WONDERS OF OUR WORLD

David Attenborough is back with his most breathtaking documentary series yet – and stark warnings for the planet

- KIM ABRAHAMS

NEARLY five years, 1 794 filming days, 41 countries, 1 500 people and countless drones – that’s what it took to shoot the latest masterpiece involving the maestro of the nature documentary.

And the new offering narrated by David Attenborough is as frightening as it is fascinating. Seven Worlds, One Planet is a seven-part series that delves into the evolution of life on each of Earth’s continents and spells out how – unless we make a huge effort to save our precious planet – we can bid farewell to countless species we’ve taken for granted.

The annihilation of the animal world is driven home when David, now 93 years old but still as much enthralled by the natural world as ever, gives us this reality check.

When he made his first wildlife documentary in the ’50s there were more than 2 000 northern white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum cottoni) in Africa.

Now, nearly 70 years later, he finds himself in the fields of Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya where the last two members of the species are spending their final days. To keep Fatu and Najin safe from poachers, the female rhinos roam around under the careful watch of armed guards. It’s a heartbreaking scene from a spellbinding show led by David with his customary gentle authority.

In Antarctica, he tells of the thousands of penguins, seals and albatrosses that inhabit an ice-bound continent threatened by global warming.

In Asia, a continent David describes as “varied and extreme”, viewers see the kindness of fishermen who regularly supply some of their catch to whale sharks.