David Attenborough's favourite moments

Introduction to this collection

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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48 video clips in this collection

Animals in this collection

  • Adelie penguin

    Adelie penguins are found in the Southern Ocean round Antarctica.

  • African bush elephant

    African bush elephants are the largest living land mammals.

  • Blue whale

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

  • Bornean orangutan

    Bornean orangutans live in the canopy of Borneo's tropical rain forests.

  • Bumblebees

    Bumblebees are a familiar sight in our gardens.

  • Hot vent crabs

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

  • Cape gannet

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

  • Cartilaginous fishes

    The cartilaginous fish are so named because their skeleton is composed of cartilage which is not...

  • Chimpanzee

    Chimpanzees are probably the most intelligent non-human animal.

  • Common short-beaked dolphin

    Common short-beaked dolphins are very social and are seldom alone.

  • Crab spiders

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

  • Darwin's frog

    Darwin's frogs are also known as Darwin's toads.

  • Eastern Gorilla

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

  • Army ant

    Army ants live in Central and South America.

  • Emperor penguin

    Emperor penguins are the largest of the penguin family, and endure the worst breeding conditions...

  • Frogs and toads

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

  • Galápagos giant tortoise

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

  • Giant tube worm

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

  • Gopher tortoise

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

  • Great white shark

    Great white sharks are widely feared as the most dangerous of man-eaters, but they are at far...

  • Killer whale

    Killer whales, or orcas, are actually the largest members of the dolphin family and one of the...

  • Coelacanths

    Coelacanths are living fossils.

  • Six-wired bird of paradise

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

  • Leopard seal

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

  • Magellanic woodpecker

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

  • Marine iguana

    Marine iguanas are the only marine lizards on Earth.

  • Cobras

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

  • Pantropical spotted dolphin

    Pantropical dolphins are the ones on dolphin friendly tuna.

  • Platypus

    Platypuses are both bizarre looking and unusually adapted.

  • Pompeii worm

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

  • Snow leopard

    Snow leopards are one of the most beautiful of the cats, and are also exceptional athletes capable...

  • Southern Elephant Seal

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

  • Southern sea lion

    Southern sea lions are also known as maned seals.

  • Superb bird of paradise

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

  • Superb lyrebird

    Superb lyrebirds are famed for their extraordinary ability to mimic.

  • Termites

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

  • Tiger

    Tigers are the largest of all the cats.

  • Tisza mayfly

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

  • Vogelkop bowerbird

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

  • Wandering albatross

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

  • Weddell seal

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

  • Capercaillie

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

  • Western red colobus

    Western red colobuses live in large groups, with sometimes as many as 50 members.

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