Attenborough series of photos captures slugs hanging from tree branches to mate
The second episode of Sir David Attenborough’s new BBC series, Wild Isles, captured slugs mating while hanging from a tree branch.
As the famous TV presenter and naturalist, 96, voicing what he calls a “dreamlike” scene filmed in Dartmoor National Park, he reveals the ash black slugs have It can grow up to 30cm long and is the largest terrestrial mollusk of its kind in the world.
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Graphic representation of ‘Wood Wide Web’, showing mycelium clinging to plant roots. (BBC/Silverback Movie/Hello Charlie)
During Sunday’s episode of Woodland, Sir David said the hermaphroditic slug could be seen on screen lying down on a slime trail containing scent cues that were “irresistible” to an impending partner presently.
He told viewers: “Turned together, they droop into one, the two penises begin to protrude, intertwine, each becoming as long as the rest of its owner’s body.
“Each slug now passes a sperm packet to the other but the end of the relationship is abrupt.
“The slime that remains is the only evidence that the encounter ever took place.”
Other key moments in the episode include the relationship between the robin and the wild boar, the newborn deer, and the way mushrooms communicate.
In the Forest of Dean, the introduction of wild boars led to robins following the wild ancestors of domesticated pigs around the forest to capture worms due to their root-biting behavior.
The BBC reports that the production team was on standby for three consecutive winters trying to film the behavior due to the difficulty of tracing the boar.
Another feature-length film also shows camerawoman Katie Mayhew spending several weeks pacing an ancient cemetery in Surrey to see if a pregnant deer has given birth.
At one point, she hid in the back of her truck to film the small animals.
Mrs Mayhew said: “We were worried that we would not be able to capture the newborn chicks on camera.
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“Worse, we started to worry that the female moose was having complications.
“One day, after returning from our lunch break and recharging our batteries, we were delighted to see that the female deer we had raised last month had successfully given birth to two beautiful, swaying fawns.
“She was still licking them both off when we arrived so she must have given birth not too long ago.”
She added this was an “emotional moment” that she would “never forget”.
Another moment also captures how fungi communicate with each other through an underground network known as the Wood Wide Web, which transmits nutrients and important information between plants.
One Million Birds was also shown in Bodmin Moor, one of Cornwall’s designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The crew used a remote-controlled, low-light camera mounted on a tree to film the birds at night – but as the starlings were still moving around, it took 24 nights to capture the birds. animals in their nest and double that time for thermal imaging.
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Newborn baby deer suckling. (BBC/Silverback Movie/Jules Cox)
In the introduction to the programme, Sir David said that by the time he was born – in 1926 – England had lost almost half of its forests and is now one of the least forested countries in Europe.
He added: “Woodland covers only 13 per cent of the British Isles and human influence can be seen in every little piece of it. “But despite this, there is a remarkable diversity in the forest that remains.”
Episode one of the five-part series drew 5.7 million viewers on TV, according to BBC overnight figures, and received a rating of four to five stars from critics.
The series is funded by nature charities WWF and RSPB with support from the Open University and produced by Silverback Films – the group behind many of the BBC’s landmark nature programmes.
– The second episode of Wild Isles titled Woodland will air on BBC One and iPlayer on Sundays at 7pm.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/attenborough-series-captures-footage-of-slugs-hanging-off-branches-to-mate-42393863.html Attenborough series of photos captures slugs hanging from tree branches to mate