Imagine having at your fingertips access to the planet’s amazing array of fauna along with the insights of one of the world’s most acclaimed naturalists, David Attenborough. At the click of a mouse, you can get acquainted with a whole lot more than just rodents, thanks to BBC’s Online Wildlife Finder. Opening its virtual doors with 370 animals onboard, from the majestic, endangered snow leopard to the tiny jumping spider, the BBC site will add more species daily to create the most extensive web-catalogue of wildlife available to date.
Using both visual and audio means, you’ll be able to experience everything short of petting the animals. Video clips allow viewers to see the animals in their natural habitat, unlike visiting an actual zoo and seeing that Siberian tiger pace back and forth between fenced walls. Complete wildlife profiles, detailing behavior and habitat, allow you to educate yourself, while audio clips reveal sounds and calls of each animal.
Divided into the main categories of the animal kingdom – Mammals, Fish, Birds, etc. – and breaking down into further subspecies, the website is designed for easy navigation, offering a year-round, on-demand, fascinating zoological experience.
“It has always been my hope that, through film-making, I can bring the wonder of the natural world into people’s sitting rooms,” states Attenborough. Through the technology of the Internet, due to the hard work and tireless efforts of naturalists and filmmakers, and thanks to the stunning variety and quantity of animal life itself, humans, in their sitting rooms, can grow in appreciation of the natural world, engendering within them the desire to preserve and protect it for generations to come.
