Although the mosquitos in @dzanga.sangha National Park weren’t that bad, the sweat bees were next level. These lovely little critters don’t sting. Instead, they come to drink your salty sweat. They like going in your eyes, ears, nose, armpit… anywhere wet! They also took a particular liking to @waldo_etherington. While I miss being in the jungle with the amazing forest elephants, I do not miss the sweat bees! Filmed for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv
Experiencing the incredible often involves going the extra mile…or two. In a small boat. With eleven other people. 🐋 #EpicAdventures with Bertie Gregory is streaming on @DisneyPlus.
Did you know the word ‘manta’ comes from the Spanish word for cloak? As this huge manta ray danced about over the reef, we could really see how they got their name. Filmed in the Misool Marine Reserve, Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Shots of me and the manta by @danbeecham with dive safety and assistance by @javier_mahauad and @annadimtriadis for #AnimalsUpClose now streaming Disney . @wildstarfilms @natgeo @misoolfoundation
As well as getting to hang out with cool animals for ‘Animals Up Close’ on Disney , we also get to hang out with cool people. Ayub is one of the rangers safeguarding the Misool Marine Reserve. His antipoaching watch tower is definitely in the running for the world’s coolest office competition! This area used to be rife with dynamite fishing and shark fining. Twenty years ago however, the local community came together to setup this reserve. Today, this 500-square-mile marine protected area is thriving. Catch the whole story in the ‘Devil Ray Islands’ episode of Animals Up Close @wildstarfilms @natgeo #AnimalsUpClose @misoolfoundation
As well as getting to hang out with cool animals for ‘Animals Up Close’ on Disney , we also get to hang out with cool people. Ayub is one of the rangers safeguarding the Misool Marine Reserve. His antipoaching watch tower is definitely in the running for the world’s coolest office competition! This area used to be rife with dynamite fishing and shark fining. Twenty years ago however, the local community came together to setup this reserve. Today, this 500-square-mile marine protected area is thriving. Catch the whole story in the ‘Devil Ray Islands’ episode of Animals Up Close @wildstarfilms @natgeo #AnimalsUpClose @misoolfoundation
As well as getting to hang out with cool animals for ‘Animals Up Close’ on Disney , we also get to hang out with cool people. Ayub is one of the rangers safeguarding the Misool Marine Reserve. His antipoaching watch tower is definitely in the running for the world’s coolest office competition! This area used to be rife with dynamite fishing and shark fining. Twenty years ago however, the local community came together to setup this reserve. Today, this 500-square-mile marine protected area is thriving. Catch the whole story in the ‘Devil Ray Islands’ episode of Animals Up Close @wildstarfilms @natgeo #AnimalsUpClose @misoolfoundation
As well as getting to hang out with cool animals for ‘Animals Up Close’ on Disney , we also get to hang out with cool people. Ayub is one of the rangers safeguarding the Misool Marine Reserve. His antipoaching watch tower is definitely in the running for the world’s coolest office competition! This area used to be rife with dynamite fishing and shark fining. Twenty years ago however, the local community came together to setup this reserve. Today, this 500-square-mile marine protected area is thriving. Catch the whole story in the ‘Devil Ray Islands’ episode of Animals Up Close @wildstarfilms @natgeo #AnimalsUpClose @misoolfoundation
This gorgonia fan coral was an absolute whopper but who can tell me why they’re this amazing shape? Comment below! Photos by @danbeecham #AnimalsUpClose
This gorgonia fan coral was an absolute whopper but who can tell me why they’re this amazing shape? Comment below! Photos by @danbeecham #AnimalsUpClose
This gorgonia fan coral was an absolute whopper but who can tell me why they’re this amazing shape? Comment below! Photos by @danbeecham #AnimalsUpClose
As soon as we spotted this amazing iceberg near the Lemaire Channel on the Antarctic peninsula, I knew there was one shot I had to try. We’d been searching an area known as the ‘Iceberg Graveyard’, where many icebergs (having broken off glaciers elsewhere) drift in and ground themselves. Any with nice arches had to be flown through! Shot for ‘Animals Up Close’ with @wildstarfilms. Shoutout to Ben from @oceanexpeditions for literally getting the boat stuck to get the shot and to @tomwalkercam and @leighhickmott for some top drone spotting skills (essentially shouting ‘lower!’ or ‘higher!’ as the ice ceiling or water got too close!). @natgeo #AnimalsUpClose
Thanks to all those that answered by last post about these amazing gorgonia fans. Here’s the answer! #AnimalsUpClose
This reef manta ray was incredibly curious and came over to say hi. They can grow to have with a wingspan of more than 4m/13ft! If you think that’s big, their oceanic cousins can grow to more than 6m/20ft across! Photos by @danbeecham for #AnimalsUpClose now streaming on Disney .
This reef manta ray was incredibly curious and came over to say hi. They can grow to have with a wingspan of more than 4m/13ft! If you think that’s big, their oceanic cousins can grow to more than 6m/20ft across! Photos by @danbeecham for #AnimalsUpClose now streaming on Disney .
This reef manta ray was incredibly curious and came over to say hi. They can grow to have with a wingspan of more than 4m/13ft! If you think that’s big, their oceanic cousins can grow to more than 6m/20ft across! Photos by @danbeecham for #AnimalsUpClose now streaming on Disney .
The enormous tusks of the biggest male forest elephants (‘the tuskers’) make them prime targets for ivory poachers. As a result, the surviving individuals are incredibly secretive. In addition to filming in person, we knew camera traps would be an important tool to increase our chances of capturing a tusker on camera. Here, cinematographer Declan Burley does his best elephant impression during a camera trap test. Filmed by @markmcc01 and @justdrewsound for the ‘Elephant Quest’ episode of ‘Animals Up Close’ now streaming on Disney ! #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeotv #AnimalsUpClose
Indonesia’s Raja Ampat is a magical archipelago of more than 1500 islands and looks like something out of a story book; mountainous islands carpeted in jungle surrounded by the best coral reefs in the world. Our drone pilot @ferdyanggriya had a great time ripping around the boat for the opening scene of Animals Up Close now streaming on @disneyplus. @wildstarfilms @natgeo #AnimalsUpClose
Wait for it! A B1 Antarctic killer whale takes a breath in front of what looked like a scene from Game Of Thrones. Some serious Jedi skills by @tomwalkcam to predict where B72 was going to come up (B72 is a female identified by her hooked dorsal fin!). Shot for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
Manta rays have the largest brain of any fish so I’ve always wondered what they’re thinking when they come over to say hi. With this in mind, I wanted to get a close-up eyeball shot as it inspected me during a flyby. Using longer zoom lenses underwater is always a fun challenge and after a few passes, I got the shot! Filmed in the Misool Marine Reserve, Raja Ampat, Indonesia. #AnimalsUpClose @misoolfoundation
Captain Ben Wallis of @oceanexpeditions carefully navigating through a field of brash ice. While the ice-strengthened hull of ‘Australis’ is built to withstand low speed impacts with ice, it’s best to avoid the big chunks! The drone is an important tool in these situations as by sending it up high, I could help Ben avoid the really choked up channels and instead stay in clearer water. Shot for #AnimalsUpClose on Disney @wildstarfilms @natgeo
This is what happens when a coral reef is dynamite fished. In an instant, a thriving ecosystem is reduced to rubble. While the fishermen get a quick easy catch, the fragile reef is destroyed meaning bad news for wildlife and bad news for the people. Fortunately, dynamite fishing is banned in the Misool Marine Reserve giving nature the opportunity to bounce back. Unlike the fast bounce back you get from banning many other fishing methods, dynamited reefs are much slower to recover. However, rangers from the @misoolfoundation are helping accelerate that recovery by replanting the coral on artificial structures (image 3). Image 1 by @bertiegregory, Image 2 and 3 by @danbeecham. #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeo
This is what happens when a coral reef is dynamite fished. In an instant, a thriving ecosystem is reduced to rubble. While the fishermen get a quick easy catch, the fragile reef is destroyed meaning bad news for wildlife and bad news for the people. Fortunately, dynamite fishing is banned in the Misool Marine Reserve giving nature the opportunity to bounce back. Unlike the fast bounce back you get from banning many other fishing methods, dynamited reefs are much slower to recover. However, rangers from the @misoolfoundation are helping accelerate that recovery by replanting the coral on artificial structures (image 3). Image 1 by @bertiegregory, Image 2 and 3 by @danbeecham. #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeo
This is what happens when a coral reef is dynamite fished. In an instant, a thriving ecosystem is reduced to rubble. While the fishermen get a quick easy catch, the fragile reef is destroyed meaning bad news for wildlife and bad news for the people. Fortunately, dynamite fishing is banned in the Misool Marine Reserve giving nature the opportunity to bounce back. Unlike the fast bounce back you get from banning many other fishing methods, dynamited reefs are much slower to recover. However, rangers from the @misoolfoundation are helping accelerate that recovery by replanting the coral on artificial structures (image 3). Image 1 by @bertiegregory, Image 2 and 3 by @danbeecham. #AnimalsUpClose @wildstarfilms @natgeo
Since the Misool Marine Reserve was created, the biomass (that’s the weight of living things) has gone up on average by 200% and at some key sites up to 600%! The booming fish population also doesn’t stay inside the no-take zone so local fishermen benefit from the protection. This place is a blueprint for how we can protect our oceans both for wildlife and for people. Catch the whole story in the ‘Devil Ray Islands’ episode of Animals Up Close @wildstarfilms @natgeo #AnimalsUpClose @misoolfoundation
