Sir David Attenborough - Wildlife documentaries

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

I could only record to my PVR and that gets full up REAL QUICK, i rarely have more than 20 hours free at any time

How much free space do you have on your computer's hard drive??

You can download BBC shows from the internet too, then burn your own DVD's (for personal viewing)

[Lankyrob]

Originally Posted by infernalis

How much free space do you have on your computer's hard drive??

You can download BBC shows from the internet too, then burn your own DVD's (for personal viewing)

Computers pretty much dead any access of hard drive crashes it.

[infernalis]

bummer.

I tend to get carried away, Probably have 2 TB of televsion shows stored on external drives, and a DVD player with a front USB port to play it on.

[MoreliAddict]

Originally Posted by infernalis

How much free space do you have on your computer's hard drive??

You can download BBC shows from the internet too, then burn your own DVD's (for personal viewing)

If you have a macbook, all you need is a simple cable.

I have one that plugs into the TV's hdmi port, and into my macbook's lightningbolt port. Super smooth and crisp 1080 HD.

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by MoreliAddict

If you have a macbook, all you need is a simple cable.

I have one that plugs into the TV's hdmi port, and into my macbook's lightningbolt port. Super smooth and crisp 1080 HD.

Any laptop / desktop PC works great.

My HD TV sets all have "PC in" ports, and most all laptops / video cards now have HDMI ports.

I would have killed for this technology 20 years ago when I had to wait for VHS tapes to arrive by mail from the UK.

[cossiecraig]

I personally liked his "Planet Earth" and his "Life" series ,those are the two that spring to mind ,that bieng said he's 1 of the finest in the buisness of documentry's regarding wildlife ,a legned of a man

[Ryodraco]

Life in Cold Blood remains one of my favorite reptile documentaries. I loved how it devoted itself to showcasing reptile and amphibian behavioral complexity rather than sensationalistic bloodshed.

Originally Posted by DOBERMAN

Attenborough is the bomb. got some of his books.
My gf is a huge Irwin fan. We disagreed alot about him.
I asked her that if he really loved animals as much as he stated then why did he have to make every animal he ever came into contact with more than uncomfortable, to the point of being frightened, defensive and sometimes, arguably tortured.
Brutal to say this - but he got what was coming to him.
The fact that whatever "Whale Wars" is, named a boat after him blows my mind. Another example of left wing conservationist hipocrisy

Seems a bit harsh to say he "got what was coming to him" when his death was a freak accident (i.e. people are hardly ever killed by stingrays) and the man doubtless did more than most to encourage positive feelings toward misunderstood animals.

And yes animals he encountered became defensive over the course of his handling them, but that's par-for-the-course with any such interaction. Researchers capturing animals to be weighed and measured certainly puts more stress on them than the few minutes of gentle handling Steve Irwin would subject them to.

As far as I understand it underneath the foolish facade he was a legitimate researcher who actually published scientific papers and knew what he was doing.

[DOBERMAN]

"few minutes of gentle handling" ???
try watching some youtube videos to see him swinging snakes around by their tail as they thrash, bite and try to get away. Maybe because he calls them "beautiful" or "gorgeous" while he's doing it makes it ok.
The stingray incident itself was surely a freak accident in its own right, but if you expose yourself to dangerous animals over and over again - you are going to eventually pay the price. Attenborough can showcase animals in a much more educational and scientific manner without manhandling them.

[Ryodraco]

Originally Posted by DOBERMAN

"few minutes of gentle handling" ???
try watching some youtube videos to see him swinging snakes around by their tail as they thrash, bite and try to get away. Maybe because he calls them "beautiful" or "gorgeous" while he's doing it makes it ok.

"Gentle" in that his handling methods were designed to keep from harming the animal. He avoided grabbing snakes by their heads simply because he believed there to be the threat of damaging their spines.

And of course the animals tried to bite and were frightened. Some captive snakes will as well at least at first, but its not considered torture to frighten them by cleaning poop from their enclosure is it?

My point being that he did the animals no physical harm. Quite often they ceased to even be visibly frightened once they realized they weren't being attacked, much as many captive snakes will thrash and try to bite when first picked up but then calm down. And given the many real threats snakes face every day from competitors and predators, I doubt the few minutes with Steve somehow emotionally scarred them.

Lastly, he initiated such encounters for the sake of education, not some cheap thrill. He knew what he was doing, and the safety of the animal always seemed paramount. If you find fault with Steve then I would think you'd have to find fault with every researcher and scientist who inevitably frightens or stresses his animal subjects as part of their work. Are those who capture animals to weigh and measure them also guilty of cruelty? They certainly often stress out the animal for a good deal longer than Steve would.

[Donnie]

A great little clip of Steve, would we all be as calm?

[Donnie]

New Attenborough series being advertised to start soon "Africa"

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by Donnie

New Attenborough series being advertised to start soon "Africa"

Brilliant,............

Sir David Attenborough CBE and the award-winning BBC Natural History Unit embark on a landmark new series, painting a breathtaking portrait of Africa as never before caught on film. This lavish and unmissable companion to the BBC One series reveals the undiscovered side of Africa’s five unique regions. Inspiring photography captures unprecedented wildlife behaviour, mesmerising new creatures and magical landscapes that will astound and captivate, and will challenge what you think you know about Africa. This is a spectacular journey through a vast and diverse continent in all its beautiful and unexpected abundance.

Witness the drama of eagles catching giant bats on the wing, lizards stalking their prey on the backs of lions, antelope-hunting monkeys and a nail-biting giraffe fight. Share the discovery of the world’s rarest fish species and the first-ever access to an island sanctuary for the elusive African penguin. Marvel at a Congo fish that flies like a butterfly and a love-struck beetle who thinks he’s James Bond. Nowhere is more savage, more dangerous, yet more beautiful and alive than Africa. Join a unique expedition to the most extreme parts of this vast continent.

Think you know Africa? Think again. Witness this mysterious continent at its most unexpected

[Ryodraco]

Its going to be a sad, sad day when Sir David Attenborough gets too old to be a part of these shows. Albeit I wouldn't be surprised if the man is able to continue his works right until the end. He's truly amazing.

[DOBERMAN]

Originally Posted by Ryodraco

"Gentle" in that his handling methods were designed to keep from harming the animal. He avoided grabbing snakes by their heads simply because he believed there to be the threat of damaging their spines.

And of course the animals tried to bite and were frightened. Some captive snakes will as well at least at first, but its not considered torture to frighten them by cleaning poop from their enclosure is it?

My point being that he did the animals no physical harm. Quite often they ceased to even be visibly frightened once they realized they weren't being attacked, much as many captive snakes will thrash and try to bite when first picked up but then calm down. And given the many real threats snakes face every day from competitors and predators, I doubt the few minutes with Steve somehow emotionally scarred them.

Lastly, he initiated such encounters for the sake of education, not some cheap thrill. He knew what he was doing, and the safety of the animal always seemed paramount. If you find fault with Steve then I would think you'd have to find fault with every researcher and scientist who inevitably frightens or stresses his animal subjects as part of their work. Are those who capture animals to weigh and measure them also guilty of cruelty? They certainly often stress out the animal for a good deal longer than Steve would.

You just have to ask yourself a few questions when attempting to disseminate between right and wrong regarding the handling of animals;

- is this necessary?
- is this to the benefit of the animal?
- is this of benefit to educating the masses about this animal?
- how can we go about our task with the least amount of invasiveness to the health, mental or physical, of this animal?
- how much benefit am I receiving, directly or indirectly, by handling this animal

surely there is fault with anyone who comes into contact with an animal - including each one of us who harbours one.
It is in my estimation that Irwin was flagrantly and unnecessarily at fault on all counts.
The only point I would consider for debate would be point 3, that being many people who would otherwise skip over an Attenborough documentary to watch something more "dramatic" and interesting might just pause on the station where some Aussie was running around like some idiot who forgot to fill his Ritalin prescrip. How much the viewer really got out of that experience is questionable. Valiant researchers or handlers who are truly for the benefit of animals don't throw themselves onto an animal or throw the animal around during their course of handling.
Safety towards the animal or himself was not paramount. There you are absolutely incorrect. Ratings were.

[infernalis]

back on topic........

BBC - Archive - David Attenborough: Zoo Quest for a Dragon - Seeking the Komodo dragon in Indonesia