David Attenborough's favourite moments

Watch the most memorable moments from an incredible career watching wildlife, chosen by Sir David from the BBC archive.

David Attenborough's favourite moments from the last 30 years represent not only memorable personal experiences, but also the diversity of life on our planet and the rapidly changing technological face of broadcasting. From close encounters with some of the world's rarest creatures, to poignant commentary on the state of the planet as a whole, this collection celebrates both an incredible career and the joy of watching wildlife.

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49 video clips in this collection

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View all 49 video clips

Animals in this collection

  • The pectoral fin of a spotted scorpionfish Ray-finned fishes

    Ray-finned fishes are a very diverse class, about half of all vertebrates being...

  • An Adelie penguin flaps its wings Adelie penguin

    Adelie penguins are found in the Southern Ocean round Antarctica.

  • Head of a African bush elephant African bush elephant

    African bush elephants are the largest living land mammals.

  • Blue Whale swimming Blue whale

    Blue whales are the largest animals ever to have lived - bigger even than the largest of...

  • A Bornean orangutan Bornean orangutan

    Bornean orangutans live high in the tropical canopy of Borneo's forests, where they...

  • Bumble bee with full pollen sacs, in flight Bumblebees

    Vital pollinators of...

  • A group of hot vent crabs Hot vent crabs

    Hot vent crabs are only found around hydrothermal vents, hydrothermal seeps and...

  • Close-up profile of cape gannet's head Cape gannet

    Cape gannets breed on islands off the coast of Nambia and South Africa.

  • A large group of whitetip reef sharks seen from below Cartilaginous fish

    The cartilaginous fish are so named because their skeleton is composed of cartilage...

  • A bait ball of sardines Herring and sardine family

    Herrings and sardines form the family of fish called clupeids.

  • Male chimpanzee looking forwards Chimpanzee

    Common chimpanzees travel around the forests and savannas of central Africa on all...

  • A golenrod crab spider on a flower Crab spiders

    Crab spiders don't build webs to catch their prey.

  • Darwin's frog with its young Darwin's frog

    Darwin's frogs have a highly unusual method of brooding and rearing their young.

  • Close-up showing the facial detail of a male mountain gorilla Eastern Gorilla

    Gorillas are the world's largest primate and for years they've been portrayed as...

  • Army ant soldier showing large jaws Army ant

    Army ants live in Central and South America.

  • An emperor penguin chick between two adults facing each other Emperor penguin

    There is definitely no mistaking the colourful emperor penguin and standing over a metre...

  • Close up of a honeybee European honey bee

    European honey bees have been introduced to nearly all parts of the world by humans, but...

  • A group of male moor frogs Frogs and toads

    Frogs and toads are the most diverse and widespread of the three amphibian orders.

  • A Galápagos giant tortoise walking Galápagos giant tortoise

    Galápagos giant tortoises were studied by Charles Darwin when he made his famous visit...

  • Giant tube worms Giant tube worm

    Giant tube worms grow to over 2 metres long and inhabit the hot waters around...

  • A gopher tortoise in its burrow Gopher tortoise

    Gopher tortoises rely on forest fires to clear their habitat of scrub and make room for...

  • Grey whale feeding in the sand of the seabed Grey whale

    Grey whales undertake the longest annual migration of any known mammal, along the...

  • A great white shark swimming Great white shark

    Great white sharks are at the very top of the marine food chain.

  • Killer whale breaching Killer whale

    Killer whales are actually the largest species of dolphin.

  • A coelacanth swims over the seabed Coelacanths

    Coelacanths are living fossils.

  • A six-wired bird of paradise showing feathers Six-wired bird of paradise

    Six-wired birds of paradise live in the forests of Papua New Guinea.

  • Leopard seal swimming near an iceberg Leopard seal

    Leopard seals are named after their spotty coats and for being fearsome hunters.

  • Female Magellanic woodpecker on a tree Magellanic woodpecker

    Magellanic woodpeckers are ivory-billed woodpeckers that are found in Argentina and...

  • Marine iguana feeding on underwater algae Marine iguana

    Marine iguanas are the only marine lizards on Earth.

  • Close-up of a markhor wild goat showing horns Markhor

    Markhors belong to a group of animals called 'goat-antelopes', which includes the musk...

  • Profile of a cobra Cobras

    Cobras in the genus Naja are found in Asia and Africa.

  • A spotted dolphin underwater Pantropical spotted dolphin

    Pantropical dolphins are the ones on dolphin friendly tuna.

  • A weedy sea dragon Weedy sea dragon

    Weedy seadragons are found among coral reefs, seagrass beds and seaweeds off the south...

  • Profile of a duck-billed platypus Platypus

    Platypuses are both bizarre looking and unusually adapted.

  • Close up of pompeii worms Pompeii worm

    Pompeii worms live in the hot water around hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean and...

  • An Australian lungfish Lobe-finned fishes

    Lobe-finned fishes (Sarcopterygii) contain the coelacanths, the lungfish and various...

  • Short beaked dolphins jumping out of the water Short-beaked common dolphin

    Common short-beaked dolphins are the most numerous dolphins in the world, and can be...

  • Snow leopard portrait Snow leopard

    Snow leopards are exceptional athletes capable of making huge leaps over ravines.

  • A southern elephant seal makes a threat display Southern Elephant Seal

    Southern elephant seal males weigh 8 to 10 times more than females, which is the biggest...

  • South American sea lion with young Southern sea lion

    The full mane of a male southern sea lion gives rise to their lion-like appearance, and...

  • A male superb bird of paradise in the rainforest canopy Superb bird of paradise

    Male superb birds of paradise carry a two-pronged, iridescent blue shield on their...

  • Close-up of the lyrebird with its beak open Superb lyrebird

    Superb lyrebirds are famed for their extraordinary ability to mimic.

  • Termites building a mud wall Termites

    Termites are a highly successful group of colonial insects, with thousands of species.

  • A Siberian tiger amongst green foliage Tiger

    The magnificent tiger, largest of the big cats, is a heavily muscled, powerful predator...

  • Tisza mayfly on a leafy branch Tisza mayfly

    The giant or Tisza mayfly is Europe's largest species of mayfly.

  • A male Vogelkop gardener bowerbird tending his bower to attract a mate Vogelkop bowerbird

    Vogelkop bowerbirds are found in New Guinea and are named after the beautiful shelters...

  • Wandering albatross in the water Wandering albatross

    Wandering albatrosses hold the record for the bird with the largest wingspan, with some...

  • Weddell seal lying on the ice Weddell seal

    Weddell seals were named after a British sea commander in the 1800s, Sir James Weddell...

  • A male capercaillie calling Capercaillie

    Capercaillies found in Scottish woodlands are the biggest species of grouse in the...

  • Western red colobus sitting in the branches of a tree Western red colobus

    Western red colobus monkeys live in in West Africa in large groups of up to fifty...

Plants in this collection

  • A giant titan arum flower Titan arum

    Titan arums are true giants amongst flowering plants: the circumference of their huge...

Adaptations in this collection

  • A group of termite workers with two soldiers Eusocial

    Eusocial describes species with a very highly developed social structure.

  • Arctic tern in flight Adapted to flying

    Flying, in its true sense, is the ability to move through the air under your own power...

  • Mole peering out of its burrow Burrower

    Burrowing, or fossorial, animals live underground and for a variety of reasons.

  • Kangaroo hopping over dry grassland Adapted to jumping

    Jumping is a method some animals have evolved to get around efficiently.

  • Eyespots of the silkmoth caterpillar facing camera Mimicry

    Mimicry is when an animal or plant resembles another creature or inanimate object,...

  • Red-eared turtle hatching out of its egg Egg layer

    Oviparous animals lay eggs, inside which the young then develop before hatching occurs.

  • Andean emerald hummingbird feeding at a yellow flower Pollinator

    Pollinators carry pollen from plant to plant and, often unwittingly, play a crucial role...

  • A male South American sealion with three females looking upwards Polygynous

    Polygynous sexual behaviour is the system in which a single male mates with multiple...

  • Long-beaked common dolphins circling a sardine baitball Predator

    Predators are creatures that catch and kill other animals for food.

  • Greater horseshoe bat flying at night towards camera Echolocation and ultrasound

    Ultrasound is high frequency sound that's above the range of human hearing.

  • Venom dripping out of a prairie rattlesnake Venomous

    Venomous organisms inflict poisonous wounds by actively biting, stinging or scratching...

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