David Attenborough's 100th Birthday Celebrated with YouTube Highlights
David Attenborough, the legendary naturalist and broadcaster, turns 100 today. Since the 1950s, he has presented and narrated wildlife documentaries in his calm, reassuring voice. PetaPixel compiled a tribute of his greatest YouTube moments. The list includes his 1978 gorilla encounter during Life on Earth in Rwanda, where baby gorillas removed his shoes; the dramatic iguana vs. snakes sequence from Planet Earth II; his coverage of birds of paradise in Papua New Guinea for Netflix's Our Planet; the great white shark breach filmed in slow motion for Planet Earth in 2006; and a sobering polar bear vs. walrus clip highlighting global warming. Attenborough's documentaries have advanced filming techniques, such as Frozen Planet II's drone footage of orcas hunting seals.
Key facts
- David Attenborough turns 100 on May 8, 2026.
- PetaPixel compiled a tribute of his best YouTube moments.
- His 1978 gorilla encounter in Rwanda involved baby gorillas removing his shoes.
- The iguana vs. snakes sequence from Planet Earth II became a global sensation.
- He covered birds of paradise in Papua New Guinea for Netflix's Our Planet.
- A great white shark breach was filmed in slow motion for Planet Earth in 2006.
- A polar bear vs. walrus clip illustrates the brutality of nature and global warming.
- Frozen Planet II used a drone to film orcas hunting seals.
Entities
Artists
- David Attenborough
Institutions
- PetaPixel
- BBC
- Netflix
Locations
- Rwanda
- Papua New Guinea