Life in Cold Blood

Life in Cold Blood
Region 2 DVD cover
Genre	Nature documentary
Presented by	David Attenborough
Composers	David Poore Ben Salisbury
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No.of episodes	5
Production
Executive producer	Sara Ford
Producers	Miles Barton James Brickell Hilary Jeffkins Adam White
Running time	50 minutes
Production company	BBC Natural History Unit The Open University Animal Planet
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	4 February(2008-02-04)– 3 March 2008(2008-03-03)
Related
Life in the Undergrowth David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet

Life in Cold Bloodis aBBCnature documentaryseries written and presented byDavid Attenborough,first broadcast in the United Kingdom from 4 February 2008 onBBC One.

A study of the evolution and habits ofamphibiansandreptiles,it is the sixth and last of Attenborough's specialised surveys following his major trilogy that began withLife on Earth,hence a ninth part for the eight series inThe Life Collection.

The series comprises five 50-minute programmes, each one followed byUnder the Skin,a 10-minute section that features Attenborough interviewing the scientists whose work has led to the sequences included in the main programme. It also examines the challenges faced by the crew and reveals some of the techniques used to film the series.

The series is aBBCAnimal PlanetandOpen Universityco-production. The executive producer is Sara Ford and the series producer is Miles Barton. TheUnder the Skinsegments were produced by James Brickell in collaboration with theOpen University.The score for the main films was composed byDavid Pooreand Ben Salisbury, whilst the music forUnder the Skinwas written and performed by Tony Briscoe.

The series won the2009 BAFTA Television Awardin the Specialist Factual category.Within David Attenborough's 'Life' series, it is preceded byLife in the Undergrowth(2005).

Background

Filming began in the early part of 2006 and, as with Attenborough's previous series, the production team travelled the world to photograph the required sequences. In May 2006, Attenborough celebrated his 80th birthday in theGalápagos Islandswhile filminggiant tortoises,one of which, calledLonesome George,was thought to be the same age.Lonesome George died on 24 June 2012; he was believed to have been more than 100 years old.

Several innovative techniques were used to capture footage.Thermal imagingcameras were used to demonstrate the creatures' variable body temperatures, probe cameras allowed access to underground habitats and even a matchbox-sized one was attached to the shell of atortoise.

Expert scientists helped the producers to film animal behaviour that is rarely seen. The team 'staked out' radiotaggedtimber rattlesnakesin order to witness one of them despatching its prey. However, for Attenborough's close encounter with a spittingcobra,a captive snake that was used to being handled was placed in a natural setting and the presenter wore a face visor. Other examples of 'pets' being used were for sequences depicting the lassoing tongue of achameleon(which had to befilmed at ultra-high speed) and the digestive system of aPython(which was enhanced bycomputer-generated imagery).

Life in Cold Bloodis Attenborough's last major series and also represents the final study in his 'Life' series, which comprises 79 programmes. In a 2008 interview, he stated:

The evolutionary history is finished. The endeavour is complete. If you'd asked me 20 years ago whether we'd be attempting such a mammoth task, I'd have said 'Don't be ridiculous'. These programmes tell a particular story and I'm sure others will come along and tell it much better than I did, but I do hope that if people watch it in 50 years' time, it will still have something to say about the world we live in.

However, although Attenborough was 81 years old at the time of the series' broadcast, he continued to assist the BBC Natural History Unit by providing narration for projects such asNature's Great Events,LifeandFrozen Planet.

Attenborough confirmed on the penultimate edition ofParkinson,broadcast on 16 December 2007, that he did not intend to retire completely and would still make occasional single documentaries, rather than any more series.

Episodes

"Reptiles and amphibians are sometimes thought of as primitive, dull and dimwitted. In fact, of course, they can be lethally fast, spectacularly beautiful, surprisingly affectionate and very sophisticated."

— David Attenborough's opening words

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"The Cold Blooded Truth"	4 February 2008(2008-02-04)
The first episode discusses the keys to success of reptiles and amphibians, looking atthermoregulation,parental care and the time-scales on which reptiles operate. Attenborough begins in theGalápagos Islands,usingthermal imagingto demonstrate howmarine iguanaswarm their bodies by basking in the sun before feeding. Meanwhile, thelizardinhabitants of aMenorcanisland have a relationship with its indigenousdead horse arumplants. Attenborough visitsDassen Islandto witness one of the world's greatest concentrations oftortoises– around 5,000 of them. Few reptiles are active at night, butcrocodilescan rely on water that retains much of its daytime temperature. Conversely, amphibians' moist skin would be damaged by the sun and so most are nocturnal. An exception is thewaxy monkey leaf frog,which can deal with sunlight by covering its body in a wax secretion. Apuff adderillustrates the relative inactivity of reptiles compared tomammals:one large meal can last up to a year. When it hatches at the onset of winter, the youngpainted turtlestays underground, near frozen until the spring when it can emerge. Attenborough wonders if thedinosaurs' immense size allowed them to maintain warm blood. Theleatherback turtleis able to retain body heat due to its large size and insulating body fat. Under the Skinlooks at the hunt for thepygmy leaf chameleon,filmed inMadagascar.
2	"Land Invaders"	11 February 2008(2008-02-11)
The second programme explores the world ofamphibians,of which there are some 6,000 known species. Attenborough visits Australia to illustrate how they became the first back-boned creatures to colonise land: thelungfish,which is capable of breathing air, and whose ancestors became the first amphibians. The largest of them is theJapanese giant salamanderand two are shown wrestling for territory. InNorth America,themarbled salamanderspends most of its life on land, yet is still able to retain the necessary moisture in its skin through the dampleaf litter.A femalecaecilianis filmed with her young, whose rapid growth is discovered to be the result of eating their mother's skin – re-grown for them every three days. The most successful amphibians arefrogsandtoads.Their calls are most active during the breeding season: females are impressed by both volume and frequency. However, gestures are sometimes needed and the poisonousPanamanian golden froguses a conspicuous form of 'semaphore'. Most other frogs rely oncamouflageand theSouth American red-eyed tree frogis an example. AnAfrican bullfrogis shown defending its exposed tadpoles by digging a canal for them. Meanwhile, the malemarsupial frogkeeps its young moist by carrying them in its skin pouches. Under the Skinexamines the filming of the last population of Panamanian golden frogs, which is threatened by a fungal disease.
3	"Dragons of the Dry"	18 February 2008(2008-02-18)
The third instalment takes a look at the immense diversity, social skills and displays of thelizards.While they are highly adept at camouflage, occasionally there is a need to break cover in order to ward off rivals. Attenborough holds up a mirror to ananoleand causes it to extend its colourful throat flap as a warning sign. Madagascar is host to over 60 species ofchameleonbut one of the largest, Meller's chameleon, is native toMalawiand two rival males are shown jousting. A femaleSouth African dwarf chameleondemonstrates its ability tochange colourwhen communicating to a potential mate, and the chameleon's muscular tongue is depicted lassoing its prey. In southern Australia, Attenborough uses a baited fishing rod to attract the attention of a rarepygmy bluetongueskink,thought to have been extinct for over thirty years until it was rediscovered in 1992.Shinglebacksare among the most devoted lizards and breeding pairs can reunite each year for up to two decades. Alongside South Africa'sOrange River,large groups offlat lizardsfeed on the swarms ofblack flies,but the males also use the occasion to indulge in social squabbling. TheMexican beaded lizardis one of the few with a poisonous bite, but males do not employ it when wrestling each other. Finally, Attenborough comes face to face with aperentie,Australia's largestmonitor lizard. Under the Skinfocuses on filming in Australia.
4	"Sophisticated Serpents"	25 February 2008(2008-02-25)
The fourth episode focuses on the most modern reptiles, thesnakes,exploring how they have managed to become successful despite their elongated body shape. Attenborough explains how they evolved from underground burrowers to surface hunters, losing their limbs in the process. With the aid of infrared cameras, atimber rattlesnakeis shown lying in wait for a mouse and sensing its repeated path before despatching and eating it. A snake's constantly flickering tongue is used to gather and evaluate the molecules of its surroundings, and Attenborough visitsCarnac Islandto witness a population of blindtiger snakes,which feed on the chicks of nestinggulls.He also confronts aMozambique spitting cobra,which quickly spraysvenomover the presenter's protective face visor. The similarities in colouration between the harmlesskingsnakeand potentially lethalcoral snakeare highlighted. An example of a snake that can tackle unusual prey is theQueen snake,which almost exclusively hunts newly-moultedcrayfish.A pair of rival maleKing cobrasare seen battling and infantcobrasare shown hatching: their venom is immediately as fatal as that of their parents. InArgentina,ayellow anacondaevades nearbycaimansto give birth to live young. Finally a turtle-headedsea snakefeeds not on fish, but on their eggs laid on acoral reef. Under the Skindiscusses the filming of timber rattlesnakes during inclement weather.
5	"Armoured Giants"	3 March 2008(2008-03-03)
The final programme covers the most ancient of the reptiles: thecrocodilesandturtles.In theGalápagos Islands,among thegiant tortoises,Attenborough explains how the creatures came to develop theirshellsas a defence against predators. This is demonstrated by theeastern box turtle,whose shell includes a hinged 'drawbridge'. The aquaticpig-nosed turtleis unusual in that its eggs need to be submerged before hatching, whereas those of other species would drown; Attenborough illustrates this by dropping an egg into a jar of water: it immediately hatches. In the open ocean, malesea turtlesattempt to separate a rival from its mate by attacking and overwhelming the pair, stopping them from taking in air. In northern Australia, Attenborough observes a large gathering ofcrocodilesat a flooded coastal road: they time their arrival to ambush migratingmullet.The complex communication and body language of theAmerican alligatoris investigated and in Argentina, the calls of young caimans help their mother locate and lead them to a nursery pool. The mother's maternal instinct extends to releasing unhatched babies by gently crushing their eggs in its jaws. InVenezuela,a femalespectacled caimanin charge of an entire crèche leads the infants from a drying river bed on a trek to permanent water. Under the Skinexplores filming on the Galápagos Islands and Attenborough's meeting withLonesome George.

"Reptiles and amphibians are sometimes seen as simple, primitive creatures. That's a long way from the truth. The fact that they are solar-powered means that their bodies require only 10% of the energy that mammals of a similar size require. At a time when we ourselves are becoming increasingly concerned about the way in which we get our energy from the environment and the wasteful way in which we use it, maybe there are things that we can learn from 'Life in Cold Blood'."

— David Attenborough, in closing

DVD and book

A 2-disc DVD set of the series (BBCDVD2553) was released on 25 February 2008.The accompanying 288-page book,Life in Cold Bloodby David Attenborough (ISBN0-563-53922-4), was published byBBC Bookson 7 December 2007, in advance of the television series. The Region 1 DVD was released on 5 August 2008 (S.R.P. $34.98) through Warner Home Video.

References

Other sources

• Queens of the WebTim Flanneryreview fromThe New York Review of Books

External links

• Life in Cold BloodatBBC Online
• Life in Cold BloodatBBC Online
• Life in Cold Bloodon theEdenwebsite
• Life in Cold BloodatIMDb
• Under the Skinat theOpen University's Open2.net site
• BBC on YouTube: David Attenborough face to face with a spitting cobra