BBC Wildlife - UK (2019-12)

92 BBC Wildlife December 2019

OURWILD WORLD

SevenWorlds,

OnePlanet

WitheachBBClandmarknatural

historyseriessomefouryearsto

make,it standstoreasonthatit

wouldn’tbepossibletosqueeze

alltheincrediblestoriesand

imagesaccumulatedoverthose

yearsintoa TVseriesjusta fewhourslong.

Andthat’swheretheaccompanyingbook

offerssomuchmorethansimply

roundingupwhatyou’veseenonTV.

Thecompletestoryis toldhereby

executiveproducerJonnyKeeling

andseriesproducerScott

Alexander,witha forewordfrom

SirDavidAttenborough.The

bookfillsinsomuch– not

onlyofwhathappenedwhile

makingtheseries,butalsoof

howthesesevenuniquely

magnificentcontinents

cametobeandevolvedinto

therichbiodiversitythat

sprawlsitswayaroundthe

planet.Expecttobewowed

bythesheerdiversebeauty

of nature.Paul McGuinness

BOOK

BY JONNY KEELING & SCOTT ALEXANDER, BBC BOOKS, £25

TheHidden ReefLife

WorldoftheFox

We’vesurelyallencountered

one,butwhatdowereally

knowaboutthefox?Brand

journeysdeepintothesecret

lifeofthisenigmaticcanid,

exploringeverythingfromthecomplex

structureoffoxsocietyto thefondness

someindividualshaveforstealingshoes,

dispellingmanymedia-drivenmyths

alongtheway.Mostthought-provokingare

theauthor’sreflectionsonourown,often

troubled,relationshipwithfoxes,as

increasingurbanisationmeansourpaths

intersectmoreoften.“Wehavebuiltour

worldoverthewildwood,andyetseem

perpetuallysurprisedthatfoxesareinit,”

shemuses.Thisneatly-writtenbookoffers

a refreshingrethinkonallthings vulpine.

Pete Dommett Wildlife writer

In1982,CallumRobertswent

snorkellinginSaudiArabiaand

fellinstantlyinlovewithcoral

reefs.Hewentonto becomea

prominentreefscientistand

conservationistandlostnoneofhis

curiosityandverve.Compulsoryreading

forscubadiversandarmchairdiversalike,

Robertstellsat timeshilariousstoriesof

theupsanddownsofreefresearch.Amid

thejoyis heartbreak.Hehaswitnessed

coralreefssuccumbingto overfishing,

pollutionandtheclimatecrisis.Herecalls

RedSeareefsbeforemasstourismarrived

and,ina poignantscene,bidsfarewellto a

Maldivianreefhe’ssurewillbedestroyed

bycoralbleachingbeforeheseesit again.

Hismessageis clear:wemustn’tgiveup

oncoralreefs,they’restillworthfighting

for,andthetimeto fightis now.

Helen ScalesMarine biologist

BOOK BOOK

BY CALLUM ROBERTS, PROFILE BOOKS, £16.99

BY ADELE BRAND, WILLIAM COLLINS, £12.99

WILD STREAM

DOCUMENTARY

Weasels:FeistyandFearless

Fromferretsandstoatstohoney

badgers,learnmoreaboutthe

wilyweaselfamily.

BBC iPlayer, until September

NATIONALGEOGRAPHICCLIP

World’sWeirdest:BirdMimics

Chainsaw,CarAlarmandMore

Discovertheimpressivevocal

talentsofthesuperblyrebird,

inlessthanthreeminutes.

bit.ly/NatGeoLyrebird

DOCUMENTARY

Panorama:ClimateChange,

WhatCanWeDo?

A lookatthefactorsinfluencing

globalwarming,asa familytries

toreduceitscarbonfootprint.

BBC iPlayer, until September

Nick Green/BBC NHU