SHOWREEL
SAVING LITTLEJOHN
With the 6th mass extinction looming, focusing on saving one species might seem futile. With media attention often focusing on the larger endangered mammals; a mundane nocturnal tree frog, hidden in the Australian bush, could go extinct without anyone knowing. Researchers at The University of Newcastle believe that saving one can save many. This one is the Littlejohn tree frog.
This endangered frog is being devasted with forest fires, chytrid fungus and genetic isolation. At the current rate, this species will be extinct within a decade. But how do researchers stop this species from becoming endangered or left to go extinct? They must research into their past, their present and the possible futures to save this species.
No species should go extinct before ever being known.
CALL OF THE CLIFF
Hermaness, in Unst, is the most northernly headland in the UK. This land is not ruled by us but by gannets. These rugged cliffs offer the perfect environment for a variety of seabirds to make it their home. A steep cliff provides a safe haven for the seabirds with their eggs and offspring being out of reach of predators. The start of Spring brings thousands of birds back to the cliffs for the breeding season ahead. Though the gannets live on land they have become specialised marine hunters. The rich North Sea provides the perfect feeding site; diving at great speeds and to deep depths to secure their food. They compete with each other for food, physically fighting one another.
Far from the chaos below, at the top of the cliffs, the puffins are performing their courtship display, securing social bonds with their mating partner and digging burrows into the cliffs where they will rear their young. For the seabirds living here, the cliffs on Unst are their great provider.