Meerkat Makes Movie? New Wildlife Website Launches

A meerkat making a movie? It certainly looks as if this cheeky meerkat wants to take control of that camera doesn't it?

This pic shows a cameraman called Richard Goss having a chat with one of the stars of a hugely popular wildlife film called 'Meerkats United'.

The film was made 20 years ago but you can watch clips on a fantastic new website launched this week.

The website is called WildFilmHistory and we love it. It's an online archive of photos, facts and film clips all about wildlife filmmaking.

We're so used to watching incredible film of wildlife on TV and at the cinema that it's easy to forget just how difficult it is to make those films in the first place.

This is Hans Hass - filming underwater in 1939. Hass was a diving expert as well as a filmmaker... it wasn't just the camera he had to think about!

He made many famous films underwater - filming sharks, whales and all sorts of fishy marvels.

The website has lots of info about the people behind the camera but the bits we love the most are the film clips starring the wildlife.

From scampering spiders and boxing kangaroos filmed over 100 years ago to those cheeky meerkats, an octopus called Dumbo and a polar bear swimming in icy artic waters this is a treasure trove we could explore for hours.

This is Johnny Morris. Most Show Me readers are way too young to remember him but your editor used to love him.

Way back when (not telling you exactly when, that might give away my great age) he had a TV show called Animal Magic.

Johnny used to give the animals voices and pretend they were talking to him... sounds strange but it was very funny.

Many a child wanted to be a zookeeper because of Johnny Morris.

Take a look at this clip: 'Where is Keeper Morris? for a taste of Animal Magic.

WildFilmHistory isn't designed especially for kids but don't be put off - if you like animals you should explore it. Some of the clips take a little while to load (would be best to look at it on broadband) but are worth the wait.

The site is a joint project created by a charity called Wildscreen and ARKive, an online library of wildlife facts, pics and film.

All photos on this page courtesy of Wildscreen.