Sir David Attenborough still ‘appalled’ he shot animal 70 years ago

Sir David Attenborough was left ‘appalled’ after killing a caiman early in his career, the iconic broadcaster has revealed.

The veteran animal documentarian, who turns 100 next month, recalled the incident from the 1950s while filming his BBC series Zoo Quest in Guyana, according to Radio Times.

Wildlife presenter Liz Bonnin told the publication that Attenborough had been handed a gun by a cattle rancher and encouraged to shoot a caiman resting in a swamp.

Reflecting on the moment, he admitted he ‘foolishly, no innocently pulled the trigger’.

‘There was an explosion and the caiman arched into the air with a huge splash and the entire scene was destroyed,’ he said.

‘I sat there appalled.

It was the first and last time I shot anything.’
Bonnin suggested the fact the moment stayed with him for decades ‘says a lot about who he is’, pointing to the values that would later define his career as one of the world’s most respected natural history broadcasters.

She also told Radio Times that Attenborough is unlikely to embrace the attention around his milestone birthday, describing him as ‘just so modest’.

The centenary on May 8 will be marked by a special live event staged by the BBC at Royal Albert Hall, hosted by Kirsty Young and featuring appearances from figures including Michael Palin, Steve Backshall and Chris Packham.

The programme will combine archive footage from landmark series such as Planet Earth with live performances, including Bastille frontman Dan Smith performing ‘Pompeii’ with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Sigur Rós playing ‘Hoppípolla’.

Another unmissable project from Attenborough arriving in conjuction with his centennial birthday is the new Netflix documentary A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough, which has been billed as an ‘intimate documentary’ on the ‘remarkable story of his first encounter with the baby gorilla Pablo, how that gorilla grew up to be a top Silverback and how Pablo’s direct descendants are doing today’.

Directed by James Reed (who won an Oscar for My Octopus Teacher) and with Leonardo DiCaprio as an executive producer, it’s also been teased of the release that it is: ‘Packed with extraordinary gorilla behaviour never filmed before, this is a story of hope and joy.’
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