The Blue Planet - David Attenborough
Another great series from Attenborough. Each episode looks at a different “type” of sea.
We get to spend significant time with each of the creatures that are chosen in these different biomes.
There is some truly magnificent footage at the microscopic level of tiny creatures.
The standouts for me were: the killer whales; the puffins (of which there were many); and the walruses.
The killer whales featured a few times but the most iconic was the taking of the seal cubs from the beach. They then played with it in the deep before it died.
The easy option here would have been to personify the whale and criticize its cruel behavior.
But whales aren’t people and Attenborough’s comments are on point. “What the purpose of this bizarre behavior is can only be guessed at.” (sic.)
It was so important to remind us that we cannot treat the animals around us as if they have our moral codes.
I enjoyed the puffins in the ‘Shores’ episode. They were just so interesting to watch.
They were also so very varied in their coloration and decorative growth.
The walruses were spectacular as we got to see and understand their skin change to red from the dark browns and blacks they had been.
This is because of the way they control their body temperature when in the icy water. When they are in the colony they don’t need to regulate and they turn red.
Some of the vision throughout was a bit grainy but it is older now.
Tidal Seas was my favourite episode. We see sharks and stingrays moving in and out of the shallows to hunt with the tide.
Seeing them all laying out of the shallows while the tide was out was amazing.
