The Adventures of a Young Naturalist: The Zoo Quest Expeditions: A BBC Radio 4 Reading

In 1954, the 28-year-old David Attenborough seized the opportunity to travel the world in search of rare animals for London Zoo’s collection, and to film these fascinating expeditions for the BBC. The result was the successful television series, Zoo Quest. In Guyana the adventure begins with an encounter with a caiman, a visit to the River Mazaruni waterfalls, and an extraordinary painted cliff revealing a sequence of handprints and animal drawings not unlike France’s Palaeolithic caves. Later, we are transported to Indonesia where he sets out, nervously, to capture an eighteen foot long python. In Argentina David Attenborough comes across the rhea – a creature not unlike the ostrich – and observes its amusing courting and mating rituals. Then there is the issue of where to keep the collected animals… Told with Attenborough’s trademark charm, these remarkable stories give us an insight into the early adventures of our most beloved naturalist. Broadcast as Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4.