RARE footage of one of the world’s least studied mammals has been captured by a Scottish crew for a new BBC documentary.
Glasgow-based production company Maramedia travelled to the Pantanal wilderness in South America with Royal Zoological Society of Scotland biologist Arnaud Desbiez for Hotel Armadillo.
Narrated by David Attenborough, the film will be shown on BBC2 on April 7 and includes the first footage showing a newborn wild giant armadillo and the first images inside the animal’s burrow.
It also highlights how these underground habitats provide food and shelter for at least 80 other species.
The project was two years in the making and Justin Purefoy, who produced, directed and shot the film, said: “Viewers will never have seen giant armadillos filmed like this before. Rare, solitary, living mostly underground in very remote habitat and emerging only at night makes them extremely challenging to find, let alone film.”
One crew member descended into a six-metre deep burrow to fit a camera and capture the footage, while another had to dive into piranha-filled waters to capture a downed drone needed for aerial shots.
Other challenges involved finding batteries powerful enough to keep motion-triggered cameras and infrared lights running for 48 hours or more, winding cable through trees and day-long hikes carrying heavy kit to seek out the elusive animals.
The film, made for the BBC series Natural World, will air 60 years after Attenborough first introduced UK viewers to the armadillo family during an episode of Zoo Quest.
He has never seen a giant armadillo in the wild and told the team: “I have spent a long time trying to get a giant armadillo and no luck at all and when I see your film I suddenly realise why. They are hardly ever above ground.”
Nigel Pope, co-founder of Maramedia, said the project was only possible thanks to close collaboration with scientists. He said: “We are especially thrilled that a global audience now will have the chance to understand more about the rare and secretive giant armadillo, an eco-system engineer of vital importance.”
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