This film is part of Free

Wildlife in London

The beginning of a ground-breaking, award-winning documentary series that would lead the way in wildlife photography.

Nature and Science programme 1961 25 mins

Overview

Naturalist Aubrey Buxton presents the first part of a new natural history series looking at the constant struggle for nature to survive in the urban environment; wild flowers flourish on bomb sites and waterfowl in the parks, but the same can't be said for fish in the polluted river Thames. Though not on the scale of some of the series' African adventures, the film provides several dramatic and sometimes brutal sequences.

Survival was broadcast from 1961 to 2001. In 1996, the filmmakers were awarded a BAFTA Special Craft Award.