,

504
00:38:09,895 --> 00:38:12,710
actually, we got to bring him in.
So the guys brought him in

505
00:38:12,800 --> 00:38:16,239
and I've got a big boa at the back
of my house where these rhino live,

506
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:20,276
and he became part of the family. We got
him when he was three-and-a-half months old,

507
00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:23,591
and, yeah, he's still with us.
He's now three and a half.

508
00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:25,976
David,
so much of the programming that you make

509
00:38:26,040 --> 00:38:28,456
is so meticulously planned,
it has to be,

510
00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:33,280
by virtue of the scale and the complexity of
it. And yet, it is so often those moments,

511
00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:36,159
the moments that just seem to unfold,

512
00:38:36,240 --> 00:38:40,359
and that you are so capable of
taking us on this little journey

513
00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:42,736
through this moment of magic.

514
00:38:42,800 --> 00:38:46,156
Watching that, the whole thing
feels remarkably emotional,

515
00:38:46,240 --> 00:38:49,678
and I'm just watching it on TV.
When you were there doing it,

516
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:53,756
are your emotions involved when
you're filming something like that?

517
00:38:53,840 --> 00:38:56,912
Oh, well, that is such an
endearing little creature.

518
00:38:57,000 --> 00:38:59,753
And the fact that he couldn't see...
- Hmm.

519
00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:02,798
...brought out a sympathy in one.

520
00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:05,520
And then he suddenly
started talking to me.

521
00:39:05,600 --> 00:39:07,896
He had a long chat, yeah.
- Yeah, we had a long chat.

522
00:39:07,960 --> 00:39:11,476
I'm not absolutely sure what I said,
or what he said in reply.

523
00:39:11,560 --> 00:39:15,113
But you actually took the words out
of my mouth. Can you speak rhino?

524
00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:20,753
So you were just... You were just chatting.
- Yes, I was just responding to his noise.

525
00:39:20,840 --> 00:39:23,480
But, yeah, a charming creature.
Really lovely.

526
00:39:23,560 --> 00:39:27,554
I wonder what you think is
the most important factor

527
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:30,473
in protecting endangered
species like Nicky the rhino.

528
00:39:30,560 --> 00:39:35,277
And, actually, endangered species, more
generally. What should our approach be?

529
00:39:36,760 --> 00:39:41,709
Well, the rhinos, as you say, is a
special problem because of poaching.

530
00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:44,997
And poaching is a huge problem,
worldwide.

531
00:39:45,080 --> 00:39:50,473
So we have to develop a sympathy
for the natural world, everywhere.

532
00:39:50,560 --> 00:39:53,951
And, actually, I think that's one of
the things that television can do,

533
00:39:54,040 --> 00:39:57,874
that natural history programmes can do.
I mean, it's a bizarre thing, isn't it?

534
00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:00,793
You know, there are more
people living on earth today

535
00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:03,793
than there have ever been in
the history of the universe.

536
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:07,999
I mean, there are three times more
many people on this planet now

537
00:40:08,080 --> 00:40:10,720
than when I started making those
programmes back in the '50s.

538
00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:13,394
And they all need places
to live and so on.

539
00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:17,400
Of course they do. But if we go on
increasing at that sort of rate,

540
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:22,440
there won't be any wilderness left. And
there are other creatures on the earth

541
00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:27,675
that also call this planet home.
And we have the responsibility for them.

542
00:40:27,760 --> 00:40:30,752
So what we have to do is,
is to give them the space,

543
00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:34,390
to give them the natural
reserves where they can flourish,

544
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:38,230
which is their right.
- Sarah, you work hard at giving them the space

545
00:40:38,320 --> 00:40:41,551
and you were saying now that Nicky
is a big, relatively healthy boy now.

546
00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:45,838
How's he getting on? - No, he's thriving.
He's an extraordinary animal.

547
00:40:45,920 --> 00:40:50,315
There he is. - I mean, I know I'm bias.
A lot of it is because he is blind.

548
00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,776
But his other senses
are very heightened.

549
00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:55,400
I mean,
he knows my smell and he knows my voice

550
00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:57,976
and so he sees me, he basically
rolls over a bit like a Labrador.

551
00:40:58,040 --> 00:41:01,479
He knows he's gonna get de-ticked.
He thinks it's heaven.

552
00:41:01,560 --> 00:41:04,518
But he represents 1/5000th

553
00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:07,240
of the remaining population
of black rhino in the world.

554
00:41:07,320 --> 00:41:12,950
So his job is gonna be an ambassador. And
through people like David, who, you know,

555
00:41:13,040 --> 00:41:17,118
the fact that everyone I know has seen that
clip and I'm like, "Yeah, that was my rhino."

556
00:41:18,640 --> 00:41:23,316
But if we can just get a little bit
of the message out, it's a start.

557
00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:27,079
Sarah, thank you very much indeed
for joining us this evening. - Pleasure.

558
00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:39,077
Just before we move on, let's hear from
another, rather special conservationist

559
00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:44,237
who's been inspired by your work.
- David has been the single most

560
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:49,555
important impact in my conservation
thinking. And I used to love...

561
00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:51,923
And I still do,
but when I was a young boy,

562
00:41:51,987 --> 00:41:54,831
I used to love turning on the television
and watching David's programmes

563
00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:58,959
and really feeling like I
was either back out in Africa

564
00:41:59,040 --> 00:42:04,672
or I was learning about something
magical and almost out of this planet.

565
00:42:04,760 --> 00:42:07,354
And there's something very calming

566
00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:13,749
and, sort of, warm about his programmes.
There's something very reassuring about

567
00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:16,832
seeing David Attenborough on
BBC One doing his documentaries.

568
00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:21,597
It's part of the national psyche
now and he's a national treasure.

569
00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:24,274
And it's very fitting that
he's having his 90th birthday

570
00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:28,285
only a few weeks after the Queen.
Two incredible national treasures

571
00:42:28,349 --> 00:42:30,849
who have done so much over the years.

572
00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:41,759
So, His Royal Highness there
talking so genuinely about,

573
00:42:41,840 --> 00:42:45,075
you know, turning on the telly when he
was a little boy, and seeing you there.

574
00:42:45,160 --> 00:42:48,919
And that is something that's familiar
to all of us here in this audience.

575
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:52,436
I'm interested, though, for you,
when you were a little boy,

576
00:42:52,520 --> 00:42:56,749
what turned you onto natural history?
Where did it begin for you?

577
00:42:56,840 --> 00:43:00,231
By and large, there were two things. First of
all, there was the Leicestershire countryside.

578
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:06,791
Yeah - Which is where I grew up. And apart
from that, there were wonderful books.

579
00:43:06,880 --> 00:43:09,394
One of the one which
I don't think anybody,

580
00:43:09,480 --> 00:43:14,275
or very few people know about him now,
a man called Ernest Thompson Seaton.

581
00:43:14,360 --> 00:43:18,069
He was ranger in the Canadian Prairie.

582
00:43:18,160 --> 00:43:22,436
And he wrote about the animals that he
knew, the wolves and the buffalo, and so on.

583
00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:25,558
And they had... He drew...
He was a good artist as well.

584
00:43:25,640 --> 00:43:29,031
He drew the little footprints
down the side margins.

585
00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:31,714
I adored those books.
Wept over them, too.

586
00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:35,037
And what about... There you are, look
at you in your little Fair Isle socks.

587
00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:37,620
What about the influence...

588
00:43:38,800 --> 00:43:42,634
You're not... You're not still wearing them.
What about the influence of your parents?

589
00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:48,396
I mean, were they interested in the natural world?
- No, my father was a scholar, an academic.

590
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:51,916
And an expert on Anglo-Saxons.
- Right.

591
00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:55,914
But he understood about education.

592
00:43:56,000 --> 00:44:01,673
And he said to each of his three sons,
you know, "What is it you want to do?"

593
00:44:01,760 --> 00:44:06,277
And when I said that I wanted to
do something to do with animals,

594
00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:08,920
he didn't say, or fossils,

595
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:12,311
he didn't say, "Well, the name of
that is this or that or the other."

596
00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:14,994
In any case, he didn't know.
But what he did say was,

597
00:44:15,080 --> 00:44:17,336
look, there are ways of
finding out about that.

598
00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:19,960
You can go to the museum,
they'll tell you about that.

599
00:44:20,040 --> 00:44:22,496
And there's some good books,
and you can read about that.

600
00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:24,896
And so he encouraged us
to find out for ourselves.

601
00:44:24,960 --> 00:44:29,113
At 1945, you won a place at
Clare College, Cambridge,

602
00:44:29,200 --> 00:44:32,272
to read geology and zoology.

603
00:44:32,360 --> 00:44:35,000
Now, you got it on a scholarship.
- Yes.

604
00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:37,376
That's a blinking big deal,
when you get a scholarship.

605
00:44:37,440 --> 00:44:39,736
What do you remember of
the moment of finding out?

606
00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:42,394
My father said, "Look,
if you want to go to Cambridge,

607
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:45,791
"you have to get a scholarship
because I can't afford it."

608
00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:49,999
Right.
- And so, I worked pretty hard

609
00:44:50,080 --> 00:44:54,039
to try to get the scholarship
which colleges gave.

610
00:44:54,120 --> 00:44:57,272
And I remember it was during the war,

611
00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:00,512
and my father was...
I was digging an allotment.

612
00:45:00,600 --> 00:45:03,877
My father came running down
from the house where we lived,

613
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:07,612
waving a telegram and saying
"You've got it, my son, you've got!"

614
00:45:07,700 --> 00:45:09,976
Remarkable.
- And I was off to Cambridge.

615
00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:13,032
When you were working on the
natural history programmes,

616
00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:17,553
it also became, did it not,
something of a routine for you to...

617
00:45:17,640 --> 00:45:20,096
I mean to bring your work home?
Not to put too fine a point on it.

618
00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:23,712
The house was full of animals, wasn't it?
- We had a whole host of different things,

619
00:45:23,800 --> 00:45:26,599
all of which would be...
Wouldn't be allowed by law now.

620
00:45:26,680 --> 00:45:30,196
But I had...
There were lemurs, oh, lungfish,

621
00:45:30,440 --> 00:45:33,034
parrots, hummingbirds,
all sorts of things.

622
00:45:33,120 --> 00:45:36,272
One of my favourites was a
little pair of bush babies.

623
00:45:36,360 --> 00:45:39,714
You know, bush babies, they're like...
- Yes. - like tiny little monkeys about that big.

624
00:45:39,778 --> 00:45:43,558
Primitive monkeys. And what the male
does in order to establish his home

625
00:45:43,640 --> 00:45:48,834
and make him feel good and, you know,
thinking we might produce some kids,

626
00:45:48,920 --> 00:45:51,176
would be to pee on his hands.

627
00:45:51,240 --> 00:45:55,954
He would pee on his hands, like that, you
see, rub them together, and then go over,

628
00:45:56,040 --> 00:45:58,600
all over the furniture
and all up the walls

629
00:45:58,680 --> 00:46:01,240
as well as his hollow log
and everything else you see,

630
00:46:01,320 --> 00:46:04,233
which gave a nice,
a nice homely atmosphere, you know.

631
00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:09,156
But then, friends would come to dinner

632
00:46:09,240 --> 00:46:14,394
and I'd open the door and I'd
see the wife of the friend's

633
00:46:14,480 --> 00:46:19,110
dilate her nostrils, you know.
"That is not mulligatawny soup."

634
00:46:20,400 --> 00:46:24,359
You know, and so a bit of a
problem there but, in fact,

635
00:46:24,440 --> 00:46:27,956
we had I think about 14
births of these little babies.

636
00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:31,914
Did you? - Oh, we did.
And I tell you, a baby bush baby...

637
00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:38,198
It's time now to welcome another
guest. Joining us to share with us

638
00:46:38,262 --> 00:46:40,536
his own treasures of the natural world

639
00:46:40,600 --> 00:46:44,070
is a fellow passionist,
naturalist, conservationist,

640
00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:46,674
and collector extraordinaire,
it has to be said, David,

641
00:46:46,760 --> 00:46:49,260
please welcome Chris Packham.

642
00:46:54,160 --> 00:46:58,194
Welcome, thanks for coming. Nice to see you.
- Hello, David.

643
00:47:02,320 --> 00:47:04,880
Chris, and I said you're a
collector extraordinaire,

644
00:47:04,960 --> 00:47:07,634
just you've brought some treasures. Show
us one of the pieces you've brought.

645
00:47:07,720 --> 00:47:11,189
I have, look at this, I mean, there's
always a romance in these sorts of things.

646
00:47:11,280 --> 00:47:14,318
This is a fossil shark tooth,
a megalodon tooth,

647
00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:16,656
which belonged to an
extinct species now,

648
00:47:16,720 --> 00:47:19,872
many times the size of a great white.

649
00:47:19,960 --> 00:47:23,715
But when I handle that, I can't help but

650
00:47:23,800 --> 00:47:26,519
try and transport myself back in time

651
00:47:26,600 --> 00:47:29,194
to imagine the world that
this animal was living in.

652
00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:31,950
And, at the same time, I mean look at
the... It's just perfect, isn't it,

653
00:47:32,040 --> 00:47:34,376
when you run your finger
along that serrated edge.

654
00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:38,072
You've got to have that in your drawer,
haven't you? - You have.

655
00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:41,594
I was gonna say, "Are you impressed?"
- You call that...?

656
00:47:52,760 --> 00:47:55,474
Yeah.
- I want it back. - Yes. All right.

657
00:47:55,560 --> 00:47:58,270
We won't mix them up. Yours is cream,
mine is black. What a beauty.

658
00:47:58,429 --> 00:48:00,871
What a beautiful thing that is.
- Amazing.

659
00:48:00,935 --> 00:48:03,835
But there is this,
competitive thing about collecting

660
00:48:03,920 --> 00:48:07,598
which we won't go into.
- No. - But there... - We don't need to.

661
00:48:07,680 --> 00:48:12,276
But I have got the biggest.
- I was gonna say, boys will be boys.

662
00:48:14,800 --> 00:48:17,300
Do you know what this is?
- Let's have a look.

663
00:48:18,480 --> 00:48:21,313
Yeah. Yeah, I do.
I do know what it is, yeah.

664
00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:25,477
It's been inside a dinosaur.
It's a gastrolith, isn't it? - It is.

665
00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:28,016
So, this is a stone which it swallowed,

666
00:48:28,080 --> 00:48:30,416
I presume we don't know
which species but...

667
00:48:30,480 --> 00:48:33,830
I do.
- You do? It came from the carcass, did it?

668
00:48:33,920 --> 00:48:36,639
I don't know which species?

669
00:48:38,040 --> 00:48:41,440
How very daring, Chris Packham.
- Well, yes.

670
00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:44,819
But we can't tell from the stone, which species.
- That's better. - But you'll know

671
00:48:44,900 --> 00:48:47,136
if you found it in association
with the rest of the fossil.

672
00:48:47,200 --> 00:48:50,518
I did. I did. - Well, go on then.
- Don't tell me it's a T-rex gastrolith.

673
00:48:50,600 --> 00:48:55,190
It's a Seismosaurus. - Oh, Seismosaurus.
- A Seismosaurus, which at the time

674
00:48:55,280 --> 00:48:57,874
was the biggest known dinosaur,
which it isn't any more, of course,

675
00:48:57,960 --> 00:49:01,351
but at the time it was,
and I went to the excavation.

676
00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:04,239
And you have this near-complete

677
00:49:04,320 --> 00:49:07,676
skeleton with the back
bone and the ribs,

678
00:49:07,760 --> 00:49:11,071
and there between the ribs,
in the position of the stomach,

679
00:49:11,160 --> 00:49:14,710
was like, half a sack load of pebbles.

680
00:49:14,800 --> 00:49:18,791
But if you look at it, you can see that it's
got an extremely high polish, doesn't it?

681
00:49:18,880 --> 00:49:22,077
It's beautifully polished and
this was polished inside the gut

682
00:49:22,160 --> 00:49:27,073
of a giant dinosaur. I mean, there isn't
anything better than that, is there?

683
00:49:27,160 --> 00:49:29,660
It really is a lovely...
- That... Hey! Hey!

684
00:49:31,160 --> 00:49:35,438
David, do tell me about this splendid
thing here and how you came upon it.

685
00:49:35,520 --> 00:49:38,020
Yes. Yes, well,
I've got the biggest tooth there.

686
00:49:40,080 --> 00:49:42,700
And you haven't got a bigger bird's
egg than that, do you? - No,

687
00:49:42,764 --> 00:49:46,354
I haven't. And that one, I've seen
many of these. That on is pretty good.

688
00:49:46,440 --> 00:49:48,936
It was broken but it's
put together very well.

689
00:49:49,000 --> 00:49:52,595
In fact, let's just see the
moments on film, it was captured,

690
00:49:52,680 --> 00:49:55,180
when you found this and
put this egg together.

691
00:49:55,760 --> 00:50:00,757
The best method of starting seemed to be the same
as you use when you begin on a jigsaw puzzle.

692
00:50:01,440 --> 00:50:04,193
To lay out everything,
face up, on the ground.

693
00:50:04,760 --> 00:50:08,512
To fasten them temporarily,
I used adhesive tape.

694
00:50:10,240 --> 00:50:14,279
The egg began to appear even
bigger than I had imagined.

695
00:50:16,520 --> 00:50:19,672
At the end of an hour I had two halves.

696
00:50:21,680 --> 00:50:25,477
And to my joy,
they fitted together perfectly.

697
00:50:32,440 --> 00:50:36,115
All I have to do is say, thank you
for bringing your wonderful treasures,

698
00:50:36,200 --> 00:50:38,919
Chris Packham.
- Thank you.

699
00:50:43,240 --> 00:50:47,598
David, its time now to hear from
a very good friend of yours.

700
00:50:47,680 --> 00:50:53,954
Dame Jane Goodall. - David Attenborough
has inspired millions of young people

701
00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:58,910
to become interested and
sometimes even to take up careers

702
00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:03,793
in some aspect of learning about the
natural world, protecting the natural world.

703
00:51:04,280 --> 00:51:09,150
And he's got an amazing
ability to get people involved.

704
00:51:09,680 --> 00:51:13,878
I remember watching,, one programme

705
00:51:13,960 --> 00:51:17,078
and he's after some very rare frog,

706
00:51:17,160 --> 00:51:21,916
and, finally, you see on the
screen a shaking water lily leaf.

707
00:51:22,000 --> 00:51:26,198
And with that breathless voice
he turns to the camera and says,

708
00:51:26,280 --> 00:51:28,736
"The frog was sitting
there a minute ago."

709
00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:31,792
Nobody else could get away with that.

710
00:51:41,080 --> 00:51:44,717
Well, probably one of the highest tributes
for anyone working in the natural world

711
00:51:44,800 --> 00:51:47,599
is to have a newly discovered
species named after them.

712
00:51:47,680 --> 00:51:52,038
In fact, David, I know you have quite
a number already named after you.

713
00:51:52,120 --> 00:51:57,714
It's your birthday, so one of the
world's foremost drag only experts

714
00:51:57,800 --> 00:52:02,030
wanted to give you a little gift.
Here is Klaas-Douwe Dijkstra.

715
00:52:02,760 --> 00:52:05,513
On your 90th birthday I want to wish you

716
00:52:05,600 --> 00:52:09,275
not only many more years of
good health and of broadcasting

717
00:52:09,360 --> 00:52:11,860
but I wish everyone more of you.

718
00:52:13,160 --> 00:52:16,118
And to thank you,
I've named together with colleagues

719
00:52:16,200 --> 00:52:18,700
a dragonfly in your honour.

720
00:52:18,840 --> 00:52:23,714
Acisoma attenboroughi.
Your new dragonfly is from Madagascar

721
00:52:23,800 --> 00:52:29,552
and I'm happy to report that your
dragonfly is actually very common.

722
00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:34,150
Every farmer can find it in their paddy.
Every fisherman can see it in his pond.

723
00:52:34,240 --> 00:52:37,198
Every schoolchild can
find it in the yard.

724
00:52:38,040 --> 00:52:40,759
It simply is another one of
those species that is unique

725
00:52:40,840 --> 00:52:43,340
but no one noticed that it was.

726
00:52:43,600 --> 00:52:46,991
But now, people can go out
there and say, "Hey look,

727
00:52:47,080 --> 00:52:51,032
"that is Sir David's dragonfly."
Thank you, and happy birthday.

728
00:52:52,040 --> 00:52:54,749
That's very nice.
- And here it is.

729
00:52:57,960 --> 00:53:00,918
There it is, David.
A very special little birthday gift.

730
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:03,500
Acisoma attenboroughi. Rather beautiful.

731
00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:06,873
Don't you think?
- I think it's stunningly beautiful.

732
00:53:06,960 --> 00:53:09,793
Dragonflies are magical insects,
aren't they?

733
00:53:10,200 --> 00:53:14,114
You know,
they date back for 300 million years.

734
00:53:14,200 --> 00:53:16,760
Just like that, yeah. What a thrill.
- Extraordinary.

735
00:53:16,840 --> 00:53:19,912
As we said when we began
talking this evening,

736
00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:22,514
you are still filming
all over the world,

737
00:53:22,600 --> 00:53:26,036
indeed, you're doing Planet Earth
I] which is a big new series.

738
00:53:26,120 --> 00:53:29,570
Well, Planet Earth H,
when the idea was put up

739
00:53:29,660 --> 00:53:31,896
people said, you've done it all.

740
00:53:31,960 --> 00:53:34,474
But the fact is that when
you really start researching,

741
00:53:34,560 --> 00:53:37,632
you find things that
you haven't done at all.

742
00:53:37,720 --> 00:53:40,216
It's going to be thrilling,
new and exciting.

743
00:53:40,280 --> 00:53:42,536
Incredible. So,
so much more of that to look forward to,

744
00:53:42,600 --> 00:53:45,956
and we are almost out of time tonight,
but before we go

745
00:53:46,040 --> 00:53:48,998
here are a few more
happy birthday messages.

746
00:53:49,480 --> 00:53:53,792
Sir David Attenborough,
we love having you on the show,

747
00:53:53,880 --> 00:53:56,713
and beyond that I'd just like to say,
thank you.

748
00:53:56,800 --> 00:54:00,714
Thank you for everything you've
done on television over the years.

749
00:54:00,800 --> 00:54:03,105
You've really changed this country

750
00:54:03,169 --> 00:54:07,118
and given us such an extraordinary
awareness of the world around us.

751
00:54:07,200 --> 00:54:12,152
Have a very happy birthday.
- Happy 90th birthday, David Attenborough.

752
00:54:12,240 --> 00:54:14,496
I've grown up watching your films

753
00:54:14,560 --> 00:54:17,393
and now my children have
grown up watching your films

754
00:54:17,480 --> 00:54:21,713
and I'm very proud to have been on
this Earth as the same time as you.

755
00:54:22,360 --> 00:54:25,318
Sir David,
this is Sting behind this beard.

756
00:54:25,400 --> 00:54:28,392
I'm somewhere in the Tundra.
I've been a fan of yours since

757
00:54:28,480 --> 00:54:31,757
your search for the Komodo dragon,
I think in 1956.

758
00:54:31,840 --> 00:54:36,640
You've been an inspiration and a wonder to
me. Happy birthday and many happy returns.

759
00:54:36,720 --> 00:54:40,714
Thank you so much for the
many years of inspirational,

760
00:54:40,800 --> 00:54:43,792
motivational and
ground-breaking television,

761
00:54:43,880 --> 00:54:46,440
for spurring me and millions of others

762
00:54:46,520 --> 00:54:49,558
to want to be better
custodians of the planet.

763
00:54:49,640 --> 00:54:52,280
From me and the hundreds of
thousands of other people

764
00:54:52,360 --> 00:54:56,396
who've been inspired to go out, buy a
pair of jungle boots and some camouflage

765
00:54:56,480 --> 00:55:00,955
and maybe a blue shirt, thank you. Thank
you so much for all you've given us

766
00:55:01,040 --> 00:55:03,793
and a very, very happy birthday.

767
00:55:04,880 --> 00:55:09,879
Happy Birthday, David!
- From all of us here on the Springwatch team.

768
00:55:09,960 --> 00:55:13,032
Sir David, it is an absolute honour

769
00:55:13,120 --> 00:55:15,456
for me to be able to
wish you a happy birthday

770
00:55:15,520 --> 00:55:19,036
and also to thank you from
the bottom of my heart

771
00:55:19,120 --> 00:55:24,631
for all your brilliant programmes. You
must pause to reflect on this special day,

772
00:55:24,720 --> 00:55:27,872
on the incredible impact that
you've had around the world.

773
00:55:27,960 --> 00:55:33,471
You are an absolute legend and have changed
the face of conservation for the future.

774
00:55:33,560 --> 00:55:36,200
I wish you a very happy
birthday on this milestone day.

775
00:55:36,640 --> 00:55:40,153
You're fantastic, you're such a hero.
You've been such an inspiration.

776
00:55:40,240 --> 00:55:43,392
Not only to all of us,
but more specially to me.

777
00:55:43,480 --> 00:55:47,678
You go on forever, and I hope you do

778
00:55:47,760 --> 00:55:51,679
because you are priceless.
Happy birthday.

779
00:56:02,120 --> 00:56:05,397
So, we know you keep making
these extraordinary programmes

780
00:56:05,480 --> 00:56:08,199
that we all love so much,
and thank goodness for that.

781
00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:12,840
You're not taking your foot of the gas. But
I wonder, it is... It's hard work filming.

782
00:56:12,920 --> 00:56:16,005
It's really hard work.
What is it that inspires you

783
00:56:16,069 --> 00:56:19,031
to get up every morning
and go and work so hard.

784
00:56:19,400 --> 00:56:22,518
Making programmes is just huge fun.

785
00:56:22,600 --> 00:56:25,114
I mean, not only go to exciting places,

786
00:56:25,200 --> 00:56:27,496
do exciting things, you do it with pals.

787
00:56:27,560 --> 00:56:30,598
You do it with people, you know,
who are a joy to work with.

788
00:56:30,680 --> 00:56:35,558
And making programmes is, as you know,
I mean, they're very much a team thing.

789
00:56:36,040 --> 00:56:41,035
And I feel constantly embarrassed
about the amount of credit I get

790
00:56:41,120 --> 00:56:44,431
for the amount of work that many,
many other people are actually,

791
00:56:44,520 --> 00:56:49,209
in fact, doing. So, I've had a
singularly, unbelievably fortunate time.

792
00:56:49,300 --> 00:56:51,580
Well, I'm afraid I might
embarrass you a little more,

793
00:56:51,644 --> 00:56:54,159
because I'm going to say, on behalf
of not just everybody in the studio,

794
00:56:54,240 --> 00:56:57,198
but on behalf of everybody
watching at home,

795
00:56:57,280 --> 00:57:00,557
and the hundreds of millions
of people around the world

796
00:57:00,640 --> 00:57:03,792
who love, from the bottom of
their hearts, what you do.

797
00:57:03,880 --> 00:57:07,912
Thank you for doing it, and happy birthday.
- Thank you very much indeed.

798
00:57:10,480 --> 00:57:13,958
Happy birthday.
- Thank you. Thank you very much.

799
00:57:18,580 --> 00:57:20,856
Thank you.

800
00:57:20,920 --> 00:57:24,072
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you.

801
00:57:26,360 --> 00:57:28,860
Thank you very much.

802
00:57:28,910 --> 00:57:33,460
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