To celebrate the close of 2014, we’re reliving some of the most breath-taking, heart-warming and downright brilliant clips of wildlife on the BBC over the last 12 months. So here are some of the most-viewed nature clips on the BBC YouTube channel this year. (Did someone say pengwings?)
The 13 baby pandas that made our hearts all fluttery
YouTube views to date: 49,907
Take 13 baby pandas, aged from one to four months old, lay them out together for playtime, and this is the result.
This rare sight – recorded at China’s Wolong National Nature Reserve as part of Clare Balding’s Operation Wild series – shows new hope in pandas’ survival.
According to executive producer Helen Thomas “just one content panda cub is enough to make you smile, seeing so many happily exploring their surroundings together is a real treat!” She also reveals “Clare has such a natural affinity with animals that her enjoyment of the moment makes you feel part of something very special and life-affirming"
Warning: this clip may make your face do strange things…
The most grotesque video of a leech eating a worm you may ever see
YouTube views to date: 369,975
It might not be cute, but this rather uncomfortable clip of a giant red leech devouring a worm managed to captivate viewers nonetheless.
The footage – captured as part of BBC Two’s Wonders of the Monsoon – is impossible to take your eyes off.
James Honeyborne, the series’ executive producer, said: “I love this sequence because it’s such extraordinary new behaviour, filmed in detail for the first time. As memorable TV, it certainly delivers the ‘yuk’ factor. But most significantly, it’s also a scientific revelation.
“Wildlife film makers rely on scientists all over the world for their stories and for once, it’s great to pay back the support with some scientifically valuable observations.”
Just remember to keep your shoes on if you’re off for a stroll in the woods any time soon…
The baby gosling diving 400ft to safety
YouTube views to date: 525,566
Perhaps one of the most memorable moments of the Life Story series, this clip shows a newly-hatched barnacle gosling hurling itself from a cliff edge, to fall 400ft to meet its parents.
Reflecting on the scene, and the music composer Murray Gold created for it, executive producer Mike Gunton said: “The barnacle geese scene is among my favourites. Murray’s music brilliantly mapped that journey, both sensitively and dramatically.”
Our hearts stopped and restarted with every single squeal.
The pufferfish who went all out in the name of romance
YouTube views to date: 805,574
Potential suitors of the world, take note – this is your wooing barometer. In Life Story, cameras captured this pufferfish, who spends 24 hours a day for a week devising this work of sand art to attract a mate.
Commenting on the clip, Mike Gunton, executive producer for Life Story, said: “The pufferfish ‘crop circle’ sequence is very powerful with the music underscoring the reveal of the fish’s masterpiece with just the right level of fanfare.”
Well, it beats petrol station flowers and the smell of questionable aftershave.
The incredible escaping honey badger
YouTube views to date: 5,497,432
If you were ever in any doubt about the intelligence of the humble badger, this clip will disprove any theory you had.
The video, from BBC Two’s Natural World: Masters Of Mayhem, shows honey badger Stoffel repeatedly escaping from his enclosure – AKA ‘badger Alcatraz’. From piling up rocks to create a makeshift climbing frame to shimmying up discarded rakes, this mini-Houdini is a force to be reckoned with.
Series editor Roger Webb on working with the star of the show, Stoffel:
“By displaying his own amazing agility and ingenuity he’s showing the world just what intelligent and incredible animals honey badgers are. There’s no doubt, these feisty animals have big personalities and clearly never know when they’re beaten. For this reason I think you can’t help but love a honey badger!”
We couldn’t agree more!
Sophie Maden is a researcher for BBC iPlayer.
Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.
