BBC Wildlife - UK (2020-08)

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August 2020 BBC Wildlife 87

TV
choice

Weirdandwonderful

Delight in the dierences ofSouthAmerica’sdiversewildlife.

“Evolutionis aneternalquesttofind

solutionstotheever-changingproblem

ofsurvivaland,everynowandthen,it

coughsupquitetheoddity,”saysthe

narratorofthisnewthree-partseries.

Theprogrammegivesusa quick-fire

lookataneclecticmixofspecies:

tapirs,whousetheirshort,prehensile

trunksassnorkels;scarabbeetleswho

dineoutondung;andviscachas–

rabbit-likerodents“tailor-madefor

livingintheunforgivingAltiplano

environment”– tonamea few.

Ratherthantakinganin-depthlook

atonlya fewspecies,a varietyof

interesting and unusual biology and

ecologyaregiventheirfiveminutes

offame.Thispick-and-mixapproach

meansthere’slikelytobesomething

foreveryone,fromtreesfilledwith

birdsandprimatestotheaquaticlife

ofriversandtheworld’slargesttropical

wetlands:thePantanal.Meanwhile,

insectsandarachnidsgounderthe

microscope,too– it’spracticallyan

A toZ ofSouthAmerica’sfauna!

Informationabouteachcreature

highlightedis relayedina funand

light-heartedway,whichis likely

tomaketheseriespopularwith

youngerviewersinparticular.“This

is breakneckspeedfora sloth,”the

narratordeclares,asa motherslowly

inchesherwaydowna treetrunk,

her infant clinging tightly to her.

However,theplayfulsoundtrackand

narrationcanbea bitdistractingand

overdramatic,attimessounding

moreakintoa trailerforanintense

Hollywoodactionmovie.

Whilesomeofthemorefamiliar

speciesmayseemunlikelycandidates

fora listofthecontinent’sweirdest

animals,it’softentheirbehaviour

andthewaythey’veadaptedtotheir

environmentthatsetsthemapartas

beingoutoftheordinary.

Withdestinationsasdiverseas

thedesertcoastofPeru,thecloud

forestsofVenezuelaandtheislands

oftheGalápagos,there’snoend

ofamazing,if somewhateccentric,

characterstoencounter.

NHNZ/Max Quinn Angharad Moran

SOUTHAMERICA’SWEIRDESTANIMALS

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC WILD, FROM 2 AUGUST

OURWILDWORLD

Thesoutherntamandua

isa speciesofanteater

foundinseveralSouth

American habitats.