The Circle of Life – Secrets of Our Living Planet (2012)

Production: Paul Bradshaw, Tim Martin | 236 minutes | documentary | Starring: Chris Packham

On the surface, it may sometimes seem that the wonderful world of nature consists of a motley collection of loose, spectacular and less startling species. However, nothing could be further from the truth, as the beautiful and scientifically sound BBC documentary ‘The Circle of Life’ teaches us. In nature everything is connected and intertwined and the symbiosis between very different animal and plant species forms the basis for all life. Take the Pantanal, a huge natural, almost Edenic water paradise in Brazil that is dominated by giants like jaguars, caimans, green anacondas (the heaviest and second longest snakes in the world), giant otters and capybaras (by far the largest rodents on Earth) . Remarkably, this magnificent ecosystem could never have been so rich without the hard work of the humble, seemingly insignificant apple snail. This wonderful mollusk, which occurs in large numbers in the wetlands, recycles rotting plant waste in the water in a very ingenious way into important nutrients that are essential for their functioning of the cycle of life in the South American natural paradise. In addition, apple snails are favorite snacks for caimans and waterfowl, spreading the nutrients that the molluscs excrete in the form of dung over the entire area. Thanks to a built-in snorkel, the apple snail can also extract oxygen from highly eutrophied water in which little further life is possible. In this way, it can continue to do its job and the amazingly efficient freshwater snail ultimately ensures that the Pantanal does not land and can remain a bustling epicenter of biodiversity.

A similar scenario unfolds in the Sundarbans (Bangladesh): the Bengal tiger is the mighty symbol of this wilderness, but the graceful predatory cat can only survive here due to the presence of mangrove trees and industrious crabs, crustaceans that dig tunnel systems and recycling nutrients make the originally muddy, nutrient-poor soil fertile. In turn, the tiger, through predation pressures, keeps grazers from proliferating and moving, thereby reducing overgrazing and localized destruction of mangrove forests of immense value to the ecosystem. ‘The Circle of Life’ is packed with examples of comparably stunning feats of animal-animal and plant-animal collaboration. For example, who expects one of the most lush forests in North America to be formed primarily by the proteins of dead salmon? Or that the sponge, an animal with no heart, eyes, nerves or brain, is one of the main architects of the lush coral reefs that host some 25 percent of all marine life? Even the richest of terrestrial ecosystems, the tropical rainforests, can only exist by the grace of an astonishingly complex web of specialized relationships between diverse animal and plant species, while the beautiful forests of New England are not without flying squirrels, truffles and the tiny caterpillars. of leaf rollers (certain moths). The South American grasslands, on the other hand, are largely dependent on the relationship between ants, the fruits of the plant Solanum lycocarpum and maned wolves, while ruminants, large grazers and termites are important ‘biobuilders’ on the African savannas.

Exposing the cross-connections between species – which form the basis of a well-functioning ecosystem – in an understandable and scientifically sound way is one of the strongest points of this fine BBC production. It also helps that Chris Packham was chosen as the narrator, because anyone who has watched the wildly popular annual recurring series ‘Springwatch’ and ‘Autumnwatch’ knows that the eloquent, scientifically savvy Briton knows better than anyone the art of creating complex to translate ecological concepts and processes into fascinating television for a wide audience. The substantive material in ‘The Circle of Life’ is accompanied by beautiful and crystal-clear images of the animals and plants discussed, recordings that certainly meet the high quality standard that is usually associated with the documentaries of the British state broadcaster.

‘The Circle of Life’ is a documentary that approaches perfection in many ways. Perhaps viewers who are mainly waiting for a succession of beautiful images without too much context will be somewhat overwhelmed by the large amount of information that is fired at them. But the more curious minds among us, who are also curious about the largely hidden processes that form the basis of most natural wonders, will certainly enjoy this four-part series.