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S40E7

Australia | Animals with Cameras

Premiere: 1/26/2022 | 0:30 |

Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan fronts the team helping scientists investigate the lives of some of Australia’s most iconic animals. Koalas, fruit bats and kangaroos take the cameras into their secret worlds.

About the Episode

To discover the secret lives of animals, sometimes the animals must show us themselves. Go where no human cameraperson can go in Season 2 of Animals with Cameras, A Nature Miniseries.

Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan and a team of pioneering animal scientists join forces to explore stories of animal lives “told” by the animals themselves. The cameras are custom-built to fit on the animals unobtrusively and to be easily removed at a later point. In episode one, “Oceans”, witness a fascinating underwater world out of reach to regular camera crews. In episode two, “Australia”, see firsthand the lives of some of the country’s most iconic wildlife.

Do female turtles feed in the ocean when they are nesting? Why are gannet populations thriving, while other seabird species are declining? How do kangaroos survive when pushed out of their environments by urban development? The unique vantage point given by these state-of-the-art cameras reveal answers to these questions alongside the scientists studying these species. By better understanding the private lives of endangered animals, conservationists can improve efforts to save them.

One-of-a-kind sequences captured by the animals include several on-camera firsts. A male koala bellows at night to assert territory, the first time this behavior has been recorded in such close proximity. Soar above an Australian cityscape from a fruit bat’s perspective. Elephant seal pups play with their peers in the ocean, countering previous beliefs they are solitary creatures. Tiger sharks dive 500 feet in the coral reef to hide and search for prey.

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PRODUCTION CREDITS

ANIMALS WITH CAMERAS
Episode 2 AUSTRALIA

PRESENTED BY
GORDON BUCHANAN

PRODUCED & DIRECTED BY
CLARE KINGSTON

EDITOR
JACK JOHNSTON

ANIMAL CAMERAS
CHRIS WATTS
ALEX JOHNSTON
ROB APPLEBY

PHOTOGRAPHY
ADAM MARSHAL
BEN CUNNINGHAM
MILES ROWLAND
MARLI LOPEZ-HOPE
PAUL FREIMANIS

SOUND
BRETT STAYT
JASON WAGNER
LACHLAN COLES

SPECIAL THANKS
ADELAIDE ZOO
BOTANIC GARDENS AND STATE HERBARIUM OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

GRAPHICS
MICK CONNAIRE

DIT
AMIR KAMRANI
SARAH MACDONALD

COLORIST
DAN GILL

ONLINE EDITOR
JAMES BEYNON

DUBBING MIXER
JOE SIDDONS

TRACKLAY
NICHOLAS ALLAN

EDIT ASSISTANTS
CHRIS GAPE
ARTHUR BRYANT-HASWELL

RESEARCHERS
ELLIS ROBERTS
SAM ROWLEY
AICHA-LOUISE RAKHDOUNE
ALICIA HODSON

ASSISTANT PRODUCER
CHRIS KIDD

DIRECTOR
SIMON PASS

PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
RICHARD ALDRIDGE

PRODUCTION MANAGERS
NATALIE CROSS
JENNIE SAWYER

PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE
SUSAN AARTSE-TUYN

HEAD OF PRODUCTION
MARIA NORMAN

BBC COMMISSIONING EDITOR
SREYA BISWAS

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
JO SHINNER

SERIES PRODUCER
VANESSA COATES

FOR NATURE

SERIES EDITOR
JANET HESS

SENIOR PRODUCER
LAURA METZGER LYNCH

COORDINATING PRODUCER
JAYNE JUN

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
JAMES F. BURKE

LEGAL COUNSEL
BLANCHE ROBERTSON

DIGITAL LEAD
DANIELLE BROZA

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER – DIGITAL
AMANDA SCHMIDT

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
KAREN HO

AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT
CHELSEY SAATKAMP

BUDGET CONTROLLER
JAYNE LISI

ONLINE EDITOR
STACEY DOUGLASS MOVERLEY

RE-RECORDING MIXER
JON BERMAN

ORIGINAL SERIES PRODUCTION FUNDING PROVIDED IN PART BY
CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
ARNHOLD FOUNDATION
THE FAIRWEATHER FOUNDATION
KATE W. CASSIDY FOUNDATION
SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM III
KATHY CHIAO AND KEN HAO
CHARLES ROSENBLUM
FILOMEN M. D’AGOSTINO FOUNDATION
LILLIAN GOLDMAN CHARITABLE TRUST
LEONARD AND NORMA KLORFINE
SANDRA ATLAS BASS
COLIN S. EDWARDS
GREGG PETERS MONSEES FOUNDATION
KOO AND PATRICIA YUEN

SERIES PRODUCER
BILL MURPHY

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
FRED KAUFMAN

A BBC STUDIOS PRODUCTION FOR PBS AND BBC WITH THE WNET GROUP

THIS PROGRAM WAS PRODUCED BY THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC, WHICH IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS CONTENT.

© 2021 BBC
ANIMALS WITH CAMERAS ADDITIONAL MATERIALS © 2022 PBS AND
© 2022 THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

FUNDING

Series funding for Nature is made possible in part by The Arnhold Family in memory of Henry and Clarisse Arnhold, The Fairweather Foundation, Kate W. Cassidy Foundation, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III, Kathy Chiao and Ken Hao, Charles Rosenblum, Filomen M. D’Agostino Foundation, Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust, Leonard and Norma Klorfine, Sandra Atlas Bass, Colin S. Edwards, Gregg Peters Monsees Foundation, Koo and Patricia Yuen, by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and by public television viewers.

TRANSCRIPT

'The Animals with Camera's' adventure continues in Australia.

Where some of the country's most iconic creatures takeover filming.

- Now the big test will be, what shots do we get?

- The footage could hold vital information for scientists trying to safeguard these animals.

- By getting video footage we might be able to unravel this mystery and figure out what they're doing.