Wildlife documentaries are set to show more breathtaking scenes of prey escaping from predators rather than their brutal deaths because viewers are rooting for the underdog.
The BBC’s Planet Earth II thrilled audiences last year with a number of scenes that left viewers on the edge of their seats.
One of the more famous clips from the show saw an iguana dramatically and bravely escaping from a nest of venomous snakes.
One of the most famous scenes from Planet Earth II showed a brave iguana dramatically escaping from a nest of snakes
According to the head of the BBC’s natural history unit, audiences support the underdog over fearsome predators and this is the reason behind the change in wildlife scripts.
Mike Gunton, the executive producer in charge of some of the BBC’s hugely popular wildlife programmes like Blue Planet II and Planet Earth II, said that film-makers have realised audiences are far more invested in prey escaping rather than watching them get slaughtered.
Referencing the famous footage of the iguana escaping from snakes in Planet Earth II, Mr Gunton told the Daily Telegraph: ‘If that iguana had been killed, it would not have had the same impact. When one of them gets away, it’s very satisfying.’
According to the producer behind many popular wildlife shows, audiences before watching the chase rather than the kill as shown by the dramatic moment a bird escapes from a trevally fish
Another famous BBC wildlife scene shows the moment a bird dramatically dodged the jaws of a giant trevally fish in Blue Planet II.
These daring escapes are set to be the future of BBC wildlife programmes.
The upcoming BBC One series, Big Cats, is set to show more heart-stopping escapes, although there will also be a few kills.
According to a preview of the new show, two new presenters, newsreader Kate Silverton and local Masai guide Jackson Looseyia, will join Simon King and Jonathan Scott at a camp next to the Mara River at the heart of the big cat reserve.
The programme will also show clips of hyenas, hippos, jackals, wildebeest and cats.
Another flagship series, set to air in 2018, called Dynasty will follow the lives of five families of animals – lions, African hunting dogs, chimpanzees, tigers, and emperor penguins.