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Title: The Unnatural World: New BBC wildlife show uses fake animals rigged with spy cameras to reveal never-before-seen behaviour - including monkeys grieving after thinking they KILLED an imposter
Source:
Daily Mail Online
URL Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art ... ildlife-uses-fake-animals.html
Published: Dec 31, 2016
Author: Paddy Dinham
Post Date: 2016-12-31 09:52:14 by cranky
Keywords: None
Views: 546
The BBC is sending an army of undercover robot animals into the wild in a bid to capture never-seen-before footage In one of the most innovative natural history series ever presented, Spy in the Wild deploys over 34 animatronic Spy Creatures to go undercover in the animal world, including these langurs This BBC One series captures unique animal behaviour closer than ever before, taking the viewer into the heart of the extraordinary lives of over thirty fascinating animals across the world Some of the most remarkable stories in the series couldn’t be planned as the events are so rare or had never been witnessed before. In a filming first, the crew witness and film a scene as one young chimpanzee finds an abandoned genet kitten and treats it with care and love as humans do for our own pets. And a family of langur monkeys attempting to revive the imposter animal after thinking they have accidentally killed it. A sequence of giraffes apparently grieving was witnessed by Executive Producer, John Downer, during a trip to the African Savannah, and the procession of giraffes visiting the body of an old male continued all day. An awareness of death has previously been thought to only occur in a few highly intelligent species such as apes and it had never been seen in giraffes before. However, the giraffes seemed to be paying respects to one recently departed. Downer said: 'The aim of Spy In The Wild was to look across the whole of the animal kingdom and investigate how like us other animals really are. It seemed the perfect moment to do take this approach, as there has been a sea change in the way animal behaviourists view animals. But one animal was clearly too realistically made, as a male tortoise started trying to mate with it The robotic look-alikes make all the right moves to not only be accepted by animals but also interact with them, providing revelatory insights into their world In the four part series, each episode features animatronic Spy Creatures exploring the different aspects of animal behaviour - love, intelligence, friendships and mischief Spy Langur - this is the robot that the langurs thought they had accidentally killed, at which point they started desperately trying to revive it 'Whereas once any reference to the similarity between animal behaviour and our own was dismissed as anthropomorphism it is now almost impossible to study animals without acknowledging the links between us. 'The change came first with primatologists but it is now seen among behavioural scientists studying a vast range of species across the world.' But one animal was clearly too realistically made, as a male tortoise started trying to mate with it. The robotic look-alikes make all the right moves to not only be accepted by animals but also interact with them, providing revelatory insights into their world. In the four part series, each episode features animatronic Spy Creatures exploring the different aspects of animal behaviour - love, intelligence, friendships and mischief. This ferocious female crocodile is seen up close and personal with one of her young in her mouth Chimpanzees show great emotion during Spy In The Wild, including one who tries to keep a genet kitten as a pet Chimpanzees show great emotion during Spy In The Wild, including one who tries to keep a genet kitten as a pet Executive Producer John Downer said: 'The aim of Spy In The Wild was to look across the whole of the animal kingdom and investigate how like us other animals really are' The idea was a natural progression from the intimate viewpoints and storytelling of the previous series. The first 'Spy film' went out in 2000: Lions - Spy In The Den. It featured a remote roving rock known as a Bouldercam that could safely carry a camera into the pride to capture never-seen-before footage. Downer added: 'The unique style of the Spy films has developed over the years and the same core team has worked on most of the productions. It pioneered the idea of getting its cameras close to its subjects, allowing the conventional long lens to take a lesser role. 'Its focus has always been telling the real stories of natural wildlife drama, and over the various productions it has captured countless moments of one-off extraordinary moments of behaviour. 'Although its aim has always been to capture unique and thought-provoking footage it has never been afraid to incorporate and relish moments of humour. It never laughs at its subjects - the humour usually comes from self-recognition within the audience.' Spy In The Wild starts on January 12. 
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