In 1954, a young David Attenborough had the opportunity of a lifetime – to travel the world finding rare and elusive animals for London Zoo’s collection, and to film the expeditions for the BBC for a new show called Zoo Quest.
This is the story of these travels. Staying with local tribes while searching for giant anteaters in Guyana, Komodo dragons in Indonesia and armadillos in Paraguay, he battled with cannibal fish, aggressive tree porcupines and escape-artist wild pigs to record the incredible beauty and biodiversity of these regions. The methods today may seem old-fashioned, but the fascination and resect for the wildlife, the people and the environment are not.
Written in Attenborough’s inimitable voice, Adventures Of A Young Naturalist is not just the story of a remarkable adventure, but of the man who made us fall in love with the natural world, and who is still doing so today.