Finding perspective in Frozen Planet

I am not a great lover of animals. When I was a child I had a strange obsession with pigs – I had pig ornaments, pig posters, even a piggy hot water bottle (which I still have). But for anyone who knows me now they are aware that while other people’s pets are lovely and safe at a certain distance, I have no desire at any point in my life to own one.

That being said, I am now completely and utterly obsessed with the new series of Frozen Planet. I hadn’t watched a lot of David Attenborough before, but scrolling up and down my Netflix list, I’d ummed and arred a few times on whether I should bother watching the programme lots of people were talking about. I decided to put it on as I pottered about the house but within the first five minutes I forgot all the little jobs I had to do and was sat on my sofa with a cup of tea, glued to the TV.

Frozen Planet is undeniably beautiful. Attenborough’s voice is soothing and calming and watching these animals survive (or not) in these harsh conditions can really give you some perspective. No one can argue that 2016 was a bit of a crappy year. Instead of watching more programmes about murders and murderers, political corruption and drug problems – we get enough of that from the New alone, isn’t it refreshing to see the beauty of the world and see how our other inhabitants of this planet live on it rather than see our own species turning on one another.

Penguins can be cheeky and steal rocks from another’s nest when the owner isn’t looking. Female polar bears risk their lives in search of food for their cubs. Orca whales work in unison to knock a seal of its icy raft. The Narwhal with its unicorn like horn looks a right nutter but it and all the other animals are perfectly designed and suited to where they are. No one is standing around with a sign post telling them what to do, it’s all instint. Not only are the animals above and below the ground astounding and extraordinary but the landscapes that we as humans (thankfully) have left well alone are magical places. The snow covered trees look like something from ‘who-ville’, the colours that can be seen in the sky are incredible, the depths of the oceans are unimaginable.

Don’t get me wrong, the animal kingdom is a scary place too – danger lurks around every corner, above and below and I fear that we are the biggest of all dangers to them and we don’t even realise. We can’t even help our own species survive let alone care about them. I don’t want to get all political and Greenpeace, but simply to say that while the world may be going to hell in a handbasket – Frozen Planet has lifted my soul and shown me that there still is beauty, strength and hope on our Earth.