BBC Radio 4 LW

A View Through a Lens

Factual: Science & Nature

Wildlife cameraman John Aitchison on human experience and the beauty of nature

Wildlife cameraman John Aitchison combines location recordings with personal narratives which highlight the uniqueness of human experience and the beauty of nature

A View Through a Lens: Series 3

A View Through a Lens: Series 3: Episode 4: Fur Seals

Episode 4

Episode 4: Fur Seals

Series 3

Fur Seals

BBC Radio 4 - A View Through a Lens, Series 3, Fur Seals

Cameraman John Aitchison tries to film a birth amidst a colony of aggressive fur seals.

On a very small island in the South Atlantic, surrounded by a large colony of very aggressive fur seals, wildlife cameraman John Aitchison tries to film the birth of a seal.

Wildlife cameraman John Aitchison often finds himself in isolated and even dangerous locations across the globe filming wildlife, and in this series he reflects on the uniqueness of human experience, the beauty of nature, the fragility of life and the connections which unite society and nature across the globe.

4/5 Fur Seals. Wildlife cameraman John Aitchison travelled with a team filming the BBC series Frozen Planet to Bird Island, a small island at the western tip of South Georgia in the South Atlantic to film fur seals giving birth. But fur seals are extremely aggressive seals and trying to walk, let alone film, amongst them is both difficult and frightening. A colleague of John's makes him a metal barrel which acts as protective shield from which he can film. From inside this hide, John looks out across a colony of thousands of fur seals; the males engage in fierce and bloody fights, whilst the females run the gauntlet from the beach to their natal site to give birth. John finds it hard to feel empathy with animals which seem intent on doing him harm, but when amidst the noise and aggression of the battlefield, something beautiful and tender happens, John soon changes his mind.


Producer Sarah Blunt.

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