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‘IBEX V FOXES’
Planet Earth Two shows baby Nubian Ibexes being hunted by Red Foxes as the whole country holds its breath
Viewers of the hit BBC One show were on the edge of their seats during this tense showdown
WHEN a red fox started to hunt baby Nubian Ibexes on the edge of a mountain in the Arabian Peninsula, viewers of Planet Earth Two knew which team they were cheering.
As the creatures headed down the steep cliff face in search of water, the predator lay in wait.
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Narrator Sir David Attenborough explained how the Nubian Ibexes were raised at the top of the mountains to stop them falling prey to the foxes, however when they need water they have to head down to the valley.
The kids finally reached their destination and were immediately vulnerable to the waiting foxes.
All didn't seem lost however, as they scarpered and moved back to the safety of the mountains.
Stood on rocky crevices, the Nubian Ibexes looked as though they were trapped until, incredibly, they began to leap from the edge.
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Throwing themselves from the steep cliff, viewers of the show were on the edges of their seats – many screaming on the Ibexes to safety.
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The first instalment of the show won the ratings battle last weekend, with 9.4million viewers tuning in.
ITV’s X Factor, which airs at the same time, mustered just 7.1million.
Producers risked their lives and even endured underwear-eating rats to bring some of the most extraordinary wildlife footage ever seen on TV.
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For Justin Anderson, who produced this episode, called Mountains, the shoot literally left him breathless.
He revealed: “I had to come down and spend a couple of days sitting in a hotel with an oxygen cylinder.”
Justin was helped by an array of hi-tech gadgetry, including 30 ultra high-definition camera traps to help locate the rare creatures – which are so thinly scattered that one leopard will inhabit 100 square miles of mountainous Indian terrain.
Sir David said of the daring shoot: “It’s the most moving sequence and also very, very beautiful. It’s never been seen before.”
Here we detail the risks that Sir David’s team took to capture previously unseen wildlife and how they used new technology to make unprecedented discoveries.
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