Lessons from Nature: What Wildlife Documentaries Taught Me About Human Nature

I remember the moment clearly. David McKillop, then VP of Production at Discovery Channel, approached me about joining a production. I was a network producer assigned to programs in various capacities. On some, I was the executive producer. On others, I supported executive producers on their productions. And there were a few I was brought in to tweak programs that needed some love. I enjoyed genres such as history, science, and health. Reality, makeovers, and anything with animals were not my jam.?

If you know my work, I’m sure this last genre is surprising, but it’s true. I was an editor early in my career, working at Discovery, cutting programs to the network clock. My colleagues would see me kicked back, eating dinner, and watching the most gruesome episode of Trauma: Life in the ER. No problem! But if I had a show with an animal in peril….say a horse caught up in a mudslide, I would start sobbing and rush to the bathroom to calm down.

So here I was, five years later, in David’s office. He asked me to join Maureen Lemire on a BBC/Discovery coproduction called Planet Earth. I said no. He asked again, cajoling and explaining how the project needed my help. I’m sure my reaction was something like "I can’t see animals die!" My pleas, understandably, fell on deaf ears. He wasn’t asking. He was nicely telling me about my new assignment. I agreed, comforted by knowing that working with Maureen was always a delight and privilege.

My career in wildlife filmmaking was born.?

I have worked on over 80+ hours of natural history programming since the days of Planet Earth. I’ve profiled animal behavior on all seven continents and just as many oceans & seas. Rodents, big cats, bears of all colors, whales, more sharks than you can name, pets, even terrifying shrews–I have helped tell their story.?

As my childhood pal/badass scientist/conservationist Kelli McGee jokes, “Who would have thought you’d be an animal expert?” (I remind her that she is the true hero & I just tell stories about them.) My aversion to death? It’s still there. Colleagues will warn me if a program has a lot of predation. I’ve learned a lot about animal and human nature throughout the years.?

Here are a few of those lessons.

SHARKS ARE LESS SCARY THAN BUSINESS “SHARKS”: We think sharks are ruthless predators, attacking anything in their path. We believe this so much that business executives or entrepreneurs identify with great whites or bull sharks. I will dominate! I am the apex predator. Rowr! (Sharks don’t growl.)

Honestly, sharks aren’t ruthless. Ruthlessness implies intent. No matter what Jaws 3-D told you, sharks don’t seek revenge. They want to swim, eat, and occasionally have sex.?

Our team was filming at Tiger Beach, a famous shark hotspot in the Bahamas. I took advantage during a down moment and snorkeled amongst 15+ lemon sharks. It was a lot of sharks! They weren’t hungry, so they paid me no mind. There was a safety diver with me, and I made sure not to hit them because, sated or not, you don’t poke things with sharp teeth. It was unnerving but no more frightening than a bunch of lobbyists on a night out at Nationals Park.

If you use an animal for an analogy, try to get it right. There are fiercer animals in the wild. Speaking of which….

ORCAS ARE THE TRUE BAD A**ES. WE CAN LEARN TEAMWORK FROM THEM AND HOW TO RESPECT OUR ELDERS. Whale culture is genuinely remarkable. While researching Secrets of the Whales, I learned that these creatures were much more like humans than we ever imagined. Humpback whale “friends” work together to feed. Sperm whales have unique languages. Belugas gather in massive “family reunions.” And then there are orcas, the true badasses of the ocean.

Strong family units, elders teaching the youngsters, and quick adaptation to their environment. Take Gibraltar and the Azores. Experts now believe the orcas are attacking boats for practice. Practice! Just like humans, they work together repeatedly to get it right. Military strategists should study the collaboration between orcas when attacking a seal on an ice floe.

Add in that pods have 80+ year-old females who teach their grandchildren. Our elders have value, too. We should remember that.

WE HUMANS ARE NARCISSISTIC. THINK LIKE A GRIZZLY BEAR. Our attitudes towards animals came from a place of superiority for way too long. We believed only humans had complex emotions, higher thinking, culture, family bonds, etc.

It’s easy to tell yourself these things feel nothing when killing them for fur, land, and trophy acquisition.

Then scientists and advocates like Jane Goodall, Marlin Perkins, Jacques Cousteau, and others showed us that animals are more complex than we ever assumed.?

We humans like to be the stars of the movie. We see life from only our point of view and insist everything else sees what we see. Not the grizzly bear. G.A. Bradshaw wrote Talking with Bears: Conversations with Charlie Russell, a remarkable book about conservationist Charlie Russell and his life living amongst these giants. Russell discovered that grizzlies live in a world where they are lead characters, not other animals. Their point of view is isolated and, obviously, bear-centric. To them, we are mysterious beings who merge into their space. They usually don’t care about us unless they feel threatened or are starving…..just like humans.?

What if we stepped back and saw the world through their eyes? What if we imagine that we are not the center of the universe and accept most of our current understanding about the natural world has assumed we are superior? Read this book. It will change how you look at the world. Speaking of which….

NATURE CAN BE CRUEL. HOW WE RESPOND TO THE CRUELTY CAN AND WILL MAKE US BETTER HUMANS. I still avoid predation when I can, but it would be irresponsible, as a documentarian, to ignore it completely. It’s part of life in the wild. Wolves eat elk, bison, and moose. Lions hunt wildebeest, giraffes, and even elephants. Orcas kill seals and other whales. Nature can be cruel. This year’s celebrated Fat Bear Week just dealt with this harsh reality. Live camera feeds captured Bear 469, a male, attacking Bear 402, a female and a fan favorite. She is the mother of many of Katmai’s bear population. The carnage didn’t end there. Bear 469 then ate her.?

To quote Geoffrey Rush in Finding Nemo, “Fish gotta swim…..birds got to eat.” It’s ugly and brutal, and it is part of nature.

However, we humans can choose what parts of nature to celebrate. Wolves are apex predators, but like most canids, they are wonderful parents. Hyenas, demonized throughout history, are excellent parents as well. I’ve already talked about orcas and the strength of the pod. Beavers are great role models in many ways: strong family bonds, engineering wizards, creators of riparian habitats, etc. Penguins are admired for their dedication and perseverance when incubating their eggs. Lions are like most cats. They sleep….a lot and, like housecats, do not hunt every moment of every day. And the primary food providers? The lionesses. Other amazing mothers? Elephants, cheetahs, alligators, and orangutans. Ravens, octopi, and dolphins possess exceptional critical thinking skills. I firmly believe we haven’t fully grasped how intelligent they are.?

Past attitudes towards wildlife have prevented us from describing animal behavior similarly to humans. We were told not to anthropomorphize–not to humanize them. But to not do so is to ignore the facts in front of our eyes. A herd of elephants gathering around a dead calf with tears in their eyes are mourning. Baby animals playing together are experiencing joy. An octopus using its tentacle to examine a reef diver is displaying curiosity. These are the emotions and experiences of life.

What inspires us? What makes us better humans? Do we revel in the brutality of nature, or do we laud the traits that resemble the best of us??

We’re at a crucial time. Our planet is under many threats. Hurricanes Helene and Milton are showing the effects of climate change. Temperatures are increasing globally, and humanity is sprawling into once-wild lands. Do we accept that death is part of our world's cruelty? Or do we respond in a way that shows the best of mankind and protects those creatures that make up the wild we hold so dear? What do we choose: fear or hope?

I’m grateful David made me join the incredible Planet Earth team, especially for the privilege of learning from Maureen Lemire and everyone at the BBC-Nat History Unit. Experience and documenting the wild have made me deeply care about what humanity can do to protect our world. G.A. Bradshaw, Ingrid Visser, Riverside Conservancy, Doug Smith, and many others can help us be better neighbors, teammates, and humans.