Primates (BBC)
- Thread starter Giant Panda
- Start date
Just thought I would add here that Primates will begin airing on BBC One this Sunday (26th April). The title of each episode and the date are as follows (taken from the Facebook page for the Primate Society of Great Britain):
1 - Secrets of Survival (Sunday 26th April)
2 - Family Matters (Sunday 3rd May)
3 - Protecting Primates (Sunday 10th May)
From the description given on the BBC website of the first episode, the species I am most looking forward to seeing is the Bioko drill - not sure to what extent they have been filmed before.
The official BBC page for the series is included below:
BBC One - Primates
1 - Secrets of Survival (Sunday 26th April)
2 - Family Matters (Sunday 3rd May)
3 - Protecting Primates (Sunday 10th May)
From the description given on the BBC website of the first episode, the species I am most looking forward to seeing is the Bioko drill - not sure to what extent they have been filmed before.
The official BBC page for the series is included below:
BBC One - Primates
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Good to hear that drills will be featuring in this, I can't remember seeing any documentaries that dealt with them specifically. In fact I can only remember seeing one documentary about mandrills which seem to be another primate that despite being fascinating is kind of ignored by documentary filmmakers.
A very worthwhile programme...even if i wish they would stop referring to the primate"family". The use of scientific names(sometimes but not always)in the graphics was good as well - although they missed the same element with the Bioko Drills( only to the binomial).
Well, primates I assume...
In all seriousness, it is a documentary which moves about between different primate families, recording new/peculiar behaviours and trying to get the general public interested. I haven't watched it yet, although I intend to but I watched big cats and they are meant to be similar.
I'm not sure if you have access, though. It is a BBC production so not sure if you can watch it in NY (It has already started).
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Overall was quite a good series but I found it very disappointing in parts.
The last episode "protecting primates" really annoyed me actually.
It is an episode about primates on the brink of extinction and they come to Brazil (which is the most biodiverse country in terms of monkeys) and what do they film ?
The Muriqui ? No
The superagui lion tamarin ? Nope
The golden bellied capuchin ? No
The Buffy tufted marmoset ? Nope
No instead they film a researcher studying the common marmoset and its communication which is least concern and on a topic (which though very interesting) not related to conservation!
They could have profiled any of the species I mentioned above and raised awareness of them and if none of those interested then then there are numerous other species to choose from.
Try harder next time BBC.
The last episode "protecting primates" really annoyed me actually.
It is an episode about primates on the brink of extinction and they come to Brazil (which is the most biodiverse country in terms of monkeys) and what do they film ?
The Muriqui ? No
The superagui lion tamarin ? Nope
The golden bellied capuchin ? No
The Buffy tufted marmoset ? Nope
No instead they film a researcher studying the common marmoset and its communication which is least concern and on a topic (which though very interesting) not related to conservation!
They could have profiled any of the species I mentioned above and raised awareness of them and if none of those interested then then there are numerous other species to choose from.
Try harder next time BBC.
Probably relates to ease of filming, but I agree its not what you would expect from the title of the episode.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Oh I totally agree.
I met a filmmaker (not BBC but British) January last year filming the black lion tamarins here in SP and he said it was an absolute nightmare to get enough footage in the forest.
I imagine the subject of common Marmosets in the caatinga offered better lighting conditions and assured footage for BBC.
Plus I have a sneaking suspicion the researcher may have been one of Stephen Ferrari's students as he is based in that area of Brazil and was a consultant for the BBC for some big Attenborough series in the 80's.
Still I wish they had done something more impressive and relevant to primate conservation.
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The major problem is that Natural History programmes are not made for the diehards like members of ZooChat who will watch an hourlong documentary on obscure Philippine rodents; they are made for the mass audience who might stumble onto the programme by accident and need to be persuaded to stay. When you consider this, the miracle is not that “our” stories are not told, but that so many environmental themes do get some airtime.
By the way, if you know of a documentary on Philippine rodents, let me know!
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Oh I totally agree but the Brazilian primates I referred to are definitely not rodents from the Philippines in terms of popular appeal and actually even more engaging than the common marmoset.
Our mountain marmosets could have easily been filmed for that part of the episode and it would have benefited their conservation enormously.
I really don't know why the BBC did what they did for that last episode but it's a huge disappointment.
