David Attenborough's Life Stories

Episodes

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0101Sloths2009060520120405/06 (BBC7)
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Sir David muses on the natural history of the sloth - perhaps the most lethargic beast in the animal world, and one that he has admitted to wanting to be.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2009.

Musings on the natural history of perhaps the most lethargic beast in the animal world.

Legendary naturalist Sir David muses on the natural history of perhaps the most lethargic beast in the animal world. From 2009.

0102Monstrous Flowers2009061220120406/07 (BBC7)
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Deep in the steamy forests of Sumatra, the largest flowers in the world bloom.

Musings on the world's largest blooms found deep in the steamy forests of Sumatra.

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Along the soft, muddy river banks of New South Wales, the female duck-billed platypus makes a burrow to raise her family.

Not only is this the strangest of creatures, it is also one of the most tricky to film.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2009.

Musings on the elusive female duck-billed platypus of New South Wales, Australia.

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Madagascar, off the eastern coast of Africa, is the largest continental island in the world.

As Sir David reveals, it's also where the largest egg known to have existed was laid, and the bird that laid it was also a giant.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2009.

The largest egg known to have existed was laid in Madagascar.

The famous naturalist muses on the largest known egg laid by a giant bird on Madagascar.

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Humans aren't the only species who sing. Many birds do and even another ape.

What messages are conveyed in the syllables, melodies and repeated phrases, and who is listening?

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

Produce: Julian Hector

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2009.

The messages conveyed in the syllables, melodies and repeated phrases of singing birds.

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One of the most extraordinary structures in the animal world is constructed by a Bower Bird.

Sir David tells the life story of the Vogelkopf Bower Bird, the one that raises the bar higher than the rest.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2009.

Musings on the structures built by New Guinea's Vogelkop bowerbirds to attract mates.

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What did Sir David do when he was confronted by a ten-foot-long grey-scaled reptile, with a long yellow forked tongue whipping in and out of its mouth?

He didn't run and, in fact, was one of the first to film it: the Komodo dragon.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2009.

The famous naturalist recalls meeting the ten-foot-long Komodo dragon.

Sir David recalls meeting a ten-foot-long grey-scaled reptile, with a long, yellow forked tongue - the Komodo dragon. From 2009.

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Sir David recounts the remarkable story of a feather, like any other feather from a bird.

Only this one was 150 million years old, and the animal that lost it lived when birds had not yet evolved.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2009.

A 150-million-year-old feather from an animal that lived before birds had evolved.

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Sir David's first pet was a fire salamander, given to him by his father on his 8th birthday.

He also gave his own son a salamander on his 8th birthday, the legacy of which is very much alive and kicking today.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2009.

The naturalist recalls his first pet, a fire salamander which was a birthday present.

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Sir David Attenborough talks about the Birds of Paradise.

This is a group of birds which evolved in the relative safety of New Guinea, allowing them to acquire adornments and feathered decorations so resplendent that they fooled the early explorers who discovered them.

Series of talks by Sir David on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in August 2009.

Musings on the New Guinea residents, who fooled early explorers with their adornments.

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Underground animals are very different to the animals that spend their life on the surface.

They are a different shape, their senses are tuned in a very different way and they manifestly come from a different world.

Does this explain the stare of the snake?

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

Sir David has been awarded the Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, for his services to TV, broadcasting and conservation.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2009.

Looking at why underground animals have evolved differently from those on the surface.

0112Faking Fossils2009082120151101 (BBC7)
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Sir David recalls a key moment in his life, when he broke open a piece of Leicestershire limestone and there in his hand was an ammonite.

Over the intervening years, fossils have fascinated him and he has become a great collector, even of the odd fake.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2009

The naturalist recalls finding an ammonite inside limestone, sparking his love of fossils.

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The Coelacanth is a primitive bony fish thought to be an important ancestor to all back-boned animals that ventured onto land.

David Attenborough brought to TV the first film of a living fish in Life on Earth. But is it the living fossil it was claimed to be?

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in August 2009.

Was the first live specimen of the primitive bony fish shown on TV really a living fossil?

0114The Dodo2009090420151115 (BBC7)
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The dodo is the caricature of extinction.

This turkey-sized flightless pigeon lived on a remote island and was slaughtered by seafarers for its meat. The same fate has met other flightless species.

Can we learn this lesson from history?

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.

Slaughtered into oblivion, the naturalist asks what lessons can be learned from the dodo.

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Following the tracks left by animals is a great craft owned by many aboriginal people.

Doing the same with fossilised tracks is much the same skill, but with a whole new set of extraordinary revelations.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.

The naturalist examines the revelations found from following fossilised animal tracks.

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Filming birds that make the nests of saliva - so prized by Chinese gourmet chefs - in the total darkness of a Borneo cave proved difficult.

That was until a conical mound of bat guano provided a natural platform.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.

The naturalist recalls the challenge of filming the birds of Borneo.

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What are human eyebrows for?

Possibly to allow communication without the use of words.

Testing the value of eyebrow communication came into its own when David Attenborough met the men of an aboriginal tribe in New Guinea where there was no other common language.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.

Sir David recalls the importance of human eyebrows for communication.

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As a boy, David Attenborough had a piece of amber in which lay a blood-sucking fly. He still has it today.

Would it be possible to extract the DNA from one of these insects caught in the resin and, maybe, recreate a dinosaur?

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009

Is it possible to extract the DNA from a fly trapped in amber to recreate a dinosaur?

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The Large Blue butterfly died out in Britain in 1979, but why?

Investigations pointed to a complex life cycle linked to a single species of ant.

With this knowledge the Large Blue was re-introduced into the British countryside, but there is a sinister twist in the tale, in the form of a parasitic wasp.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009.

The naturalist asks why the Large Blue butterfly recently died out in the UK.

The naturalist asks why the Large Blue butterfly died out in the UK - and the challenge of its reintroduction. From 2009.

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Why do we collect things? Is it a male response to ancient hunting instincts to provide food for the family?

Today, collecting by children is in decline, and with it the development of an early fascination with the natural world around them.

Series of talks by Sir David Attenborough on the natural histories of creatures and plants from around the world.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in October 2009.

The naturalist comments on the decline in collecting by children.

Sir David ponders the decline in collecting by children, as well as their early fascination with the natural world. From 2009.

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If you walk into a rainforest you are immediately met by quite literally a forest of trees.

All the tree trunks look like cathedral pillars, smooth and wet from the rain. Not a single branch emerges from the trunk for tens of metres - and when they do you see a breath-taking interlocking jungle of branches and leaves, ferns and flowers and all number of creatures great and small. The canopy is a bonanza of tropical forest life, in the bright light and gentle breeze - a far cry from the dark and humid underworld of the forest floor.

Not surprising then that Sir David Attenborough knew this would be a perfect place to film wildlife.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2011.

David Attenborough talks about filming in one of nature's most inaccessible places.

All the tree trunks look like cathedral pillars, smooth and wet from the rain. Not a single branch emerges from the trunk for tens of metres - and when they do you see a breathtaking interlocking jungle of branches and leaves, ferns and flowers and all number of creatures great and small. The canopy is a bonanza of tropical forest life, in the bright light and gentle breeze - a far cry from the dark and humid underworld of the forest floor.

Sir David Attenborough talks about filming in one of nature's most inaccessible places, high up in the jungle canopy. From 2011.

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New Zealand had several species of flightless bird living across the islands, all of which are now extinct, bar one.

The Kiwi has become one of those species iconic of the country, like the Koala to Australia, the Giraffe to Africa and the Alpaca to South America.

Historically, New Zealand didn't have ground predators such as wild cats and stoats - which allowed birds to exploit living on the ground. Being flightless in New Zealand was a good way to be a bird.

Having filmed Kiwis, Sir David Attenborough muses on the niche the Kiwi occupies on the ground. He argues the Kiwi behaves more like a mammal than a bird, but what mammal do you think, in his view, the Kiwi most resembles..?

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in February 2011.

David Attenborough muses over the peculiar Kiwi, a bird more mammal-like in its habits.

The Kiwi is New Zealand's last remaining flightless bird. Sir David explains exactly why it's so peculiar. From 2011.

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David Attenborough has always been fascinated by fossils; even as a boy he'd spend many hours exploring the local quarry near his home in Leicestershire.

Near his family home was a forest which he visited frequently, but didn't hunt for fossils there because he knew the rocks were too old to have any post cards of early life embedded in their layers.

But he was wrong - those rocks harboured a wonderful secret - a secret that would rattle the cages of the big thinkers of the time and would change the story of life on earth for ever.

Written and presented by Sir David Attenborough.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.

David Attenborough's fascination with the fossilised evidence of the beginning of life.

David Attenborough talks about Charnia, fossils of early life on Earth, and a connection with his childhood. From 2011.

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We sometimes forget that vegetables that we see as commonplace today in all their varieties have wild origins.

The potato for example is a name given to a tuber that both comes from Africa and South America - and the history of their discovery and export into our European markets can be traced by examining how those first explorers named the plants.

Sir David Attenborough traces the discovery of some common vegetables to their wild beginnings - and the fascinating natural history of their use as food.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.

David Attenborough explores the natural history of potatoes, peppers and artichokes.

David Attenborough traces the discovery of some common vegetables to their very wild, and exotic, beginnings. From 2011.

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One of the great wild sounds of North America is the purring of insects in the evening, especially that of Cicadas, one of the great stridulating sounds in the wild.

This is the tale of one Cicada; the 17-year periodic Cicada that stunned the community in New England 13 years after the Pilgrim Fathers had landed. There was a plague of insects, all with red eyes on stalks - and all emerging continuously out of the soil.

When the plague subsided a few weeks later the people of Plymouth Rock were braced for another onslaught, but nothing happened until 17 years later.

Sir David Attenborough recalls a filming trip to New England to film this species of Cicada with both fascinating natural history and a hilarious twist.

Written and presented by David Attenborough

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.

David Attenborough reveals the life of insects that emerge from the earth every 17 years.

David Attenborough talks about Cicadas, strumming insects that fill the evening air across the world with sound. From 2011.

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Although Charles Darwin is especially well known for his work on the Theory of Evolution through his seminal work 'On the Origin of Species', he also published a lot of his research on earthworms.

Earthworms fascinated Darwin, so much so that his observations led him to believe that they showed marked intelligence. And earthworms fascinate Sir David Attenborough too.

He recalls a visit to Australia to film the giant earthworm and intriguingly used his ears more than any other sense to find them. What did they sound like and what did they look like? He reveals all.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2011.

David Attenborough recalls visiting Australia to find the giant earthworm - using his ears

An earthworm species in Australia can grow to over two metres long. They stay underground making intriguing sounds. From 2011.

Sir David reveals all.

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It was the great travel books written in the 19th century by Alfred Russell Wallace that inspired Sir David Attenborough himself to achieve great things in the realm of natural history.

But Attenborough tells us that Wallace was more than just a great travel writer.

His power of meticulous observation and recording as he explored many parts of the world were in the highest league imaginable, even for Victorian standards - and his power of analysis very much akin with Darwin, his great contemporary.

Wallace independently came up with a theory of evolution that was in parallel to Darwin's thinking - two field naturalists breaking huge conventions of the time and coming up with the single most important theory in Biology. How did they resolve the conflict between themselves?

Written and presented by David Attenborough

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.

David Attenborough on the achievements of scientist Alfred Russell Wallace.

It was the great travel books written in the 19th century by Alfred Russel Wallace that inspired Sir David Attenborough himself to achieve great things in the realm of natural history.

His power of meticulous observation and recording as he explored many parts of the world were in the highest league imaginable, even for Victorian standards - and his power of analysis very much in line with Darwin, his great contemporary.

David Attenborough on the achievements of scientist Alfred Russel Wallace.

David Attenborough talks about Alfred Russel Wallace, the great travel writer, geographer and naturalist. From April 2011.

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Hummingbirds are given spectacular names motivated by their striking colours, patterns and shimmering metallic iridescence; their names are beautiful as are the birds.

David Attenborough has filmed them on several occasions and is fascinated by their agility and flying skills to drink nectar from flowers inaccessible to any other animal. And propelled by this rocket fuel of nature they are capable of flying great distances and living life in the fast lane.

Enchanting in this story is how moved David Attenborough is when recalling a story of their conservation; a rare piece of good news he comments.

Written and presented by Sir David Attenborough.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.

Hummingbirds are brilliantly coloured with aeronautical skills that defy the imagination.

Living throughout the Americas, Hummingbirds are brilliantly coloured with aeronautical skills defying imagination. From 2011.

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You get a very different insight into the natural world when you have the opportunity to study the behaviour of individual animals.

Sir David Attenborough recalls with sumptuous delight spotting a blackbird in his garden with a white feather - 'whitey' - giving him a window into the life of blackbirds and what's more, that individual. And, he says, he saw what blackbirds get up to!

David remembers filming spiders and filming chimpanzees, both of which benefited from someone knowing about the individuals - and whether you're a spider or a chimpanzee, you have a personality all of your own.

Written and presented by David Attenborough

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.

David reflects on seeing 'whitey' - a blackbird with a white feather - in his garden.

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It might be surprising to hear, but Sir David Attenborough has made it known over the years that rats are not his favourite animal.

In this piece, dedicated to his nemesis, with great wit and skill, the naturalist tells us of the living nightmare he endured whilst on location in a place infested with them.

If that wasn't enough, whilst making Life of Mammals, he devoted a whole programme to them - and to balance his own personal view went to an Indian temple where the rat is revered and even encouraged to swarm in vast numbers.

But in a clever twist of the story, as is the hallmark of David Attenborough, in no uncertain way he tells us why they should be respected.

Written and presented by David Attenborough

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.

David Attenborough hates rats, but in a personal way explains why they should be respected

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Fire breathing dragons are clearly something from legend, but what about a monster that lives in an ancient deep lake?

Sir David Attenborough reflects on a time when pre-eminent conservationist and naturalist Peter Scott was acquiring evidence to prove - or disprove - the existence of the Loch Ness Monster. No such giant creature has ever been found, but this is an intriguing tale of discovery.

David moves his story beyond the Scottish Highlands and into the Himalayas - where he reveals something very surprising.

Written and presented by David Attenborough

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in April 2011.

David Attenborough remembers puzzling over the Loch Ness Monster with Sir Peter Scott.

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When massing for their winter torpor in Mexico, the pine trees laden with Monarch Butterflies are one of the most mystical and magical places to be.

David Attenborough is one of many naturalists, writers and broadcasters to marvel at this species migration feat and the spectacle of their over wintering - one of the natural wonders of the world.

David guides us through the butterfly's migration to Canada from Mexico - and back again - gently unpacking their natural history and wonder. And he immerses us in other butterfly congregations during filming trips over the years - but in a clever twist brings us back to his garden with an intriguing thought about the evolution of butterfly behaviour.

Written and presented by David Attenborough

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.

David Attenborough celebrates butterflies' migration with a twist of evolutionary thinking

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They say - David Attenborough reports - that we share more of our genes with chimpanzees than any other species alive today. And this proximity of Homo Sapiens to the chimpanzee motivated him even more to film behaviour never before seen.

It had been known for some time that chimps hunt monkeys for meat, but it would be a first to film it for TV audiences. To film such a hunt required days of waiting and tracking a troop through the Equatorial African forest - and when the hunt came and was over, it changed Sir David Attenborough's view of chimps and their importance to us, forever.

Written and presented by David Attenborough.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.

David Attenborough recalls a memorable filming trip, following chimpanzees hunting monkeys

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The Cuckoo is one of the iconic brood parasites of the world - the bird that cons another species into taking its egg as its own and rears the chick to fledging.

In the single frame of the Cuckoo you have a long distance migrant, travelling from Africa to breeding grounds in the temperate north, and back again.

The Cuckoo does not raise its own chick and across a range of Cuckoo individuals, they parasitise several species of bird - all much smaller than they are.

Sir David Attenborough explores the world of the Cuckoo and not only marvels at their natural history but tells the story of how a wildlife cameraman resolved a scientific mystery - and how the Cuckoo itself harbours yet more secrets to science and natural history.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011

David Attenborough tells us how cuckoos get their eggs into the nests of other species.

David Attenborough explores how cuckoos get their eggs into the nests of other species. It is one of the iconic brood parasites. From 2011.

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As Sir David Attenborough explains:

'The biggest animal to fly was not a bird, but a reptile.'

It was a Quetzalcoatlus, a pterosaur with at least a 44 foot wingspan. David, a huge fan of palaeontology, is skilled in bringing the past natural histories to life through stories about the discovery of key fossils.

What a creature this 'terrible lizard' must have been - big enough to scavenge the bodies of dead Tyrannosaurus and yet able to fly, probably in large numbers. And with a twist so typical of Sir David's writing, he brings this pterosaur to life at the very end.

Written and presented by David Attenborough.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in May 2011.

Sir David marvels over the Quetzalcoatlus: the largest flying animal ever to exist.

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Many of the world's chameleons live on the huge continental island of Madagascar off the Eastern coast of Africa.

Some are tiny, as small as a finger nail - others in comparison are giants.

Sir David Attenborough gives us his warm personal insight into the natural history of chameleons through one very special individual - a chameleon he had as a pet, called Rommel.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011.

Sir David Attenborough introduces Rommel the Chameleon.

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The beautiful thick, sweet and luscious tasting delicacy of honey is one of the world's natural goodies.

Indigenous peoples from all over the world will go to great lengths to get the honey from wild bees - and for most of us less connected to the natural world, we love this product of bees bought from the shop.

Honey is nectar and David Attenborough poignantly points out this 'was the first bribe in nature...' - it evolved 100,000,000 years ago with the flowering plants and drove the evolutionary relationship between animals and plants.

Written and presented by Sir David Attenborough.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011.

David Attenborough tells of nature's first bribe, that evolved a hundred million years ago

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Squire Waterton of Walton Hall was an eccentric Englishman and gentleman who made many visits to South America and wrote about his travels.

His travel books are 'amongst the oddest I know' Sir David Attenborough tells us, written in an odd, almost biblical style. But nevertheless, they are accounts of natural history 200 years ago.

Attenborough argues that Waterton shouldn't be just remembered for his writing. He should be credited with establishing the first nature reserve in this country.

Appalled by the ravages of the industrial revolution's impact on the landscape, he built a wall around his estate to protect the wildlife - and free of charge allowed people to visit, which they did in their masses.

Written and presented by David Attenborough

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011.

David Attenborough explores the life of Squire Waterton, a 19th-century taxidermist.

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The chemistry that allows the combustion of natural chemicals to generate light without heat is wonderfully harnessed by the firefly.

Fireflies are insects with several species in the group; each with its own species specific code and signalling regime.

In this life story, Sir David Attenborough tells of his personal experience filming the antics of fireflies and the insight this gave him into this secret world of messaging.

Written and presented by David Attenborough

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in June 2011.

Fireflies generate light by themselves and they do this with style.

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David Attenborough recalls how, whilst en route to Madagascar, his BBC bosses asked him to break his journey in Kenya to visit the Adamsons.

Joy and George Adamson were famous for hand rearing a lioness whom they named Elsa. She was the central character in the book written by the couple, 'Born Free'.

Sir David cleverly takes us from the romanticism of Born Free and being close to habituated lions, to the harsh reality of befriending a big cat.

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in July 2011.

David Attenborough gives his perspective on the story of the famous lioness, Elsa.

David Attenborough recalls filming an exclusive interview with the Adamsons and their famous lioness, Elsa. From 2011.