Five reasons Kiwis love David Attenborough so much

NZ Herald

16 Nov, 2016 06:15 PM3 mins to read

English naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough at his home in Richmond, London. Photo / Getty

Sir David Attenborough is on his way to New Zealand next year and the whole country seems to be going nuts about it.

He's so popular, the first Sir David Attenborough - A Quest for Life show in Auckland sold out within a couple of hours, so he's agreed to add a second evening to his schedule at The Civic.

But why? What makes Sir David such a hit with all generations of Kiwis?

We've got some ideas ...

1. He is calm under pressure

When visiting the Graham Norton Show recently, Sir David admitted to feeling the most at danger when he was confronted with rhinos.

But despite wondering if his life was nearing its end, he managed to keep his cool between a rock and a very, very hard place.

2. He would make the coolest Grandpa

Attenborough says, "the question is, are we happy to suppose that our grandchildren may never be able to see an elephant except in a picture book?

"Bringing nature into the classroom can kindle a fascination and passion for the diversity of life on earth and can motivate a sense of responsibility to safeguard it."

3. He's unexpectedly hilarious

In this clip from the 1998 BBC series The Life of Birds, an amorous capercaillie (bird) mistakes Attenborough for a love rival. It's an understandable error and it's very funny.

He's also had a rather awkward/hilarious moment with a sloth.

4. He's had 60 years at the top of his field

He's been the face of the BBC's natural history programmes for 60 years.

He's probably most well-known for Life, a nine-part BBC series which comprehensively surveyed all life on the planet.

His latest venture is is Panet Earth II which was released earlier this month.

It's a nature series produced by the BBC as a sequel to the highly successful Planet Earth television series, which aired a decade earlier, in 2006.

The series premiered on 6 November 2016 in the United Kingdom on BBC One and BBC One HD.

5. He always speaks the truth

He's been known to say "I don't run a car, have never run a car. I could say that this is because I have this extremely tender environmentalist conscience, but the fact is I hate driving."

He has also said: "I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored."

Attenborough even had a teeny tiny species of spiders named after him.