When it comes to natural history filmmaking, there’s an unspoken rule: no intervening. No matter the scene unfolding in front of you, you do not interfere.
However, this rule has been broken on occasion – most notably, rescuing trapped penguins in Antarctica for Dynasty and a sea lion pup becoming tangled in a fishing net in Planet Earth III.
And while intervening with nature on a wider scale remains controversial, there are examples when humans have done just this – and have ultimately changed things for the better.
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When humans intervened in nature
Yellowstone National Park’s reintroduction of grey wolves
In 1926, the last pack of grey wolves was killed in Yellowstone National Park, USA, triggering a trophic cascade across the ecosystem: with their main predator gone, elk numbers boomed and the land was soon overgrazed. Free from the threat of predation, the elk began to gather near riverbanks more frequently, causing erosion and habitat damage.
In 1995, scientists reintroduced 41 wild wolves to the park – and their return set off a chain of events that helped restore the national park’s natural balance.
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Klamath River dam removal
In October 2024, a decades-long project to remove four hydroelectric dams along the Klamath River in southern Oregon and northern California, USA, was finally completed. It was the largest dam removal in American history and came after decades of campaigning, led by the Yurok, Karuk and Klamath tribes.
The dam had blocked the migration of Chinook salmon, causing the fish population to plummet. It also impacted the water temperature and quality of the Klamath River. But soon after the dam was demolished, conservationists spotted migrating salmon on the river’s tributaries.
You can watch an episode of Our Changing Planet, which documents the dam removal, on BBC iPlayer.
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BBC film crew rescues trapped penguins
In a now-viral clip, a filming team for the BBC natural history series Dynasty were faced with a tough choice in Antarctica: watch around 50 penguins die after being trapped in a ravine, or intervene.
As David Attenborough narrates, “It’s fairly rare for a film crew to intervene. But they realised that they may be able to save at least some of these birds, simply by digging a few steps in the ice.”
Saving a lion from a snare
Snares are often set up by poachers in Zambia to catch impalas, but they also impact other wildlife across the country. In this clip from BBC One’s Kingdom, Godfrey Mwanza from Conservation South Luangwa rushes to free a lion that has been caught in one.
Toad patrols
Each year, volunteers head out into the dark, equipped with headtorches and buckets. Their goal is to help toads safely cross the road.
Toad patrolling in the UK started in Hertfordshire back in 1973, with 203 patrols now operating in communities. The Wildlife Trust estimates that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on UK roads every year, but efforts such as the toad patrols (as well as closing roads during the toads’ breeding season) are thought to reduce the casualty rate.
Throwing puffins off an Icelandic cliff
In Vestmannaeyjabaer, a town on Heimaey (an Icelandic island), the locals have a rather odd tradition: throwing baby puffins off cliffs.
Baby puffins (called pufflings) need to fly from their cliff-side colonies and spend several years at sea, before returning to breed. Pufflings must follow the moonlight, but they are often confused by artificial light and become stranded inland – leaving them at risk to predators.
Locals spend a few weeks in August and September collecting pufflings that have crash-landed – known as the ‘puffin patrol’. Volunteers can record how many pufflings they have found and when, as well as their weights on the official website.
They are then released the following day near the sea, with minimal risk of heading back inland.
Some of the birds are tagged by the Southwest Iceland Nature Research Centre so that their numbers and condition can be monitored on their return.
