A new four-part Channel 5 TV series is set to showcase the landscapes and wildlife of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. The first episode of the four week series will be broadcast on Tuesday, November 10 at 8pm.
Loch Lomond
“Loch Lomond: A Year in the Wild” will capture the changing seasons in the magnificent landscapes in the Loch Lomond area. The documentary features some of Scotland’s finest wildlife including golden eagles, black grouse, red deer, ospreys and mountain hares.
The first episode “Spring – the season of new life”, offers a rare glimpse into the lives of secretive species such as black grouse which are filmed fighting for the right to mate in a spectacular dance called the ‘lek’.
Speaking about the series, Simon Jones, Director of Conservation and Visitor Operations at Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park, said: “Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park is blessed with jaw-dropping landscapes that are home to some of the country’s finest wildlife. We worked closely with the production company, Tigress, on the series for more than a year, using our local knowledge and specialist expertise to help them capture the National Park’s native wildlife. We are thrilled that Channel 5 viewers will get a fascinating insight into a world our Rangers are fortunate enough to see on a regular basis.
“As part of our commitment to protecting and enhancing this very special National Park last year we launched Wild Park 2020, our nature conservation action plan that includes more than 90 projects dedicated to protecting landscapes and species.”
The National Park says that work has already started to deliver some of the key projects listed in Wild Park including:
· Red squirrel conservation – the Park is working to safeguard red squirrel populations by creating good habitat free from grey squirrels.
· Black grouse conservation. Black grouse in Scotland are threatened for a number of reasons including habitat loss, climate change and predation. The Park says it is working with farmers, gamekeepers and wildlife managers to protect this important species.
· Mountain bog restoration – it is estimated that bogs in the National Park store 16200 million tonnes of carbon.
· Invasive non-native plants like Rhododendron are really good at taking over, so there’s no room for our native plants to survive. The Park is working in partnership with landowners, volunteers, fishery trusts and government agencies to help reduce the extent and damaging impact of these plants and where possible remove them completely, allowing native plants to flourish.
· Woodland habitat – a native woodland corridor stretching along the east shores of Loch Lomond towards Strathyre is being created by a partnership of organisations. Connecting woodland is important for our wildlife, allowing it to move more freely around.
The series makers say it has been filmed using state of the art technology including macro cameras for the insects, mini-cams for the nests, underwater cameras for the lochs and coastlines, time lapses and drones carrying cameras which can fly just inches above the ground.
Simon Raikes, Factual Commissioner at Channel 5 said “Who thought Britain could look so fabulous? Or that British wildlife could seem so exotic? I defy anyone not to marvel at the majesty of the setting, nor to be fascinated by the extraordinary lives, births, couplings and deaths of its fabulous animal inhabitants.”
Dick Colthurst, executive producer at Tigress Productions said “We’re so used to watching nature films shot in exotic parts of the world there’s a real danger we overlook how amazing our own wildlife is. Loch Lomond is home to an astonishing range of spectacular animals each battling to survive in one of Britain’s most beautiful wild places.”