Presented by David Attenborough, Planet Earth III is an eight-part series that embarks on an extraordinary journey to the planet’s farthest corners, featuring some of the most remarkable species. Each episode presents dramatic, thrilling and sometimes heartbreaking stories imbued with a sense of hope. Filmed over nearly five years, this series uses cutting-edge technology — including lightweight drones, high-speed cameras and deep-sea submersibles — to reveal astonishing wonders of life on Earth. We catch up with executive producer, Mike Gunton, who is also the creative director of Factual and The Natural History Unit for BBC Studios to find out what fans can expect from the next installment.
How was it shooting for Planet Earth III?
Hugely exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time! The Planet Earth brand is globally recognised as the pinnacle of wildlife filmmaking — so, we had a lot to live up to, especially as, of course, with Planet Earth III, we want to raise the bar again. It was a huge undertaking that took five years. In that time, we filmed in 34 countries on six continents and spent 1,904 days filming on 134 different shoots. We also had to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic, in fact, we spent a total of 797 days in quarantine — more than two years! It was worth it! We’re so proud of what we achieved.
What new directions will Planet Earth III explore in this fresh season?
Planet Earth III is a new look at our wonderful natural world. In the series, we take the audience to the four corners of the globe to witness amazing animal dramas — whether it’s travelling two miles down to the bottom of the ocean to see the trials and tribulations of the world’s most dedicated mother, or to the treetops of the African savannah with a leopard that ambushes its prey by leaping from a height of a two-storey building.
Do share any memorable incidents you encountered during the shoot?
In this series, we have an episode called Human which showcases not only the challenges but opportunities animals face living in an increasingly human world. And it’s not all bad news, some are doing surprisingly well. In fact, a savvy group of long-tailed macaques in Bali have turned not only the human world to their advantage but humans themselves.
In what can only be described as an extraordinary example of animal intelligence — these wily monkeys have learnt to identify the items that matter most to you, like smartphones for instance and then to hold them ransom. Most of us will never have to barter with a long-tailed macaque, but our team learnt first-hand that they are not straightforward transactions. As you will see in the series, some long-tailed macaques have acquired tastes — sophisticated palates and not all monkeys like bananas.
What are the ‘firsts’ you’ve achieved with Planet Earth III?
As you’d expect there are many filming firsts across the series. Using a military-grade thermal camera called a Selex Superhawk, the Planet Earth III team filmed the first lions to be seen on the Skeleton Coast (Namibia) in 40 years, hunting. In the Brazilian Cerrado, we teamed up with a pioneering research group to film inside a maned wolf’s den in the wild.
The footage we captured provides insight into the all-important first weeks of maned wolf pups’ lives and, crucially, how much habitat must be protected to support future generations. In Costa Rica, we witnessed the largest gathering of gliding tree frogs on the planet.
To the best of our knowledge, this rare behaviour has never been filmed before in a documentary and little is known about it. In the remote bamboo forests of China, we captured the bizarre and captivating mating dance of a male Temminck’s tragopan on film in the wild for the very first time. There are many such moments in Planet Earth III, but rather than list them all here, I’d encourage you to watch the series, instead.
Planet Earth III premieres at 9 pm on Sony BBC Earth on July 29. The episodes will be available for streaming on SonyLIV once aired on TV.
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