David Attenborough reflects on some of his most moving natural encounters

David Attenborough's career, from managing television programming to natural historian

Throughout his career, Attenborough's storytelling style framed nature as the stage where plants and animals were characters that audiences could connect with and become emotionally attached to. Before the breakout success of "Life on Earth" and working full-time on making programs about the natural world, Attenborough spent a decade in executive roles responsible for overseeing content on BBC channels.

Read 10 of the best quotes about nature from David Attenborough

From reflecting on the interconnectedness of life and humanity's shared responsibility to protect biodiversity to the power of young people in driving change and understanding nature's beauty and importance, this list highlights some of the most noteworthy things said by the famed natural historian.

David Attenborough received the 2021 Champions of the Earth Lifetime Achievement Award

The UN's highest environmental honor celebrated Attenborough as "one of the leading voices of the global environmental movement." For at least four decades, he collaborated with the UN Environment Programme by advocating for "efforts to counter the climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pollution" and addressing "world leaders at the UN Climate Change Conference" in 2021.

A conversation with David Attenborough about his work, from his narrative style to technology

Although he began working in television before owning a television set, gaining experience as a producer in the editing room helped Attenborough develop an insight into creating engaging content with less dialogue. Among the technologies pioneered during his career were stabilized cameras for aerial shots, infrared and microphotography, and waterproof electronics for underwater cameras.

A list of some of the best episodes from David Attenborough's works and where to watch them

From the first steps of the long-eared jerboa—an animal not captured on film before "Life Story"—and bears catching salmon on their upstream pilgrimages to the bioluminescent sea creatures in the trenches of the ocean and Weddell seals giving birth, learn where to see some of the most remarkable moments in Attenborough's catalog.

For 'Secret Lives of Orangutans,' David Attenborough became the oldest Emmy Award winner

In 2025, won the Outstanding Daytime Personality, Non-Daily category at 99 for his work documenting a group of apes in the jungles of Sumatra, Indonesia. The previous record had been held by Dick Van Dyke, who won at 98 for his guest appearance on "Days of Our Lives" in 2024. (Some readers may experience a paywall.)

Listen to the music David Attenborough recorded during his expeditions around the world

During this audio documentary feature, Attenborough plays musical performances by communities he encountered while producing natural history series, including Gamelan orchestras in Bali, palace music in Tonga, and Aboriginal didgeridoo players. With each recording, he provides anecdotes about when it was made, decades ago.

Why David Attenborough was skeptical about global warming before bringing attention to it

Believing he was "experiencing the untouched natural world" in his early documentary series, Attenborough has admitted that many of his assumptions about human action were incorrect. It was not until attending a 2004 lecture on greenhouse gases and global temperatures that he became convinced of the science.

David Attenborough discusses creationism and his position as an agnostic

Attenborough argues that accounts of humanity's origins from different cultures cannot all be correct because they often differ, whereas geological records are consistent worldwide, meaning science provides the best understanding of the natural world. However, he acknowledges that, just as insects lack awareness of human goings-on, humans may be unaware of the existence of a deity.

Watch David Attenborough's unexpected interaction with a family of gorillas on 'Life on Earth'

On the border between Rwanda and the modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, Attenborough used specific vocalizations and behaviors to approach a female gorilla peacefully, only to have two of her children lie down on him. Through a comical exchange, the incident helps show the creatures to be the opposite of the aggressive, violent stereotypes about them.

Watch David Attenborough catching a python on 'Zoo Quest'

The first series, hosted by the famed natural historian, was meant to be presented by Jack Lester, a curator at the London Zoo, who would be documented while they captured wildlife to bring to the institution. Because Lester became ill, Attenborough became the presenter and often participated in the capture of animals, such as snakes.

View some of the species named after David Attenborough

Acisoma attenboroughi is a dragonfly from Madagascar named in honor of Attenborough's 90th birthday. Stating they liked watching Attenborough's documentaries with their family, the discoverer of a flightless weevil from Indonesia named it Trigonopterus attenboroughi in 2014. A Peruvian frog was named Prisimantis attenboroughi in 2014 to honor Attenborough for raising awareness of wildlife conservation.

The history of David Attenborough's adopted Jewish sisters, taken in before World War II

Among the thousands of children who were brought to Great Britain from Nazi-controlled Europe during the Kindertransport rescue operation were Irene and Helga Bejach, who spent seven years living with the Attenboroughs. Irene contributed to David's interest in the natural world by giving him a piece of amber containing prehistoric creatures.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

George Orwell, avid outdoorsman

The writer is often pigeonholed as either a cranky paranoiac or a self-righteous scold, but this essay by Danny Heitman explores a lesser-known side of Orwell's personality: his love for nature, something that's subtly expressed in some of his greatest works.

River dolphins manhandle an unlucky anaconda

The natural world around us is endlessly inspiring, and fascinating, and often very odd too: like when researchers snapped a photo of Bolivian river dolphins swimming around with a Beni anaconda snake in their mouths, for example.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Ten magnificent photos of lions

A new book of essays and images reveals the history of the big cats, elaborating on how they’ve become a vulnerable species today (and efforts to preserve them).

Rapid environmental changes are exacerbating natural extinction processes

Human activities behind climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, and overhunting have resulted in extinction rates up to 1,000 times greater than normal, triggering massive biodiversity loss. This has led scientists to refer to the current geological age as the Anthropocene era, in which humans are the dominant force shaping nature.

Discover the 'American Serengeti' Lewis and Clark first recorded

This podcast traces the 19th-century exploration of the Great Plains’ biodiversity—beginning with Lewis and Clark’s wildlife cataloging and continuing through a century of documenting the Natural West’s remarkable species and landscapes.

The booming fossil industry on the Jurassic Coast

Ever since the Jurassic Coast was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001, professional and amateur fossil-finders have increasingly set out for its craggly cliffs to discover ammonites, icthyosaurs, and even new discoveries. This photo essay takes a human look at the growing interest and industry in fossil discoveries along the famed 95-mile strip of England.

Explore the animals that populate the depths of the ocean, from fish and coral in the first few hundred feet, all the way down to the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

Meet a 90-year-old who built his own hobbit-inspired house

A retired carpenter built himself a kind-of Hobbit house, and is living comfortably off the grid at 90 years old, tourists notwithstanding. Learn how he did it with this video.

The last Pinta Island tortoise died in 2012 at over 100 years old

Unfortunately, different animal species continue to go extinct. See a list of these recent extinctions, and learn the story of Lonesome George, who died without finding a mate in the Galapagos Islands.

Take a tour of the Museum of Natural History

Opened in 1910 on the Mall, the National Museum of Natural History is among the Smithsonian's oldest museums. Its scientists steward more than 148 million objects and specimens—making it the largest natural history collection on Earth.

An avowed rationalist discusses his near-death experience

Documentarian Sebastian Junger, a veteran reporter and skeptic discusses his experiences—in particular, a frightening vision—after an aneurysm and internal hemorrhaging left him nearly dead. Junger talks about his NDE, the possible scientific explanations, and how that day changed his fundamental worldview.

Watch a long, personal interview with Prince from 1999

Prince often avoided press junkets, especially after he became a superstar. In 1999, though, in advance of a televised New Year's Eve concert, he sat down for a lengthy interview with Larry King, speaking about his childhood, career, and his conflicts with Warner Bros. He noted that it was uncharacteristic for him to spend so much time reflecting. "As I go through this journey, I don't look back much at all," he told King. "I try to stay in the now and live in the now."

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

In 2018, 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau was killed by tribesmen after attempting to reach and evangelize on India's isolated North Sentinel Island

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

Before writing 'Walden,' transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau nearly burned down his hometown with a campfire that grew out of control.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Double world record holder Hunter Ewen helped conquer his fear of balloons, called globophobia, by training to win Guinness World Record titles for balloon inflation.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

Apeirophobia is an overwhelming fear of living forever, perhaps stemming from the brain's inability to conceptualize an infinite life.

Massive blooms of microscopic plankton called dinoflagellates produce the neon blue light seen in glowing tides.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

The US Constitution is widely regarded as the longest-standing written national constitution still in force—see how it has influenced rights worldwide.