Oceans under greatest threat in history, warns Sir David Attenborough

Blue Planet 2 producers say final episode lays bare shocking damage humanity is wreaking in the seas, from climate change to plastic pollution to noise

Damian Carrington Environment editor

Tuesday 5 December 2017 06.30 GMT

The world’s oceans are under the greatest threat in history, according to Sir David Attenborough. The seas are a vital part of the global ecosystem, leaving the future of all life on Earth dependent on humanity’s actions, he says.

Attenborough will issue the warning in the final episode of the Blue Planet 2 series, which details the damage being wreaked in seas around the globe by climate change, plastic pollution, overfishing and even noise.

Previous BBC nature series presented by Attenborough have sometimes been criticised for treading too lightly around humanity’s damage to the planet. But the final episode of the latest series is entirely dedicated to the issue.

“For years we thought the oceans were so vast and the inhabitants so infinitely numerous that nothing we could do could have an effect upon them. But now we know that was wrong,” says Attenborough. “It is now clear our actions are having a significant impact on the world’s oceans. [They] are under threat now as never before in human history. Many people believe the oceans have reached a crisis point.”

Attenborough says: “Surely we have a responsibility to care for our blue planet. The future of humanity, and indeed all life on Earth, now depends on us.”

BBC executives were reportedly concerned about the series appearing to become politicised and ordered a fact-check, which it passed. The series producer, Mark Brownlow, said it was impossible to overlook the harm being caused in the oceans: “We just couldn’t ignore it – it wouldn’t be a truthful portrayal of the world’s oceans. We are not out there to campaign. We are just showing it as it is and it is quite shocking.”

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David Attenborough’s ‘Guardian headline’ halts Borneo bridge

Conservationist denounced Sukau project as a threat to pygmy elephants and orangutans
Jeremy Hance

Friday 21 April 2017 12.03 BST Last modified on Friday 21 April 2017 12.09 BST

Officials in Borneo have cancelled plans to build a bridge across the Kinabatangan river, after warnings from Sir David Attenborough and other conservationists that it would gravely endanger pygmy elephants, orangutans and many other jungle species. The news comes just weeks after the Guardian revealed Attenborough’s opposition to the project.

Attenborough originally sent a private letter to the chief minister of the state of Sabah, Musa Aman, in September 2016. Last month, with signs pointing to the bridge still going ahead, the Guardian published excerpts from the letter. The authorities in Borneo have described Attenborough’s now-public opposition as the final blow to the project.

“I am immensely pleased to hear that plans to build a bridge at Sukau have been cancelled,” said Attenborough, who is a patron of the World Land Trust, which has saved forest in the Kinabatangan area. “This region is recognised worldwide as being a vital enclave for threatened wildlife, and it is indeed good news that the safe passage of orangutans, pygmy elephants and other endangered wildlife will not be threatened by the bridge and all that would have come with it. The decision will [also benefit] the local people who welcome visitors who come to see the wonderful biodiversity of their forests.”

I am immensely pleased that plans to build a bridge at Sukau have been cancelled David Attenborough

Datuk Sam Mannan, Sabah Forestry Department’s chief conservator, announced the state government’s decision on 19 April at a dinner in London held by the South East Asia Rainforest Research Partnership. “That headline broke the camel’s back,” Mannan said of the Guardian’s coverage. “It made us understand that the issue of a proposed bridge across a protected area for wildlife is now the number one environmental concern not just in Sabah, but globally too.”



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New Frog Species Named After Naturalist David Attenborough – via Herp Digest

Press Trust of India March 09, 2017

WASHINGTON:  A new frog species, which measures just about two centimeters and was discovered in the Peruvian Andes, has been named after the famous British broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

While there are already a number of species named after including mammals, reptiles, invertebrates and plants, both extinct and extant, not until now has the host of the BBC Natural History's Life series been honored with an amphibian.

The frog is formally described as Pristimantis attenboroughi, while commonly it is to be referred to as the Attenborough's Rubber Frog.

Scientists from Illinois Wesleyan University and University of  Michigan in the US, spent two years surveying montane forests in central Peru, in order to document the local amphibians and reptiles and evaluate their conservation statuses.

Their efforts have been rewarded with several new species

of frogs and a new spectacled lizard.

Each of these discoveries, including the Attenborough's Rubber Frog, prove how beneficial it is to take into account both morphological and the genetic data, while looking for species new to science.

The Attenborough's rubber frog is known to inhabit several localities across the Pui Pui Protected Forest, a nature reserve located at elevations between 3,400 and 3,936 meters above sea level in central Peru.

The adult males reach size of 14.6-19.2 millimeters in length, while the females are larger measuring between 19.2 and 23.0 millimeters.

The ground color ranges from pale to dark grey or reddish brown to brownish olive with dark grey scattered flecks.Juveniles are paler (yellowish to reddish brown) with contrasting dark brown flecks and distinct stripes.

Due to the amphibian being known from fewer than ten localities, spread across less than 20,000 square metres, the species should be deemed either Vulnerable or Endangered, according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.

However, researchers suggest that the Attenborough's Rubber frog should be listed as Near Threatened instead, since the Piu Piu forest is formally protected and still largely unknown, so it is likely that there are more additional populations of the new species.

On the other hand, factors such as fungal infections, climate change, pollution and man-made fires continue to be threats for many Andean amphibians even inside protected areas.

"We dedicate this species to Sir David Frederick Attenborough in honour for his educational documentaries on wildlife, especially on amphibians (eg Life in Cold Blood,Fabulous Frogs), and for raising awareness about the importance of wildlife conservation," researchers said.

Among the numerous namesakes of Sir David Attenborough to date, there are a rare genus of beautiful flowering plants, a rare butterfly species, commonly known as the Attenborough's

black-eyed satyr, a flightless weevil species, as well as a number of extinct species.

The study was published in the journal ZooKeys. 

Sir David Attenborough: giraffes are facing 'silent extinction'

Sarah Knapton, science editor 18 JUNE 2016 • 6:00AM

Giraffes are facing a ‘silent extinction’ with just 90,000 animals still roaming the African plains, far fewer than the endangered African Elephant, a new documentary warns.

Just 15 years ago there were thought to be around 150,000 giraffes in the wild but since then numbers have slumped by 40 per cent because of habitat loss and poaching.

A new BBC documentary, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, followed a conservation team as they relocated a group of 20 animals across the Nile in Uganda where it is hoped they will be safe from oil prospectors.

“These gentle giants have been overlooked,” said Sir David. “ It’s well known that African elephants are in trouble and there are perhaps just under half a million left.

“But what no one realised is there are far fewer giraffes. Giraffes have already become extinct in seven countries. They are killed for their meat and their habitats are being destroyed. Time is running out.”

Despite the fact that populations number around one fifth of African Elephants, the giraffe conservation status is still graded as of ‘Least Concern.’

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What happened to the gorillas who met David Attenborough?

Sir David Attenborough's encounter with a family of mountain gorillas is one of the most iconic TV moments of his career so far. But what became of the other characters in those famous scenes?

By Ian Redmond

12 May 2016

The family of gorillas that Sir David met was in fact two families, known to the scientists who studied them as Group 4 and Group 5. They roamed the forest-clad slopes of the Virunga Volcanoes of Rwanda, close to and sometimes over the border with what was then Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

There is more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla than any other animal I know

It was January 1978 when the 'Life on Earth' film crew arrived at The Karisoke Research Centre right in the middle of a crisis – Digit, a young silverback in Group 4, had been speared to death by poachers a few days prior to the film crew's arrival.

Karisoke was then a collection of green corrugated iron cabins at 10,000 ft (3,000m), and at that point had been my home for 14 months. As a newly graduated biologist, it had been my great good fortune to be taken on as Dr Dian Fossey's research assistant. The work involved tracking the gorillas each day to make observations on their behaviour and ecology – and in my case, their parasites because I am fascinated by all life forms – so I knew both groups well.

Unfortunately Dian was unwell and on top of that, grieving for the loss of one of her favourite gorillas. Nevertheless I could see Dian was thrilled at the prospect of the BBC coming to film her study animals.

She told me she had met David Attenborough in London once, but in the turbulent circumstances I was the one who was sent to pick up the film crew from the Rwandan capital Kigali and, once installed in the guest cabins, to introduce them to the gorillas – an experience that none of us will ever forget.

Let's look at three of the most memorable scenes in the 'Life on Earth' gorilla sequences and identify the gorilla characters.

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Rare Amazonian butterfly named after British national treasure Sir David Attenborough

Date:December 1, 2015

Source:Pensoft Publishers

A beautiful new Black-eyed Satyr species has become the first butterfly named in honour of the popular naturalist and TV presenter Sir David Attenborough. Although not the first animal to be named after the British national treasure, the butterfly is so rare that it is known only from lowland tropical forests of the upper Amazon basin in Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil. The study, conducted by an international team of researchers, led by Andrew F. E. Neild, Natural History Museum, London, and Shinichi Nakahara, McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity and Entomology & Nematology Department, University of Florida, is published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.

The presently described Attenborough's Black-eyed Satyr, scientifically called Euptychia attenboroughi, has such a restricted distribution that all of its known sites lie within 500 kilometres from each other in the north-west of the upper Amazon basin.

Best known for scripting and presenting the BBC Natural History's 'Life' series, Sir David Attenborough is also a multiple winner of the BAFTA award and a president of Butterfly Conservation.

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David Attenborough calls on Chinese president to end ivory trade

Broadcaster joins a host of celebrities, MPs and conservationists who have signed an open letter to China’s president Xi Jinping urging him to act now to save African elephants from extinction, ahead of Prince Willam’s visit next month

Adam Vaughan

Friday 20 February 2015 06.00 GMTLast modified on Friday 20 February 201510.56 GMT

Sir David Attenborough and a group of broadcasters, conservationists and MPs have called on the Chinese president to end his country’s ivory trade and save African elephants from extinction.

In an open letter to Xi Jinping, comedian Ricky Gervais, actor Joanna Lumley Labour MP Tessa Jowell, former environment minister Richard Benyon and Kenyan politician and conservationist Richard Leakey ask China’s leader to outlaw the buying and selling of ivory and educate Chinese citizens on the problem.

The intervention is intended to put pressure on China, the world’s biggest market for ivory, despite a global ban in 1989, ahead of a visit by Prince William to the country next month.

The prince is due to make a statement on conservation on 4 March in Yunnan province, and will visit a sanctuary for Asian elephants. Conservationists expect him to talk about the wildlife trade, including ivory. In a speech last December he noted the street price of ivory in China had increased from $5 (£3.20) to $2,1000 per kg in 25 years and was being reflected in increases in poaching.

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Sir David Attenborough finally has a living species named after him in the UK

He’s been one of Britain’s best loved naturalists for more than 70 years.

But it’s only now that Sir David Attenborough has been bestowed with the honour of having his first living species native to the UK named after him.

The presenter, 88, has lent his moniker to a new wild flower called The Attenborough’s hawkweed, or ‘Hieracium attenboroughianum’.

It was discovered over a decade ago in the Brecon Beacons in south Wales. However, it took 10 years for scientists to decipher whether or not it was actually new.

First found on a rocky ledge on Cribyn, its closest relative is the daisy.

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David Attenborough and Jane Goodall join the fight to create a new national park in Victoria

Supporters of the proposed Great Forest national park say the entire central highlands’ ecosystem, the fate of the emblematic Leadbeater’s possum and the economic future of struggling towns are at stake as the state election approaches

Sir David Attenborough and Dr Jane Goodall have made an unusual intervention into Australian state politics by calling for a new national park to be created in Victoria to save the endangered Leadbeater’s possum.

Attenborough, who is visiting Australia, has thrown his support behind the establishment of the Great Forest national park, which would encompass much of the central highlands area of Victoria.

“The maintenance of an intact ecological system is the only way to ensure the continued existence of biodiversity, safeguard water supplies and provide spiritual nourishment for ourselves and future generations,” the naturalist and wildlife documentary maker said.

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Sir David Attenborough facing new battle to save the gorillas

It is more than 35 years since Sir David Attenborough was memorably prodded, poked and groomed by rare African mountain gorillas in front of television cameras. Now the 88-year-old naturalist is again fighting to save the endangered primates.

Yesterday, he launched a scathing attack on a British firm with a history of oil exploration in the gorillas' fragile habitat. Sir David, whose now famous scene from the Life on Earth series featured a family of mountain gorillas, called for Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the last bastions of the mountain gorilla, to be protected from oil exploration by SOCO International. The firm, which is registered on the London Stock Exchange, had been conducting studies on whether it is feasible to drill for oil at Lake Edward, on the border of the park and neighbouring Rwanda.

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Giant hedgehog on Clapham Common

A huge hedgehog has been installed in south London to promote David Attenborough's latest TV series.

The structure on Clapham Common took over two months to create, and with 2,000 soft wood spikes is 12ft long and 8ft wide, making it larger than a rhinoceros.

The animal will feature in the Attenborough's new show Natural Curiosities, which starts on February 18 on Watch.

According to research by UKTV, a quarter of British adults have never seen a hedgehog in the wild, while a further 74 per cent are worried about the species' declining numbers.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/Giant_hedgehog_on_Clapham_Common

Cats killing huge numbers of British birds, and why no attempt should be made to bring back woolly mammoth - Sir David Attenborough

Sir David Attenborough has warned that cats are killing huge numbers of birds in British gardens.

The TV naturalist said cat owners should buy bell collars for their pets to help stop the deaths.

Sir David, 87, features the robin on the Christmas Day edition of Radio 4 programme Tweet Of The Day.

He told the Radio Times that cats and the cold winter weather, when frozen ground makes it difficult to find food, are the biggest problems faced by birds.

"Cats kill an extraordinarily high number of birds in British gardens," the broadcaster said.

Asked whether cat owners should buy bell collars for their pets at Christmas, he replied: "That would be good for the robins, yes."

The presenter also warned that scientists should not attempt to bring back species such as the woolly mammoth.

TV presenter Alice Roberts recently urged society to "grapple with" the issue of bringing Ice Age animals back from the dead after Japanese scientists extracted the bone marrow from woolly mammoth remains with a view to resurrecting the creature.

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Attenborough: The forgotten story of Alfred Russel Wallace

On 7 November 2013, the Natural History Museum in London is unveiling a statue of the man who co-discovered the theory of evolution by natural selection.

Alfred Russel Wallace was a pioneering naturalist who discovered thousands of new species, published numerous books and conceived the most important theory in biology independently of Charles Darwin. But whilst Darwin has gone on to become a household name, Alfred Russel Wallace has largely remained in his shadow to this day.

On the 100th anniversary of Wallace's death, Sir David Attenborough tells the story of this extraordinary explorer and explains why Wallace is, in Attenborough's opinion, the "most admirable character in the history of science".

More

Open University launches free online ecosystems course

November 2013: Legendry naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough features in the The Open University’s first free, Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), called Introduction to Ecosystems. The six-week course starts on 18 November on the FutureLearn social-learning platform and is aimed at those who are new to the subject.

Sir David features in video case studies used in the course and said: “It’s tremendously important for us all to understand the world we live in and our own place in nature. I am delighted to play a part in helping The Open University teach people about the delicate balance of our ecosystems.” 

Dr David Robinson, who developed the course, said: “Understanding ecosystems transforms our view of the natural world. Those taking this course will discover how organisms are linked together by complex interrelationships, how such links are studied and the adaptations that organisms have to the physical properties of a particular habitat. It’s an exciting development to be able to extend this course free to anyone in the world who wants to learn.” 

The course requires no special knowledge and is a commitment of just three hours per week. Using high-quality video case studies throughout, OU academics illustrate how individual ecosystems function and the impact of humans on the natural world. Registration is open now, and a trailer of the course is available to view at:

www.futurelearn.com/courses/ecosystems

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/Open-University-launches-free-online-ecosystems-co.html

Sir David Attenborough to support mountain gorillas

Sir David Attenborough has launched a global crowdfunding campaign to save mountain gorillas, with the help of Indiegogo crowdfund platform. It aims to raise £110,000 by December 11 to support Fauna & Flora International's work with mountain gorillas. 

Sir David, who first highlighted the plight of the mountain gorillas in 1978 in the BBC's Life on Earth television series, said: "If we are to ensure the survival of mountain gorillas, it is vital that the global community supports our efforts. By supporting this campaign and promoting it through your networks, you will not only be helping to secure a future for mountain gorillas, but also the tens of thousands of Rwandan, Ugandan and Congolese people who have come to depend upon them for their livelihoods and wellbeing."

This work fosters cooperation across national borders and empowers communities to monitor, protect and benefit from maintaining a healthy population of mountain gorillas.

Crowdfunding is the collective effort of individuals who network and pool their money to support efforts initiated by other people or organizations.

Liz Wald, Head of International at Indiegogo, said: "We are thrilled that Indiegogo has been chosen as the platform to launch this extremely deserving campaign. Indiegogo has a broad global reach, which perfectly suits this campaign, given that Sir David Attenborough is such a world-renowned figure in conservation. We will be working closely with his team to support their outreach through media and social channels to ensure people across the globe can support this important goal of protecting mountain gorillas."

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/%20David-Attenborough-save-mountain-gorillas.html

Planet Attenborough shaped our world view

David Attenborough has fundamentally changed the way we look at wild animals and the environment, writes Morgan Richards.

Attenborough's documentaries didn't just visualise animals in a new way; they changed the way we looked at wild animals (Source: First Life/BBC)

Imagine a journey across the surface of the Earth. Take in the Galapagos Islands with its different species of giant tortoises. Fly over its rainforests, deserts, mountains and oceans. Consider its poison dart frogs and blind mole rats. See the fossils of extinct ammonites encased in limestone, the flash of turquoise on the underside of a hummingbird's wing and the tiny embryo of a red kangaroo developing inside its mother's pouch. Think of the texture of an elephant's hide, the colourful feathers of a bird of paradise and the wide eyes of a loris.

Now consider how it is you have come to know these diverse animals and environments, and the fragile interconnections that bind them together. If, like me, you're part of a generation who grew up with David Attenborough, chances are it was Attenborough who introduced you to these animals.

Life on Earth (1979) was the first in a long line of landmark wildlife series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and written and presented by David Attenborough.

'Landmark' is the term used by those in the industry to describe big budget, multi-part television documentaries.

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'The Yeti may be real' Sir David Attenborough claims legendary beast does exist!

The veteran broadcaster is convinced fossil evidence found in the 1930s proves a 10-12ft tall animal lived in the region.

Speaking to Jarvis Cocker at a UKTV 2013-2014 Showcase, Sir David, 87, said he had not given up hope of the creature being real.

He said: "I believe the Abominable Snowman may be real. I think there may be something in that.

"A fossil was found with these huge molars that are four of five times the size of human molars."

Sir David said that the Himalayan forests which cover over 14,000 square miles could easily contain a Yeti.

"If there are some still alive and you walked near their habitat you can bet that these creatures may be aware of you, but you wouldn't be aware of them," he added.

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UK butterflies suffering from wet weather - Attenborough asks "How much?"

Butterfly warning as deluge takes toll

July 2012. Butterfly Conservation President Sir David Attenborough has warned that butterflies could suffer serious population crashes this year following record-breaking wet weather.

Sir David is urging the UK public to take part in the world's biggest butterfly survey - The Big Butterfly Count - to see how species have fared following several exceptionally damp months.

April, the wettest for a century, was followed by the dampest June on record which saw flooding across parts of the UK, and the start of July is, if anything, looking even worse. It is feared butterflies may have suffered poor breeding seasons as a result, which could lead to population crashes later this year or next spring.

2007 wet summer caused butterfly numbers to plummet
Conservationists are drawing parallels with the wet summer of 2007 which resulted in widespread flooding across parts of the UK and saw butterfly numbers plummet. Prolonged cold, wet weather delays emergence periods, reduces butterflies' life span and hampers mating and egg laying leading to fewer offspring.

Big Butterfly Count
The results of this year's Big Butterfly Count will help assess the impact of the wet weather on our butterflies.

Read on:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/butterfly-2012-weather.html#cr

David Attenborough and the mystery of the elephant bird

By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent

As souvenirs go, the giant fossilised egg that Sir David Attenborough keeps wrapped up for safe-keeping in the cellar of his London home is not bad for someone with a 60 year career as Britain's foremost natural history documentary maker.

Now in a bid to find out more about the foot long egg he collected on the island of Madagascar 50 years ago and the birds that laid them, Sir David has returned to the island off the east coast of Africa for a new BBC documentary on a quest to discover what happened to the largest birds to ever live on the planet.

The egg was laid by an elephant bird, which were more than 10 feet tall and weighed around half a ton, but what caused the huge birds to die out has remained a mystery, with some claiming they were hunted to extinction by humans and others blaming climate change.

But Sir David claims there is now compelling evidence that suggests the birds were gradually killed off by the early human inhabitants on the island stealing the giant eggs for food. He believes the birds themselves were revered by the indigenous populations, but the use of their eggs for food, combined with the destruction of the forests where the elephant birds lived, led to their eventual demise.

Recent archaeological evidence has revealed the fragments of elephant bird egg shells among the remains of human fires, suggesting that the eggs, which are 180 times bigger than a chicken egg, regularly provided food for entire families.

Sir David says: "I doubt it was hunted to extinction – anyone who has seen an ostrich in a zoo knows that it has a kick which can open a man's stomach and an enraged elephant bird, many times the size of an ostrich, must have been a truly formidable opponent.

"I suspect it was its egg. They may not have been able to tackle an adult bird, but they could have taken its eggs which would have been a huge source of food.

"Even if the bird itself was held in awe or fear by the people here, it's unlikely the eggs were – and that would have meant the gradual disappearance of this unique giant."

Sir David first travelled to Madagascar in 1960 when he was filming for the TV series ZooQuest. While there he discovered a few fragments of thick shell around the camp where he was staying in the south of the island and began offering a reward to the locals if they could bring him more.


He said: "A little boy brought in some big pieces that looked as though they fitted together, which indeed they did."

Using sticky tape he pieced together the fossilised egg, which is bigger than a rugby ball, before having it professionally stuck together when he arrived back in London.

As part of the new BBC documentary, Attenborough and the Giant Egg, Sir David returns to Madagascar to trace the story of what happened to the elephant birds by revisiting some of the places he went to on his original trip while also looking at some of the most recent scientific evidence.

Radiocarbon dating of bones and shells have suggested that the birds were still present on the island around 1,000 years ago. Humans are thought to have arrived on Madagascar around 2,000 years ago.


European sailors visiting the islands during the 1600s brought back stories of the giant birds and came back with the huge eggs while some reports state the last of the giant birds died out in the 1700s.

Experts, however, believe the birds largely vanished from the island around 1,000 years ago, although they may have clung on in small remote pockets on the island.

During the programme charting his quest to discover more about the bird, Sir David has his own egg dated using radiocarbon dating and discovers it is much older than he had thought – around 1,300 years old.

Dr Tom Higham, deputy director of the radiocarbon accelerator unit at Oxford University's research laboratory for archaeology, said: "We have done dating on quite a few elephant bird eggs and when we looked back at the dates we were getting, the youngest were around 900AD. The populations of humans on the island increased around that time too.

"Sir David had read a lot of the literature that suggests the birds were still around until much more recently, so I think he was surprised by how old it was."

Sir David also fears that the fate suffered by the elephant bird provides a cautionary tale for the damage being done to the environment in modern Madagascar, which is leaving many other species, including rare Lemur, critically endangered.

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, he said: "This is the first film I have made where I deliberately go back to a place I knew long ago and chart the changes that have taken place.

"I go back to a place where there was forest 50 years ago when I was there and it has all been knocked down the only thing that is there is an abandoned saw mill. It was sad to go back and see that.

"It is an example of the way the island has changed over the years. There are now three times as many people living on the island since I was there 50 years ago. The only places they can live and grow food were the only places that were wild. The wild places are being taken over by people building villages on them and rice fields."

* Attenborough's Giant Egg will be shown on BBC Two in the New Year along with the series Madagascar.