Twenty-nine-year-old British wildlife filmmaker and National Geographic explorer Bertie Gregory is set to make his debut Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregorywhich features the titular director on his explorations to witness amazing moments of wildlife around the world, and StrippedPixel has an exclusive first look at the trailer.
The clip for the upcoming series shows the BAFTA award winner from Antarctica, Africa, South America and Asia tracking extraordinary animals to capture their everyday lives like never before. In a wetsuit in Antarctica, Gregory quips, “There’s got to be an easier way to make a living,” as he battles harsh weather conditions and avoids top predators. Watch the footage above.
Each of the six episodes is set to bring audiences close to nature and highlight the challenges animals face and the resilience they need to survive. Highlights include a male sea lion defending pups from a giant Galapagos shark and, using a military-grade thermal camera in Patagonia, Bertie and his team filmed a guard dog defending its flock of sheep from a hunting cougar.
The series was filmed over 219 days in Antarctica (Drake Passage), the remote Galapagos Islands, Botswana, Patagonia (southern Chile), Indonesia and the Central African Republic.
Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory includes exploring Patagonia to reunite with a Puma woman; crossing the infamous Drake Passage in Antarctica to check out some killer whales; traveling to Botswana to research the African wild dog; going to the remote Galapagos Islands to find and film three rare animal behaviors seen nowhere else on Earth; an elephant control in the Central African Republic; and diving in Indonesia to see a devil ray.
Throughout the series, there are emotional highs and lows as Gregory comes face to face with the shocking truths about humanity’s impact on the wildlife he is so passionate about. Bertie and his team must brave sub-zero seas, climb snow-capped mountains and sleep suspended 120 feet in the air to reveal the challenges the animals endure, their fierce rivalries and the threats they face on our changing planet.
Animals Up Close with Bertie GregorySeries Premiere, September 13, Disney+