BBC Earth’s first-ever original documentary commissioned by Blue Ant for service in Canada, Animalogic Presents: Strange Creatures of the Arctic, follows extraordinary mammals and birds as they prepare for the lean winter months. Presented by Animalogic’s Danielle Dufault, wildlife expert and award-winning scientific illustrator, the one-hour documentary travels across Canada and around the globe to explore the evolutionary adaptations that have helped five incredible species thrive in some of the coldest corners of the world. From Arctic foxes to rock and willow ptarmigan birds, Japanese macaque monkeys to wolverines and Siberian musk deer, the documentary provides a greater understanding of the precarious living conditions of these animals, as well as a broader picture of their ecosystems, including the other plants and animals that support their existence. Animalogic Presents: Strange Creatures of the Arctic premieres Monday, August 1 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BBC Earth in Canada. The documentary is also available on BBC Earth via Prime Video, beginning August 1, 2022.
Animalogic Presents: Strange Creatures of the Arctic was inspired by the hit YouTube channel Animalogic of the same name. Also presented by Danielle Dufault, the Animalogic YouTube channel follows the wacky and wonderful world of the animal kingdom and is considered a leading source for natural history information, boasting over 1.7 million subscribers and over 300 million video views.
“Mammals and birds are incredible opportunists. In order to fill available ecological niches in extremely cold conditions, a handful of resilient species have evolved to thrive in the inhospitable North. As shown in the documentary, climate change now threatens the delicate balance resulting from thousands, if not millions of years of evolution,” says Danielle Dufault, Presenter. “Strange Creatures of the Arctic is a natural extension of the Animalogic brand, and I hope it inspires Canadian audiences and encourages them to help protect these fragile arctic and subarctic ecosystems.”
The majority of Animalogic Presents: Strange Creatures of the Arctic was filmed in Canada and sees Danielle visit Churchill, Manitoba to observe Arctic foxes and rock and willow ptarmigan birds keeping warm in -25C. Cameras also visit Kluane National Park, Yukon to watch wolverines survive and thrive in the snow. Internationally, the documentary travels to Nagano Prefecture, Japan to capture macaque monkeys in -15C; and Siberia to examine the Siberian musk deer and how they’ve adapted to survive in -38.3C. Throughout the one-hour special, the cameras capture how the climate crisis has a disproportionate impact on polar regions, and drives home a harsh awareness that we might lose these evolutionary creatures within our lifetimes if there is not a worldwide change in attitudes towards protecting their environments.
Animalogic Presents: Strange Creatures of the Arctic is produced by Blue Ant Media Digital. The presenter and narrator is Danielle Dufault. Dylan Dubeau is the Director, Executive Producer and the Director of Photography. Sue Haas also serves as Executive Producer and Production Supervisor. Andres Salazar is the Script Writer and Sound Recordist. Jim Pitts and Cat Senior are the Editors. The documentary special is overseen by Sam Linton, VP, Head of Original Content, Canadian Media, Blue Ant Media. Distributed by Blue Ant International.
