Wildlife filmmaker @bertiegregory shares not only what he was thinking when filming Petaka the puma taking on a guanaco near Torres del Paine National Park, in Chile, but also an exciting update about Petaka and her cubs! “When watching predator versus prey, we humans often side with the underdog. Usually that’s the prey, as predators are often larger and much better armed: polar bears hunting seals, lions hunting gazelles, leopard seals hunting penguins, to give a few examples. Pumas and guanacos, however, are very evenly matched, and this leads to some spectacular showdowns. What really struck me about watching this hunt was the unbelievable physicality and risk-taking shown by Petaka. Despite being thrown off over and over, she kept going. Having successfully hunted, she must then do this all over again—roughly every two weeks, for her entire life. For those of you who followed Petaka’s dramatic struggle to raise her cubs in ‘Animals Up Close With Bertie Gregory,’ I’m excited to say that Petaka’s cubs Frost and Breeze successfully reached independence and are now off on their own. They will have to master the guanaco takedown themselves. Petaka has been seen mating with a couple of different males, meaning that in a few months’ time, she’ll hopefully have another litter!” #OnlyNatGeo Watch #AnimalsUpClose now streaming on @disneyplus to learn more about Petaka, her cubs, and other incredible wildlife. Video by @bertiegregory and @john_shier
How can we protect the polar regions and fight climate change? Nat Geo Explorer and wildlife filmmaker @bertiegregory spoke with President @emmanuelmacron and leading scientists at the One Planet Polar Summit to find out. Watch the full video on YouTube at the link in bio. #OnlyNatGeo
To keep cool, elephants shunt blood to the huge network of blood vessels in their ears. I’d read about this before, but it wasn’t until I pointed a military grade thermal imaging camera at these forest elephants, did we actually get to see it. It was fascinating to see how these blood vessel networks differed in each elephant. Filmed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! Shots of me by @markmcc01 and @justdrewsound. #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
This big lightning bolt was the beginning of a long night in the trees. Just after I flinch in this video, you can see me reach down to hit the record button. I had the camera in ‘pre-roll’ mode meaning it constantly caches the previous 4 seconds. It’s a very useful function in wildlife film as it allows you to capture unexpected moments without having to burn through memory recording all the time. Hats off to @markmcc01 for capturing the view over my shoulder as his camera didn’t have pre roll so he had to be ready old school! Filmed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
Petaka update! Many of you have been asking what has happened to Petaka since we filmed with her for ‘Animals Up Close’. I’ve just had some exciting news from the tracking team. Her cubs ‘Frost’ and ‘Breeze’ successfully reached independence and are now off on their own. Petaka has been seen mating with a couple of different males meaning in a few months time, she’ll hopefully have another litter! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv @roberto.donoso.berrios, @ojosdelpaine @vicentemontero1 @rodrigomoragaz
This confiscated elephant ivory and weapons store was the most depressing and upsetting thing I’ve seen while making wildlife films. The Eco-guards we met put their lives on the line to protect the last precious forest elephants. They are the real unsung heroes of conservation. This store is regularly moved and burned for security and to remove its value. Catch the whole story in the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney . Shot by @markmcc01 with sound by @justdrewsound #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
Any time you see a big group of seals hanging out together on sea ice in Antarctica, chances are they’re crabeater seals. In fact, there are so many in Antarctica, crabeaters are the most numerous seal species on earth. Their name is misleading though as they mainly eat krill (look for the pink poo stains!). Shot for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
Any time you see a big group of seals hanging out together on sea ice in Antarctica, chances are they’re crabeater seals. In fact, there are so many in Antarctica, crabeaters are the most numerous seal species on earth. Their name is misleading though as they mainly eat krill (look for the pink poo stains!). Shot for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
Meet Ngbanda Bathelomie, our BaAka guide in the Central African Republic. Without Ngbanda, I would have been trampled multiple times by forest elephants. If by some miracle I survived the trampling, I definitely would have gotten lost in the dense jungle. His sense of direction and knowledge of the forest inhabitants was truly mind-blowing. A real highlight of my time with Ngbanda was his reaction to flying the drone. His cheeky smile is the best. Filmed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
Meet Ngbanda Bathelomie, our BaAka guide in the Central African Republic. Without Ngbanda, I would have been trampled multiple times by forest elephants. If by some miracle I survived the trampling, I definitely would have gotten lost in the dense jungle. His sense of direction and knowledge of the forest inhabitants was truly mind-blowing. A real highlight of my time with Ngbanda was his reaction to flying the drone. His cheeky smile is the best. Filmed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
Meet Ngbanda Bathelomie, our BaAka guide in the Central African Republic. Without Ngbanda, I would have been trampled multiple times by forest elephants. If by some miracle I survived the trampling, I definitely would have gotten lost in the dense jungle. His sense of direction and knowledge of the forest inhabitants was truly mind-blowing. A real highlight of my time with Ngbanda was his reaction to flying the drone. His cheeky smile is the best. Filmed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
Meet Ngbanda Bathelomie, our BaAka guide in the Central African Republic. Without Ngbanda, I would have been trampled multiple times by forest elephants. If by some miracle I survived the trampling, I definitely would have gotten lost in the dense jungle. His sense of direction and knowledge of the forest inhabitants was truly mind-blowing. A real highlight of my time with Ngbanda was his reaction to flying the drone. His cheeky smile is the best. Filmed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
This was one of the coolest commutes I’ve had to work. Connecting the canopy camp with my filming platform was a 300ft/100m highline. This is like a really fun ‘zipline’ for the first half but then a not very fun bicep-burning second half. It meant I could keep my scent high off the forest floor away from the elephants. Amazing rigging by @waldo_etherington and @meg_and_onaldson. Filmed for #AnimalsUpClose in @dzanga.sangha National Park. @wildstarfilms @natgeotv @remoteropes
#CanopyCampLife! Our rope experts @waldo_etherington and @meg_and_onaldson rigged this tree house allowing us to film, sleep and eat high in the trees as the elephants went about their business underneath us. Due to a long history of poaching and their thick jungle home, forest elephants understandably get very grumpy when they bump into humans. So by staying off the forest floor, we could film while the elephants did their thing undisturbed. Also featured in these pics is director @markmcc01 and sound recordist @justdrewsound. Many people seem to be very curious as to how we went to the bathroom. It involved a bag, good balance, good aim and careful positioning of the climbing harness straps! Supporting us in the trees, we owe a huge thanks to the local team who put in some serious heavy lifting helping carry in and out the jungle all the ropes, filming platforms and hanging tents. More on them soon! Photographed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv @remote_ropes_ltd
#CanopyCampLife! Our rope experts @waldo_etherington and @meg_and_onaldson rigged this tree house allowing us to film, sleep and eat high in the trees as the elephants went about their business underneath us. Due to a long history of poaching and their thick jungle home, forest elephants understandably get very grumpy when they bump into humans. So by staying off the forest floor, we could film while the elephants did their thing undisturbed. Also featured in these pics is director @markmcc01 and sound recordist @justdrewsound. Many people seem to be very curious as to how we went to the bathroom. It involved a bag, good balance, good aim and careful positioning of the climbing harness straps! Supporting us in the trees, we owe a huge thanks to the local team who put in some serious heavy lifting helping carry in and out the jungle all the ropes, filming platforms and hanging tents. More on them soon! Photographed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv @remote_ropes_ltd
#CanopyCampLife! Our rope experts @waldo_etherington and @meg_and_onaldson rigged this tree house allowing us to film, sleep and eat high in the trees as the elephants went about their business underneath us. Due to a long history of poaching and their thick jungle home, forest elephants understandably get very grumpy when they bump into humans. So by staying off the forest floor, we could film while the elephants did their thing undisturbed. Also featured in these pics is director @markmcc01 and sound recordist @justdrewsound. Many people seem to be very curious as to how we went to the bathroom. It involved a bag, good balance, good aim and careful positioning of the climbing harness straps! Supporting us in the trees, we owe a huge thanks to the local team who put in some serious heavy lifting helping carry in and out the jungle all the ropes, filming platforms and hanging tents. More on them soon! Photographed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv @remote_ropes_ltd
#CanopyCampLife! Our rope experts @waldo_etherington and @meg_and_onaldson rigged this tree house allowing us to film, sleep and eat high in the trees as the elephants went about their business underneath us. Due to a long history of poaching and their thick jungle home, forest elephants understandably get very grumpy when they bump into humans. So by staying off the forest floor, we could film while the elephants did their thing undisturbed. Also featured in these pics is director @markmcc01 and sound recordist @justdrewsound. Many people seem to be very curious as to how we went to the bathroom. It involved a bag, good balance, good aim and careful positioning of the climbing harness straps! Supporting us in the trees, we owe a huge thanks to the local team who put in some serious heavy lifting helping carry in and out the jungle all the ropes, filming platforms and hanging tents. More on them soon! Photographed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv @remote_ropes_ltd
#CanopyCampLife! Our rope experts @waldo_etherington and @meg_and_onaldson rigged this tree house allowing us to film, sleep and eat high in the trees as the elephants went about their business underneath us. Due to a long history of poaching and their thick jungle home, forest elephants understandably get very grumpy when they bump into humans. So by staying off the forest floor, we could film while the elephants did their thing undisturbed. Also featured in these pics is director @markmcc01 and sound recordist @justdrewsound. Many people seem to be very curious as to how we went to the bathroom. It involved a bag, good balance, good aim and careful positioning of the climbing harness straps! Supporting us in the trees, we owe a huge thanks to the local team who put in some serious heavy lifting helping carry in and out the jungle all the ropes, filming platforms and hanging tents. More on them soon! Photographed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv @remote_ropes_ltd
#CanopyCampLife! Our rope experts @waldo_etherington and @meg_and_onaldson rigged this tree house allowing us to film, sleep and eat high in the trees as the elephants went about their business underneath us. Due to a long history of poaching and their thick jungle home, forest elephants understandably get very grumpy when they bump into humans. So by staying off the forest floor, we could film while the elephants did their thing undisturbed. Also featured in these pics is director @markmcc01 and sound recordist @justdrewsound. Many people seem to be very curious as to how we went to the bathroom. It involved a bag, good balance, good aim and careful positioning of the climbing harness straps! Supporting us in the trees, we owe a huge thanks to the local team who put in some serious heavy lifting helping carry in and out the jungle all the ropes, filming platforms and hanging tents. More on them soon! Photographed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv @remote_ropes_ltd
#CanopyCampLife! Our rope experts @waldo_etherington and @meg_and_onaldson rigged this tree house allowing us to film, sleep and eat high in the trees as the elephants went about their business underneath us. Due to a long history of poaching and their thick jungle home, forest elephants understandably get very grumpy when they bump into humans. So by staying off the forest floor, we could film while the elephants did their thing undisturbed. Also featured in these pics is director @markmcc01 and sound recordist @justdrewsound. Many people seem to be very curious as to how we went to the bathroom. It involved a bag, good balance, good aim and careful positioning of the climbing harness straps! Supporting us in the trees, we owe a huge thanks to the local team who put in some serious heavy lifting helping carry in and out the jungle all the ropes, filming platforms and hanging tents. More on them soon! Photographed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv @remote_ropes_ltd
#CanopyCampLife! Our rope experts @waldo_etherington and @meg_and_onaldson rigged this tree house allowing us to film, sleep and eat high in the trees as the elephants went about their business underneath us. Due to a long history of poaching and their thick jungle home, forest elephants understandably get very grumpy when they bump into humans. So by staying off the forest floor, we could film while the elephants did their thing undisturbed. Also featured in these pics is director @markmcc01 and sound recordist @justdrewsound. Many people seem to be very curious as to how we went to the bathroom. It involved a bag, good balance, good aim and careful positioning of the climbing harness straps! Supporting us in the trees, we owe a huge thanks to the local team who put in some serious heavy lifting helping carry in and out the jungle all the ropes, filming platforms and hanging tents. More on them soon! Photographed in @dzanga.sangha National Park for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv @remote_ropes_ltd
Our jungle canopy camp had a 5-star food delivery service. Rather than an app, you just make an order via walkie-talkie and your food arrives within 30 minutes. The choices weren’t great but everything tastes better outside. Top notch customer service from @waldo_etherington in his element in @dzanga.sangha National Park. #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
The Eco-guards protecting the forest elephants of @dzanga.sangha National Park are real life superheroes. Forest elephants are classified as critically endangered due to an 86% population decline in a period of just 31 years. They are poached for their ivory and if this doesn’t stop, they will go extinct. These Eco-guards give me a small glimmer of hope. Catch the whole story in the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney . Filmed by @markmcc01, @sams_natural_habitat, @bertiegregory and sound by @justdrewsound #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
The Dzanga bai (or Village of Elephants) bubble bath is a strange thing to watch without context. A gathering of up to 200 elephants all with their trunks in the ground blowing bubbles. There’s nowhere else on earth where forest elephants gather in such big numbers so this bubble blowing must have a very important function! It turns out their jungle diet of leaves and fruit lacks several important minerals. By burying their trunks deep into the mud here and blowing bubbles they are able to get access to those minerals. Shots of me by @markmcc01 and @justdrewsound. Filmed for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
