The Life of Mammals
| The Life of Mammals | |
|---|---|
Region 2 DVD cover
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| Genre | Nature documentary |
| Presented by | David Attenborough |
| Composer(s) |
Dan Jones Ben Salisbury |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 10 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Mike Salisbury |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
BBC Natural History Unit Discovery Channel |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC One |
| Picture format | 16:9 (PAL) |
| Audio format | Stereophonic |
| Original release | 20 November 2002 – 5 February 2003 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | The Life of Birds |
| Followed by | Life in the Undergrowth |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Life of Mammals is a nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the United Kingdom from 20 November 2002.
A study of the evolution and habits of the various mammal species, it was the fourth of Attenborough's specialised surveys following his major trilogy that began with Life on Earth. Each of the ten episodes looks at one (or several closely related) mammal groups and discusses the different facets of their day-to-day existence and their evolutionary origins. All the programmes are of 50 minutes' duration except the last, which extends to 59 minutes.
The series was produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in conjunction with the Discovery Channel. The executive producer was Mike Salisbury and the music was composed by Dan Jones and Ben Salisbury. It was later shown on Animal Planet.
Part of David Attenborough's 'Life' series, it was preceded by The Life of Birds (1998), and followed by Life in the Undergrowth (2005). However, in between the former and this series, David Attenborough presented State of the Planet (2000) and narrated The Blue Planet (2001).
The mammals are such a widespread, varied and successful group of animals that Attenborough had previously devoted no fewer than five episodes of Life on Earth to them. Nevertheless, there was much that remained untold and behaviour that was not hitherto filmed. The Life of Mammals was intended to be his definitive account of the subject.
Attenborough took on the series at the suggestion of the BBC Natural History Unit. The naturalist's wife, Jane, had died in 1997, midway through the making of The Life of Birds, which had caused its postponement. However, Attenborough had been grateful for the fact that there was still work to be done to ensure its completion. Similarly, he was glad of another opportunity to keep himself occupied:
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