Channel 4 Science Documentary Animal Autopsy
Four Part Series to see the effect of Evolution in Wildlife
Mar 29, 2009
In the 21st century the television documentary has evolved with new technology. We’ve walked with dinosaurs, swam with sea monsters and even had a look at the earliest form of human all thanks to computer graphics but now an upcoming Channel 4 series will take the viewers inside the animals themselves to see what makes them how they are.
Animal Autopsy to Dissect Giraffes and Whales
Animal Autopsy, which has been made in co-operation with the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) based at the University of London, will use dissection, CGI and wildlife photography to reveal from the inside out how millions of years of evolution has changed certain animals. It will explore why they turned out the way did and how their bodies adapted to survive.
The series will focus on four species – elephant, giraffe, crocodile and whale – and discover how each creature has been able to thrive in their environments. Experts will for example look at whether the giraffe’s neck evolved to help them feed on higher leaves or as a weapon to win a mate and how crocodiles were able to develop so they can lie in wait for their prey with just eyes and nostrils above the water. The series centrepiece appears to be an on-location dissection of a 16-tonne, 65-foot fin whale.
Professor Alun Williams, Professor of Pathology and Infectious Diseases at the RVC, who appears in the series, said: “Maximising the educational value of the post-mortems through the series will help in extending the knowledge of anatomy and pathology for those in the veterinary and science sectors, for animal keepers and for the general public.”
Contribution from Evolutionary Biologist Richard Dawkins
The series features experts in anatomy, evolution and animal behaviour from around the world. Evolutionary Biologist and outspoken atheist Richard Dawkins – author of The God Delusion and presenter of last year’s brilliant The Genius of Charles Darwin Channel 4 series – will also take part in the show.
Although it is in the name of education and will be shown after 9pm the graphic detail in Animal Autopsy may prove to be uncomfortable for some viewers. A similar event happened in 2002 when Channel 4 broadcast a controversial programme that featured a human autopsy in front of an audience of 500 people which attracted complaints to OFCOM. The autopsy was preformed by Dr Gunther von Hagens and was the first public post-mortem dissection in the UK for 170 years.
Channel 4’s Commissioning Editor for Science, David Glover, said: “Traditional wildlife films tell you how animals behave and how they fit into their environment – but they stop short of revealing the changes that have taken place inside their bodies to allow that behaviour in the first place.”
Animal Autopsy is part of 4’s spring and summer season. The series and in post-production and broadcast dates will be announced soon.
