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New David Attenborough wildlife series to look at the role of parents

A lion cub plays with its father. It has one paw on his face Image source, BBC/Silverback Films/Russ Maclaughlin
Image caption,

A lion cub plays with its father

Sir David Attenborough is back narrating another wildlife programme, this time looking at the role of parents in creatures great and small.

The series - called Parenthood - has taken three years to film and spans across six continents and 23 countries.

The crew captured never-before-seen animal and insect behaviours, as well as rare animals like the Iberian Lynx in Spain.

The six-part series will be filled with adorable baby animals and shows how hard their parents have to work to make sure they thrive in the natural world.

A Hanuman Langur infant is groomed by his mother in Jodphur, IndiaImage source, BBC/Silverback Films/Aaron Sandhu

What is the new David Attenborough series about?

The new series explores the lengths that animals have to go to to keep their young alive.

Series Producer and Director Jeff Wilson said:

"There have been countless programmes on the animal babies, and whilst full of adorable animals, they have missed the fact that the majority of the narrative in raising young lies with the parents.

"The choices they make around the environment they bring their young into, the home they create, the relentless need to provide food, the constant protection from threats, the life experiences that their offspring need to be exposed to before they can become truly independent."

Each episode explores something different like parenting in the ocean, grasslands, freshwater and in the jungle.

An endangered Iberian Lynx mother and her young kitten, central SpainImage source, BBC/Silverback Films/Domingo Garcia Llanos
Image caption,

An endangered Iberian Lynx mother and her young kitten

How was the new David Attenborough series filmed?

The incredible ultra high definition footage was captured over three years - 1,427 days to be precise.

Some of the stories were filmed using new techniques with technology to observe specific behaviour.

To film hippos in Tanzania, the team developed new ways to use Infra-Red technology inside a unit that could drive alongside the mother hippos in the dark.

There were a lot of animals whose parenting behaviour had never been captured on camera before.

One of those species to have never been caught on camera before is the Pheasant-Tailed Jacana.

The series will show its egg rolling and the consequences of caterpillar infestation on its breeding sites.

Western Lowland Gorilla mother carrying her young child through the Gabonese forestImage source, BBC/Silverback Films/Peter Lytle
Image caption,

A Western Lowland Gorilla mother carries her young child through the forest

What animals were filmed in the new David Attenborough series?

As well as the species that have never been caught on camera, Parenthood explores animals and insects we already know and love.

The creatures include lions, hippos, spiders, crabs, dolphins, whales, monkeys and frogs.

The rarest animal to have been filmed was the Iberian Lynx in Spain.

This species is the world's most endangered species of cat, but thanks to conservation efforts numbers are improving.

A father pheasant tailed jacana leads his chick on a foraging trip across a lily pondImage source, BBC/Silverback Films/Prasenjit Choudhury

When does the new David Attenborough series start and how can I watch it?

Parenthood starts on Sunday 3 August on BBC One.

All episodes will also be available on BBC iPlayer.

There are six episodes in the series.