For years, David Attenborough’s nature documentaries, specializing in up-close shots of animals in their native habitats, have consistently set new standards for the form. But his latest Netflix series, “Secret World Of Sound,” raises the bar even higher by giving us access to sounds we couldn’t otherwise hear.
His cinematographers and audio specialists capture lions roaring to mark their territory, meerkats avoiding a pack of hyenas, flamingoes and their baby flaminglets (yes!) communicating across a noisy flock, and a colony of 40,000 bees waiting for a new queen to emerge. I learned that there are animals that have no ears but sense signals and vibrations through other parts of their bodies. And there’s a segment about clownfish and their offspring living in a sea anemone that had me imagining Albert Brooks’ voice from “Finding Nemo.”
In the first of three one-hour episodes, Attenborough’s crews capture animals using sound to hunt for food or escape from predators. The second reveals animals from elk to birds to gibbons finding and attracting mates.
The final episode is my favorite, showing baby animals using sound to stay with their families, call for help when lost, and beg for food from their parents. This goes on from the very moment they’re born — and even earlier! Attenborough’s team somehow managed to get super-sensitive microphones inside a crocodile nest, where dozens of about-to-be-newborns communicate with each other while still in their shells. You have to see and hear them to believe it.
At 98 years old, Attenborough could have sent his crews out in the field and then done the voiceovers from a studio in London. But no, he’s actually with them in the wild — his favorite place to be. Here’s hoping he’s still around to give us more fascinating looks at the animal world.
I enjoyed “Secret World Of Sound” so much I give it a perfect score of 10 out of 10.
If you’re going to watch the series with your kids or grandkids (which I recommend), watch them in reverse order so they see the cute stuff first.