Should TV crews save dying animals?

Some nature documentary crews have saved animals they have been filming from danger.

The lonely seal pup is surrounded by a pod of hungry orcas. The hunters circle their prey and the seal's big eyes turn to the camera. Nature documentaries often feature scenes where animals' lives are in danger and filmmakers almost never intervene. "Film crews have to capture events as they unfold, whatever their feelings," says Sir David Attenborough. However, in 2018, a television crew filming the nature documentary Dynasties saved penguins and their chicks from a fierce storm. The birds were trapped in a icy ravine and the crew dug some steps so they could climb out. Their action divided opinions on whether it's right for filmmakers to help endangered animals.

If the question is "should documentary makers ever try to help?", the answer is yes, says Will Lawson, director of Dynasties. "There's no rule book," he told The Times. "You can only respond to the facts that are right there in front of you." Sometimes nature is needlessly cruel; no other animal would benefit from the penguins' deaths, and no human would be harmed in the process.

Doug Allan, a well-respected cameraman, believes that leaving nature to take its course is the most important principle. However, in the case of the penguins and their babies, the crew didn't touch or "spook the penguins", they just improved their chances of getting themselves to safety. Allan told The Guardian that doing this was, "entirely justifiable".