David Attenborough is 98 years old today! In his honor, here’s one of the videos he narrated for BBC Earth. It shows a mother Siberian flying squirrel (Pteromys volans), gliding around and then returning to her nest to suckle her two babies. Soon the babies are ready for their first “flight,” though one is a bit timorous.
The YouTube notes:
A Siberian squirrel mother feeds her babies to build their strength throughout the winter. But once Spring arrives, these youngsters must take to the skies themselves.
Sir David has turned many of us on to nature, and is one of the great biology educators of our time.
Caption to the photo: “Sir David Attenborough at the official opening of the Weston Library, Oxford, England, in March 2015. Ovenden awarded the Bodley Medal to Hawking and Attenborough as part of the ceremony. See “Oxford University’s Weston Library reopens”, BBC News
Whew – some positivity!
Long May He Run
Happy Birthday!
Yes, Happy Birthday. I used to live opposite Sir David, and on occasion I used to watch him in his garden through my binoculars. Nothing special to report.
I would have been tempted to narrate his activities in a David Attenborough-like voice.
He’s an icon. Long may he run!
Love the video. Happy Birthday Sir David.
That is just heart-meltingly delightful.
I have a love-hate relationship with squirrels, but the Siberian flying squirrel is marvelous.
Do you chase them out of your yard?
I’ve tried, but they move to a safe distance and give me cold stares, so I’ve mostly given up. When my wife & I take walks, though, we often stop to talk and engage with squirrels. They can be very funny.
The “hate” part of the relationship started many years ago when a squirrel gnawed a prized set of perfect antlers still attached to an equally perfect deer skull that I had on my front porch.
And they are indefatigable pillagers of bird seed feeders.
Of course now I know that squirrels chisel antlers for the trace nutrients, and I should have kept the deer skull and antlers indoors.
https://deerassociation.com/why-do-squirrels-gnaw-on-shed-antlers/
His contribution at highlighting wildlife and planetary health has just got better as recording technology advanced. I marval at the shooting crews, their perseverance, resilience, to get a shot.
Happy birthday Mr Attenborough!
Thank you for everything you’re doing
Sir David. It has always felt like you are one of the family here.
Indeed, happy birthday to this wonderful man. He has generously helped me and many other conservationists to raise funds for conservation land purchases. Often in London he has headlined programs where conservationists speak about their own projects; he donates his time and gives an introductory talk in order to attract a much bigger audience than any of us would be able to attract ourselves. He is also inquisitive and asks good questions. My colleague Darin Penneys and I named a species of tree after him as our way of thanking him. I hope he is still doing well!
David Attenborough and crew are marvelous!
As for flying squirrels, we have quite a few Southern Flying Squirrels where we live, but rarely see them. They are pretty common throughout the eastern US. Very cute. I will always say, “I want one! I want one!” But I doubt they would make good pets.
He’s been on TV since the 1950s, and even in those early Zoo Quest programmes he was obviously “a natural” in front of the camera.
Not only that, but when working in TV administration he commissioned Monty Python and The Ascent of Man, amongst others.
Not a bad record.
My mother-in-law, who did not quite make it to 98, used to play with David Attenborough as a child. She remarked that he was fascinated with wildlife even as a child, and sometimes I was tempted to read between the lines and wonder whether she had wished he was more interested in her…..
Attenborough’s wonderfully iconic voice was cloned and featured on YouTube— “Create an AI Voice Clone of ANYBODY! (ElevenLabs Tutorial) This is how I made my recent viral video, “AI david attenborough narrates a documentary about my cat… I had a lot of comments asking about how I made it, and the process is actually scarily simple!”
(https://www . youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=U3TBytTDrfc)
And trolls joined in: “However, the firm was alerted to many abusing the AI tool. Sir David Attenborough was not alone in being targeted as the trolls made Harry Potter star Emma Watson read passages written by Adolf Hitler.”
(https://www . leicestermercury.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/trolls-target-sir-david-attenborough-8096533)
And apparently, there was nothing Attenborough could do about this misuse of his voice.