Wild Down Under | |
---|---|
![]() Series title card from UK broadcast | |
Also known as | Wild Australasia |
Genre | Nature documentary |
Narrated by | Matt Day |
Composer | Adrian Johnston |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
Neil Nightingale (BBC) Dione Gilmour (ABC) |
Running time | 50 minutes |
Production companies |
BBC Natural History Unit Animal Planet ABC |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Two |
Release | 12 September 17 October 2003 | –
Related | |
Wild Down Under is a BBC nature documentary series exploring the natural history of the Australasian continent, first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two in September 2003. It was broadcast in Australia under the title Wild Australasia in February 2004.
Each of the six episodes features a particular environment and, using a combination of aerial photography and traditional wildlife footage, reveals how physical forces and human activity have transformed Australasia from a lush green wilderness into an increasingly dry and harsh continent, troubled by unpredictable weather but still home to a huge array of creatures found nowhere else on Earth..
Wild Down Under was co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Animal Planet. The series was produced for the BBC by Neil Nightingale and executive-produced for ABC by Dione Gilmour. The music was composed by Adrian Johnston and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra. The series was narrated by Australian actor Matt Day.
The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's Continents strand. It was preceded by Wild New World in 2002 and followed by Europe: A Natural History in 2005.
Wild Down Under is one of the most comprehensive surveys of Australasia's natural history ever filmed, with production of the series taking three years. [1] The aerial photography used extensively in the series was shot by Damon Smith.
As well as mainland Australia, the production team visited other locations across the continent for the fifth episode, "Island Arks", including New Guinea, New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island and New Zealand.
Broadcast dates refer to the original UK transmission.
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Wild Down Under" | 12 September 2003 | |
| |||
2 | "Desert Heart" | 19 September 2003 | |
The second episode examines the
deserts of Australia's interior. These harsh environments make up two-thirds of the land area. Vast areas support nothing but tough
spinifex grass, indigestible to most herbivores. Instead,
termites are the grazers of these grasslands. Inside the termite mound, a whole ecosystem flourishes;
centipedes eat the termites and
knob-tailed geckos prey on both.
Lizards are one of the most successful animals in Australia's deserts, and a
thorny devil is shown waiting alongside a pathway of ants. Mammals here are
nocturnal, staying underground during the heat of the day. Those featured include
bilbies and
malas. Waterholes attract huge numbers of birds, and
zebra finches are shown being preyed on by a
falcon. Nearby,
black-footed rock wallabies hop around on the precipitous rock faces. The
Finke River is an important water source in central Australia and
red-tailed black cockatoos gather here in large flocks to breed.
Camels were originally brought over for transport, but now half a million roam the desert.
Meat ants and aggressive
bulldog ants are shown hunting and scavenging on the desert floor. The
Simpson Desert has the largest expanse of parallel
sand dunes in the world, but
red kangaroos survive even here. Once thought to be an inland sea,
Lake Eyre is normally an inhospitable
salt pan. Every 30 years or so, exceptional rains charge rivers which flow inland, filling the lake. The waters trigger a rush to breed, attracting birds such as
pelicans in their thousands.
[3] | |||
3 | "Southern Seas" | 26 September 2003 | |
![]() | |||
4 | "Gum Tree Country" | 3 October 2003 | |
Australia's
eucalypt forests are the subject of the fourth programme. In the tropical north, male
frilled lizards fight over territory, but retreat to the trees as a
kite passes overhead.
Gang-gang cockatoos stay above the snowline of the southern mountains to feed on the seed capsules of
snow gums. On the misty lower slopes, better soils enable the
mountain ash to reach 100 metres, the tallest
hardwood in the world. Animals of these forests include
superb lyrebirds,
Leadbeater's possums and
mountain brushtail possums. Some gum trees survive in the arid conditions of the interior; the
ghost gum even clings to rocky gorges. The eucalypts provide essential resources for wildlife. Their flowers attract nectar feeders such as
lorikeets,
honeyeaters and
flying foxes, which also act as pollinators. The koala has a special digestive system which enables it to stomach the toxic leaves.
Yellow-bellied gliders are shown licking sap and sailing between trees, while termites attack the trees themselves. Gum trees are highly flammable and are adapted to cope with
bushfires: fresh shoots grow from buds protected by the insulating bark within weeks of a blaze.
Regent parrots nest deep inside the
river red gums along the
Murray River to avoid predatory
lace monitors. The boughs can drop without warning, and those that fall into the river provide shelter for
Murray cod. The final scenes show red kangaroos bounding through a flooded forest – without periodic floods, the trees would not survive.
[5] | |||
5 | "Island Arks" | 10 October 2003 | |
![]() | |||
6 | "New Worlds" | 17 October 2003 | |
The final instalment, which explores man's impact on Australia's wildlife. The arrival of Europeans brought huge changes. Some creatures have benefited – golf courses provide perfect browse for kangaroos and a landfill site is an important feeding ground for
ibises – but many have suffered. Early homesick colonisers tried to model the landscape on the English countryside, bringing with them animals which have since wreaked havoc. Millions of wild pigs now roam, destroying vegetation, damaging waterholes and eating birds' eggs.
Rabbits, camels and
cane toads were also introduced and are out of control.
European honeybees are supplanting native bees in the competition for nectar, and
foxes prey on small
marsupials. 54 native
frogs, birds and mammals, including the
Tasmanian tiger, have become extinct. Some which were presumed extinct have since been
rediscovered, including Australia's rarest mammal,
Gilbert's potoroo. Scientists are still searching for the
night parrot after a single dead specimen was reported in 1990, but the
great desert skink, familiar to
Aborigines, is more widespread than previously thought. On
Barrow Island, rare fauna including
golden bandicoots and
burrowing bettongs live amongst the oil wells, and a
perentie drinks from a dripping air-conditioning unit. On Tasmania, devils and
tiger quolls are filmed scavenging food in a sheep farmer's shed. Modern cities can also be a refuge for wildlife. 30,000
grey-headed flying foxes roost in
Melbourne's botanical gardens and feed on orchard fruit nearby, while paying tourists feed wild
rainbow lorikeets in a
Brisbane park.
[7] |
A DVD and book were released to accompany the TV series:
Wild Down Under | |
---|---|
![]() Series title card from UK broadcast | |
Also known as | Wild Australasia |
Genre | Nature documentary |
Narrated by | Matt Day |
Composer | Adrian Johnston |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 6 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
Neil Nightingale (BBC) Dione Gilmour (ABC) |
Running time | 50 minutes |
Production companies |
BBC Natural History Unit Animal Planet ABC |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Two |
Release | 12 September 17 October 2003 | –
Related | |
Wild Down Under is a BBC nature documentary series exploring the natural history of the Australasian continent, first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two in September 2003. It was broadcast in Australia under the title Wild Australasia in February 2004.
Each of the six episodes features a particular environment and, using a combination of aerial photography and traditional wildlife footage, reveals how physical forces and human activity have transformed Australasia from a lush green wilderness into an increasingly dry and harsh continent, troubled by unpredictable weather but still home to a huge array of creatures found nowhere else on Earth..
Wild Down Under was co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Animal Planet. The series was produced for the BBC by Neil Nightingale and executive-produced for ABC by Dione Gilmour. The music was composed by Adrian Johnston and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra. The series was narrated by Australian actor Matt Day.
The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's Continents strand. It was preceded by Wild New World in 2002 and followed by Europe: A Natural History in 2005.
Wild Down Under is one of the most comprehensive surveys of Australasia's natural history ever filmed, with production of the series taking three years. [1] The aerial photography used extensively in the series was shot by Damon Smith.
As well as mainland Australia, the production team visited other locations across the continent for the fifth episode, "Island Arks", including New Guinea, New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island and New Zealand.
Broadcast dates refer to the original UK transmission.
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "Wild Down Under" | 12 September 2003 | |
| |||
2 | "Desert Heart" | 19 September 2003 | |
The second episode examines the
deserts of Australia's interior. These harsh environments make up two-thirds of the land area. Vast areas support nothing but tough
spinifex grass, indigestible to most herbivores. Instead,
termites are the grazers of these grasslands. Inside the termite mound, a whole ecosystem flourishes;
centipedes eat the termites and
knob-tailed geckos prey on both.
Lizards are one of the most successful animals in Australia's deserts, and a
thorny devil is shown waiting alongside a pathway of ants. Mammals here are
nocturnal, staying underground during the heat of the day. Those featured include
bilbies and
malas. Waterholes attract huge numbers of birds, and
zebra finches are shown being preyed on by a
falcon. Nearby,
black-footed rock wallabies hop around on the precipitous rock faces. The
Finke River is an important water source in central Australia and
red-tailed black cockatoos gather here in large flocks to breed.
Camels were originally brought over for transport, but now half a million roam the desert.
Meat ants and aggressive
bulldog ants are shown hunting and scavenging on the desert floor. The
Simpson Desert has the largest expanse of parallel
sand dunes in the world, but
red kangaroos survive even here. Once thought to be an inland sea,
Lake Eyre is normally an inhospitable
salt pan. Every 30 years or so, exceptional rains charge rivers which flow inland, filling the lake. The waters trigger a rush to breed, attracting birds such as
pelicans in their thousands.
[3] | |||
3 | "Southern Seas" | 26 September 2003 | |
![]() | |||
4 | "Gum Tree Country" | 3 October 2003 | |
Australia's
eucalypt forests are the subject of the fourth programme. In the tropical north, male
frilled lizards fight over territory, but retreat to the trees as a
kite passes overhead.
Gang-gang cockatoos stay above the snowline of the southern mountains to feed on the seed capsules of
snow gums. On the misty lower slopes, better soils enable the
mountain ash to reach 100 metres, the tallest
hardwood in the world. Animals of these forests include
superb lyrebirds,
Leadbeater's possums and
mountain brushtail possums. Some gum trees survive in the arid conditions of the interior; the
ghost gum even clings to rocky gorges. The eucalypts provide essential resources for wildlife. Their flowers attract nectar feeders such as
lorikeets,
honeyeaters and
flying foxes, which also act as pollinators. The koala has a special digestive system which enables it to stomach the toxic leaves.
Yellow-bellied gliders are shown licking sap and sailing between trees, while termites attack the trees themselves. Gum trees are highly flammable and are adapted to cope with
bushfires: fresh shoots grow from buds protected by the insulating bark within weeks of a blaze.
Regent parrots nest deep inside the
river red gums along the
Murray River to avoid predatory
lace monitors. The boughs can drop without warning, and those that fall into the river provide shelter for
Murray cod. The final scenes show red kangaroos bounding through a flooded forest – without periodic floods, the trees would not survive.
[5] | |||
5 | "Island Arks" | 10 October 2003 | |
![]() | |||
6 | "New Worlds" | 17 October 2003 | |
The final instalment, which explores man's impact on Australia's wildlife. The arrival of Europeans brought huge changes. Some creatures have benefited – golf courses provide perfect browse for kangaroos and a landfill site is an important feeding ground for
ibises – but many have suffered. Early homesick colonisers tried to model the landscape on the English countryside, bringing with them animals which have since wreaked havoc. Millions of wild pigs now roam, destroying vegetation, damaging waterholes and eating birds' eggs.
Rabbits, camels and
cane toads were also introduced and are out of control.
European honeybees are supplanting native bees in the competition for nectar, and
foxes prey on small
marsupials. 54 native
frogs, birds and mammals, including the
Tasmanian tiger, have become extinct. Some which were presumed extinct have since been
rediscovered, including Australia's rarest mammal,
Gilbert's potoroo. Scientists are still searching for the
night parrot after a single dead specimen was reported in 1990, but the
great desert skink, familiar to
Aborigines, is more widespread than previously thought. On
Barrow Island, rare fauna including
golden bandicoots and
burrowing bettongs live amongst the oil wells, and a
perentie drinks from a dripping air-conditioning unit. On Tasmania, devils and
tiger quolls are filmed scavenging food in a sheep farmer's shed. Modern cities can also be a refuge for wildlife. 30,000
grey-headed flying foxes roost in
Melbourne's botanical gardens and feed on orchard fruit nearby, while paying tourists feed wild
rainbow lorikeets in a
Brisbane park.
[7] |
A DVD and book were released to accompany the TV series: