Sir David Attenborough's memorable moments include observing mountain gorillas removing his shoes, presenting underwater with full face plates, floating upside down in zero gravity, eavesdropping on dolphins communicating, marveling at a lyrebird's impersonation skills, being knocked over by a capercaillie, magnifying the microscopic world, and excitedly greeting a chimp.
Sir David Attenborough 's accessible and compelling programmes have given audiences an insight into the diversity of life on earth for decades. But the broadcaster, naturalist and national treasure has also taken us through the changing technologies used to bring that life to television screens.
As Sir David turns 100 today, here are some of his most memorable moments: Mountain gorillas who started removing his shoes In the 1979 series Life On Earth, Sir David encountered a family of mountain gorillas in a volcanic forest on the border of Rwanda and Zaire. In a clip that has been voted one of the top TV moments of all time, one young gorilla lies across his body, while just at the edge of the picture you can see the baby gorillas who were busy removing his shoes.
The 13-part series featured footage from 30 countries. More than 500million people tuned in - 11.4 per cent of the global population. Sir David with mountain gorillas in a volcanic forest on the border of Rwanda and Zaire in 1979 Observing sharks while presenting underwaterIn 1984, Sir David became one of the first underwater presenters as he observed the grey reef shark in The Living Planet.
Developments in full face plates allowed him not only to be able to deliver his commentary but to be recorded clearly. Sir David observed the grey reef shark while underwater in The Living Planet in 1984 Trying out the 'vomit comet' in zero gravityAlso in The Living Planet, Sir David presented in zero gravity from the Nasa experimental plane, nicknamed the 'vomit comet'.
He bounced and floated around as he described how we take gravity for granted, before ending his commentary completely upside down. Sir David presents in zero gravity from Nasa experimental plane the 'vomit comet' in 1984 Eavesdropping on dolphins communicatingIn 1990, Sir David took viewers swimming with dolphins in Trials Of Life. This showed us something of the body language and sounds that dolphins use to communicate, as he strapped on his scuba diving suit to eavesdrop on their conversations.
Sir David takes viewers swimming with dolphins in the BBC's 1990 documentary Trials Of Life Marvelling at lyrebird's impersonation skillsIn The Life Of Birds in 1998, Sir David clutched his binoculars as he walked carefully towards a lyrebird in south Australia and marvelled in delight over its extraordinary impersonation skills. The bird's camera shutter, car alarm and chainsaw calls were its attempts to outdo rivals and attract a mate.
Sir David walks carefully towards a lyrebird in south Australia in The Life Of Birds in 1998 Knocked over by a capercaillieAnother memorable moment in The Life Of Birds was filmed in the pine forests of Scotland, where the presenter was knocked to the ground by a capercaillie. The capercaillie – the largest of the grouses – charged at Sir David, before chasing him and making him fall over in a display intended to drive away any intruders.
Sir David is knocked over by a capercaillie in a Scottish pine forest in The Life Of Birds in 1998 Magnificent magnification of a pinIn State Of The Planet in 2000, he revealed the microscopic world that is well beyond human perception, using a powerful scanning electron microscope which magnified the image of a pin 10,000 times. Sir David magnified the image of a pin 10,000 times during State Of The Planet in 2000 Excitement as huge blue whale surfacesSir David's sheer excitement at the moment a huge blue whale surfaced during 2002's The Life Of Mammals, was heart-warming to witness.
He is shown clinging on to his little boat, which is dwarfed by the 100ft whale, the largest animal known to have existed. Sir David excitedly talks about a huge blue whale surfacing in The Life Of Mammals in 2002 Enthusiastic greeting from a chimpAlso in The Life Of Mammals, Sir David visited a group of orphaned chimps which were being taught the survival skills needed to live in the wild.
As his boat neared the landing point, an enthusiastic chimp jumped straight in to greet him. He later enjoyed a nut-cracking session with a group of dexterous mammals. Sir David watches an enthusiastic chimp trying to crack a nut in 2002's The Life Of Mammals Meeting a Siberian tiger in captivityAnother spectacular moment in the series came when Sir David trudged slowly through knee-deep snow to come face-to-face with a Siberian tiger in captivity.
Sir David meets a Siberian tiger in captivity in knee-deep snow in The Life of Mammals in 2002 Trying out the wolf howl A further famous moment in The Life of Mammals saw an example of Sir David interacting with the animals he was trying to film. He demonstrated the wolf howl in an attempt to communicate with a pack out in the wild in the Arctic - with an expert noting that his impression was very good.
Sir David's wolf howl, an attempt to communicate with a pack in The Life of Mammals in 2002 Saying 'boo' to an unimpressed sloth Also during Life of Mammals, Sir David snuck up close to a sloth before shouting 'boo'. But the world's slowest mammal seemed unimpressed and failed to react.
Sir David says 'boo' to a sloth during the 2002 documentary series Life Of Mammals Rainforest frog rests on his fingertipA sequence in Life In Cold Blood in 2008 used slow motion to show the diversity in size, shape and ability of frogs and toads. Sir David lay on the floor of a Madagascan rainforest with a tiny pygmy frog resting on his fingertip to marvel at the 'miracle of miniaturisation'.
Sir David in a Madagascan rainforest with a tiny pygmy frog resting on his fingertip in 2008 Oldest person to visit the North PoleIn Frozen Planet in 2011, Sir David became the oldest person to visit the North Pole, venturing into high altitude and extreme cold at the age of 84. Sir David became the oldest person to visit the North Pole, in Frozen Planet in 2011 Looking back at his career aged 90The broadcaster celebrated his 90th birthday in 2016, and sat down with journalist Kirsty Young for the BBC's Attenborough At 90 documentary to recount the highlights of his life and career.
Sir David sat down with journalist Kirsty Young for the BBC's Attenborough At 90 documentary Marine iguana escapes from racer snakesLater that year, Planet Earth II was released with Sir David's soothing narration accompanying scenes including rare snow leopard mating footage and lions attacking a giraffe in a desert. The critically acclaimed documentary series also featured an intense, high-speed scene of a newborn marine iguana escaping from a swarm of racer snakes on Fernandina Island.
This has been hailed as one of the most tense sequences in wildlife television history. A newborn marine iguana escapes from a swarm of racer snakes on Fernandina Island in 2016 Fighting walruses and a sex-changing fishSir David also returned as a presenter for Blue Planet II in 2017, which became the most-watched UK television show of 2017, with a chart-topping 14 million tuning in to the first episode of the wildlife series.
The programme included dramatic footage of walruses fighting to find a home, along with dazzling scenes of surfing dolphins and a sex-changing fish. The series is also thought to have triggered an increase in public, media and political attention to plastic pollution.
Awalrus mother and calf searching for a home at Svalbard in the Arctic in Blue Planet II in 2017 Saving leatherback turtles in TrinidadSir David also got up close to his subject in Trinidad during Blue Planet II as he waded into the Caribbean surf to help release and guide newly hatched leatherback turtles into the ocean. Sir David gets up close to leatherback turtles in Trinidad during Blue Planet II in 2017 Baby penguins fight to avoid icy death The debut episode of Dynasties – which focused on the chimpanzee – became the most popular programme of the month when it aired in November 2018.
The series, narrated by Sir David, also documented the struggles of baby penguins fighting to avoid an icy death, with the BBC camera crew intervening and coming to the rescue of the stricken birds, breaking a long-held stance of wildlife filming not to get involved. Dynasties in 2018 documented the struggles of baby penguins fighting to avoid an icy death Surprise appearance on the Pyramid stageIn 2019, Sir David made a surprise appearance on Glastonbury's Pyramid stage with a four-minute trailer for the BBC's new natural history series Seven Worlds, One Planet ahead of Kylie Minogue's performance.
Sir David also made a speech to the huge crowds gathered, celebrating the work of Glastonbury in banning single-use plastic bottles from the Somerset event that year. Sir David makes a speech to the huge crowds gathered at the Glastonbury Festival in Somerset Private screening with William and KateIn 2020, the veteran broadcaster presented A Life On Our Planet, a revealing and powerful first-hand account in which Sir David reflected on both the defining moments of his life as a naturalist and the devastating changes he has witnessed.
Sir David joined the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children at Kensington Palace for a private outdoor screening of the progamme in September 2020. Sir David joins Prince William and Kate with their children for a private screening in 2020 Face-to-face with toucan in Costa Rica A Life In Colour in 2021 used cutting-edge camera technology highlighting the vivid and vibrant colours of nature.
Stunning visuals of creatures showed the peacock spider and paradise kingfisher as it depicted how animals use colour to survive, find mates and defend territory. Sir David also met a toucan in Costa Rica, resulting in a memorable publicity photo.
A Life In Colour in 2021 used cutting-edge camera technology as he met a toucan in Costa Rica Honours from Charles and the UN Sir David Attenborough was awarded one of Britain's highest honours, the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George, by fellow avid environmentalist the then Prince of Wales - now King Charles III - in 2022. That year, Sir David was also named a Champion of the Earth by the UN's Environment Programme , and appointed a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the New Year Honours list recognising his major contributions to science.
Sir David is made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2022 Removing the huge skull of a pliosaurIn 2023, the naturalist described the painstaking efforts of excavating the skull of a sea monster for Attenborough And The Giant Sea Monster. This documented the process of removing the huge skull of a pliosaur, one of the biggest carnivorous creatures the world has ever seen, from the Jurassic coast in Dorset.
Attenborough And The Giant Sea Monster, in which he examined at a pliosaur's skull in 2023 Urban elephants and 'kiss-chasing' rhinosSir David took viewers to Asia in 2024 with his seven-part series named after the continent, exploring the lives of red pandas, urban elephants and hunting wolves, as well as high-altitude elephants in India, 'kiss-chasing' rhinos in Nepal, and glowing squids in the ocean. He also examined how animals use sound to communicate, thrive and survive in the natural world in Secret World Of Sound, which used the latest in audio technology including specially adapted cameras and laser vibrometers.
Sir David took viewers to Asia in 2024 with a series which explored the lives of urban elephants 'Kiss-chasing' rhinos in Nepal were another feature of the 2024 documentary called Asia Matching nature films with a live orchestraViewers were immersed in the beauty of the underwater world with Ocean In Concert in 2025, which featured a live orchestra and vocal ensemble performing Steven Price's original score in synchronisation with the film, turning its powerful visuals and urgent story into a moving experience. Sir David also broke Dick Van Dyke's record for the oldest winner of a Daytime Emmy that year, taking home the prize for hosting Netflix's Secret Lives Of Orangutans.
Ocean In Concert in 2025 featured a live orchestra and vocal ensemble performing the score The wise words of Sir David: Some of his most memorable quotes Sir David Attenborough's hushed but excited tones have been heard in living rooms around the world. Here are some of his most memorable quotes:
Sir David Attenborough Nature Environment Television Technology Mountain Gorillas Sharks Dolphins Lyrebirds Capercaillies Zero Gravity Microscopy
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