Typical…I always thought something was wrong with wildlife documentaries…and this ‘sob’ who already made his money speaks out of what the scam artists are doing. But then like most liberals/progressives/democrats/republicans he spoke out the other side of his mouth saying it was okay…so keep ‘paying me’ your hard earned money!!!

No wonder I gave up television a couple years ago…could stand the fakeness of it any longer!

YeahRight on September 29, 2010 at 5:09 pm

The news media and documentaries also try to make Muslims look friendly in the wild. That’s faked, also.

jgrant on September 29, 2010 at 5:19 pm

I believe it is the uncertainity principal in physics that declares that by simply observing an event, you have altered the outcome. This would likely apply here and elsewhere.

Consider the possiblity that policy and lives have been altered as a consequence of actions of this nature. Buck published a book of fiction, “Silent Spring”, and as a consequence 50 million people lost their lives to malaria as a result of the elimination of DDT.

David on September 29, 2010 at 5:26 pm

Good point on the DDT. Liberals wanna feeeeel good, It don’t matter if they DO good.

I’m as animal’s rights as it gets, but I hate these liars and scammers. I’m for treating animals with respect NOT lying to get what you want.

Skunky on September 29, 2010 at 5:34 pm

Those buggary charlatans! People ruin everything!

(Cynthia McFadden looks stunning again…a few years back she was looking bedraggled…and I wondered what was up w/that!)

Skunky on September 29, 2010 at 5:47 pm

Then there’s that classic 1958 Walt Disney film — “White Wilderness.” It was filmed in Alberta, Canada. And it’s the film which show Lemmings hurling themselves over a cliff…which, of course, would never happen in the wild — and was accomplished by the film crew pushing the little critters over the edge…(I’ve also heard about similar things with that Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom tv series.)

J.S. on September 29, 2010 at 5:55 pm

In nature, it is unlikely that you will encounter anything at all, aside from birds or squirrels unless you are very, very lucky or unlucky depending upon the situation. It is best to think of nature programs as reality shows, with all of the attendant fakery.

worry01 on September 29, 2010 at 6:04 pm

I like seeing the fakes exposed. Not too shocking though. Liberals being frauds.

Samurai on September 29, 2010 at 6:59 pm

*shakes head* Dammit. So the psychonuts have even infected wildlife programs, one of the few things that I loved watching on TV.

I told you all the psychonuts are trying a 100% take over of each and every aspect of our lives.

Squirrel3D on September 29, 2010 at 9:31 pm

Yeah, some of those shows look about as real as Pro Wrestling (Geraldo where are you when we need you?) When the host just happens to ‘run into’ the biggest freakin’ snake in the jungle and the camera is there in perfect position to catch it all…yeah right. So OK, some scenes would not be possible without a bit of human intervention, but lemming suicide? Who’s the genius who came up that?!!
Staged scenes I can somewhat understand, but I hate being lied to by someone with an agenda. Oh oh!…gotta go now. There’s some poor helpless polar bear stuck on a melting ice float… oh the horror!

theShadow on September 29, 2010 at 10:03 pm

I saw a story of a man who owned thousands of acres of woods where the deer were never hunted. Never. They grew huge antlers as they grew old. He would take pictures of these bucks and sell the pictures to magazines like Outdoor Life and Field and Stream who would put them on their covers. I was shattered. I’ve never looked at a hunting magazine the same way since.

David on September 30, 2010 at 7:03 am

It’s not that surprising when you think about it. Media is chock full of sensationalism, marketing gloss, fabrications, embellishments. Animal documentaries are a product, not science.

Agen T. on September 30, 2010 at 9:12 am

Lied about DDT to get their way…check
Forged scientific data to support their position…check
Suppressed contradictory evidence that would harm their position…check
Forged wildlife scenes and lied to theater patrons in documentaries…check

Yep, the left lies about pretty much everything. No integrity here folks, keep moving. I like the allusion made by ABC that the ends justify the means though. I mean, blatant lying can be justified so long as I can make you care about something through deception and isn’t that what’s really important? Sure, it may be manipulation, but it is justified manipulation.

Pardon me while I go to throw up.

William Stout on September 30, 2010 at 11:16 am

fyi: I could not play embedded video on my browser; not sure problem. Here is link (not positive the same) for video at youtube: Deception in Animal Documentaries http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j06RwPEOWgQ is 9 min.

M-B on September 30, 2010 at 1:03 pm

The media LIED??!!……What a shocker!!!

Lee in IL on September 30, 2010 at 3:57 pm

I stopped watching ABC and the rest of the alphabet channels way back when Stoned Phillips and Jane Pauley (was it?) staged their own fakery by planting explosives and using them to blow up rolling over pick-up trucks.

MrC_5150 on September 30, 2010 at 9:16 pm

This is just another example of comercializing an important subject matter (in this case nature) for pure profit taking.
I do however know of nature photographers and film makers who actually spend years in the wild documenting authentic wild life scenes without any artificial manipulations.

Raanan Gilboa on September 30, 2010 at 10:53 pm

This neither surprises nor bothers me.

All that’s missing is a short visible disclaimer stating “some scenes are coordinated or dramatized for effect.”

As long as they don’t make up facts which are not the reality within nature, this is reasonable, unless such a film is claimed to be a pure research study.

Shy Guy on October 3, 2010 at 3:26 pm