Zoo History: Sir David's Quest

Recently, I saw an advertisement for the new season of the TV show "The Secret Life of the Zoo," detailing life behind-the-scenes at England's Chester Zoo.  This accompanies the two "The Zoo" series - one at the Bronx Zoo, one at San Diego - as well as "Secrets of the Zoo," filmed at the Columbus Zoo, and "The Aquarium," at the Georgia Aquarium.  These shows have all done a great job in helping the general public better understand the role that zoos and aquariums play in conservation and education, as well as to better appreciate all of the dedication that goes into caring for the animals.


Neither are the first zoo TV show to be made, however.  There have been several earlier programs, but one special one comes to my mind.  Firstly, because it largely took place away from the zoo.  Secondly, because it's the sort of thing you wouldn't see being filmed anymore.  Thirdly, because it helped introduce to the world one of the most popular television presenters who has ever lived.


In the early 1950s, David Attenborough joined the BBC.  Most English families at the time didn't even own TVs, and the concept to television shows was still somewhat in its infancy.  This was just as well for Attenborough.  If the medium had been more popular, he might never have gotten his chance.  As it was, he barely was given one anyway - his producer thought that he wouldn't be any good on camera.  His teeth looked too big, it seemed.  However, Attenborough got his chance and began producing a series of programs, some about the natural world, some not.  For those programs that featured animals, he utilized animals from the London Zoo.

It was at the London Zoo that Attenborough befriended reptile curator Jack Lester, who took his new friend into confidence and invited him on a special project.  Lester wanted to travel to Sierra Leone, in West Africa, and try to capture one of the rarest, most unique birds on earth - Picathartes gymnocephalus, the white-necked rockfowl.  He would try to catch the bird, while Attenborough would produce a documentary about the efforts.  The program was to be called "Zoo Quest."


The plan began to unravel when Lester was stricken by disease and was unable to go on.  He never was able to recover, and died a few years later.  Attenborough took over the role, presenting the quest for the rockfowl to the public.  It was a hit.  In 1954, the first Zoo Quest, in black-and-white, was aired.


There would be a total of eight Zoo Quest specials, filmed around the world from Madagascar to Guyana.  Some were single episode programs, while others sprawled on for five or six episodes.  The show's natural history spectacles were combined with insights into local anthropology and culture; Attenborough was commended for his open-minded, unbiased approach to depicting cultures that, to most members of his audience, were just nameless faces of the still-intact (barely) British Empire. Combining the expanding knowledge of wildlife biology with the new advances in filming, the series was groundbreaking.  The footage captured for the fourth show, Zoo Quest for a Dragon, was a first film ever of Komodo dragons in the wild.

By the time Zoo Quest's eighth special, Quest for Capricorn (exploring Australian wildlife), Attenborough felt ready to move on from the concept.  The concept of capturing animals for zoos was losing its appeal with the public, with more emphasis being placed on breeding endangered animals within zoos.  Attenborough shifted his focus back to the management side of television, becoming an administrator for BBC Two and pursuing higher education.   He kept a clause in his contract, however, which allowed him to continue to produce programs himself.


Today, Sir David, as he is now known, is famous for his breathtakingly beautiful BBC series documenting life on earth.  There is Life of Mammals, Life of Birds, Life in Cold Blood, Blue Planet, and, of course, his magnum opus, Planet Earth.  I have a shelf in my home lined with these masterpieces.  Having produced so many specials, it's hard not to notice that Sir David tends to repeat himself a bit, with certain species popping up a disproportionate amount of the time.  Take birds of paradise, for example.  It sure seems like Attenborough shoehorns these avian jewels in every chance he gets, with constant footage of their breeding displays and courtship behavior.  I can't help but notice that he devoted a six-episode series to them in Zoo Quest for the Paradise Birds.  The same could be said for chameleons and lemurs (Zoo Quest to Madagascar).

It certainly seems that the animals and habitats Sir David Attenborough encountered during his Zoo Quest days made quite an impression on him, both as a naturalist and as a television producer.  After all, that show is where his career really began.  In celebration of the naturalist's 90th birthday, the episodes were re-mastered and released in color.  It's nice to think that, because of the London Zoo and an obscure West African songbird, we've been lucky enough to have one of greatest voices for conservation that our society has ever known.