View source for Biography:David Attenborough

{{Short description|British broadcaster and naturalist (born 1926)}}
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{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix   = Sir
| name               = David Attenborough
| honorific_suffix   = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OM|GCMG|CH|CVO|CBE|FRS|FSA|FRSA|FLS|FZS|FRSGS|FRSB|HonFLI}}
| image              = Weston Library Opening by John Cairns 20.3.15-139 David Attenborough.jpg
| caption            = Attenborough at the opening of the Weston&nbsp;Library in 2015
| birth_name         = David Frederick Attenborough
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|df=y|1926|5|8}}
| birth_place        = Isleworth, Middlesex, England
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| years_active       = 1951–present
| education          = {{plainlist|
* [[Organization:Clare College, Cambridge|Clare College, Cambridge]] (MA)
* [[Organization:London School of Economics|London School of Economics]]
}}
| occupation         = {{flatlist|
* [[Engineering:Broadcasting|Broadcaster]]
* [[Earth:Natural history|naturalist]]
* presenter
}}
| awards             = {{plainlist|
* Cherry Kearton Medal and Award (1972)
* BAFTA Fellowship (1980)
* Kalinga Prize (1981)
* Knight Bachelor (1985)
* Kew International Medal (1996)<ref name=seb>{{cite web |url=https://www.kew.org/about-our-organisation/press-media/press-releases/ethiopia%E2%80%99s-prof-sebsebe-demissew-awarded |title=Ethiopia's Prof. Sebsebe Demissew awarded prestigious Kew International Medal |website=Kew.org |access-date=16 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517100234/https://www.kew.org/about-our-organisation/press-media/press-releases/ethiopia%E2%80%99s-prof-sebsebe-demissew-awarded |archive-date=17 May 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* International Cosmos Prize (2000)
* [[Biology:RSPB Medal|RSPB Medal]] (2000)
* Michael Faraday Prize (2003)
* José Vasconcelos World Award of Education (2004)
* Descartes Prize (2004)
* Nierenberg Prize (2005)
* Princess of Asturias Award (2009)
* Fonseca Prize (2010)
}}
| title              = {{plainlist|
* Controller of BBC2 (1965–1969)
* President of the Royal Society for Nature Conservation (1991–1996)
}}
| spouse             = {{marriage|Jane Ebsworth Oriel|1950|1997|reason=died}}
| children           = 2
| father             = Frederick Attenborough
| relatives          = {{plainlist|
* Richard Attenborough (brother)
* John Attenborough (brother)
* Sheila Sim (sister-in-law)
* Michael Attenborough (nephew)
* Jane Attenborough (niece)
* Charlotte Attenborough (niece)
* Tom Attenborough (great-nephew)
* Will Attenborough (great-nephew)
}}
| footnotes          = 
| module             = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Sir David Attenborough BBC Radio4 Desert Island Discs 29 Jan 2012 b01b8yy0.flac|title=David Attenborough's voice|type=speech|description=from the BBC Radio 4 programme ''[[Desert Island Discs]]''}}
| signature          = David Attenborough's signature.svg
| signature_size     = 200px
}}
'''Sir David Frederick Attenborough''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|t|ən|b|ə|r|ə}}; born 8 May 1926) is a British [[Engineering:Broadcasting|broadcaster]], [[Biologist|biologist]], natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural history documentary series forming the ''Life'' collection, a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth.

Attenborough was a senior manager at the BBC, having served as controller of BBC Two and director of programming for BBC Television in the 1960s and 1970s. First becoming prominent as host of ''Zoo Quest'' in 1954, his filmography as writer, presenter and narrator has spanned eight decades; it includes ''Natural World'', ''Wildlife on One'', the ''Planet Earth'' franchise, ''The Blue Planet'' and its sequel. He is the only person to have won BAFTA Awards in black and white, [[Engineering:Color television|colour]], [[Engineering:High-definition video|high-definition]], [[Digital 3D|3D]] and [[4K resolution|4K resolution]]. Over his life he has collected dozens of honorary degrees and awards, including three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Narration.

While Attenborough's earlier work focused primarily on the wonders of the natural world, his later work has been more vocal in support of environmental causes. He has advocated for restoring planetary [[Biology:Biodiversity|biodiversity]], [[Earth:Human population planning|limiting population growth]], switching to [[Engineering:Renewable energy|renewable energy]], [[Earth:Climate change mitigation|mitigating climate change]], reducing meat consumption, and setting aside more areas for natural preservation.

On his broadcasting and passion for nature, NPR stated Attenborough "roamed the globe and shared his discoveries and enthusiasms with his patented semi-whisper way of narrating".<ref name="NPR review">{{cite news |title=Attenborough's Journey' Salutes The Broadcaster With A Passion For Nature |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/07/994596345/attenboroughs-journey-salutes-the-broadcaster-with-a-passion-for-nature |access-date=3 July 2021 |publisher=NPR |archive-date=30 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630123722/https://www.npr.org/2021/05/07/994596345/attenboroughs-journey-salutes-the-broadcaster-with-a-passion-for-nature |url-status=live}}</ref> He is widely considered a [[Social:National treasure|national treasure]] in the UK, although he himself does not embrace the term.<ref>{{cite web |last=Waldemayer |first=Winston |url=https://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/01/eye-burrowing-worms-national-t.html |title=Short Sharp Science: Eye-burrowing worms, national treasures... and creationism |work=New Scientist |date=28 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303002041/https://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2009/01/eye-burrowing-worms-national-t.html |archive-date=3 March 2009 |access-date=17 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/4413130/Sir-David-Attenborough-Man-was-given-permission-to-exploit-the-natural-world-by-the-Bible.html |title=Sir David Attenborough: 'Man was given permission to exploit the natural world by the Bible' |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=31 January 2009 |access-date=6 October 2014 |location=London |first=Paul |last=Kendall |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141003112012/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/4413130/Sir-David-Attenborough-Man-was-given-permission-to-exploit-the-natural-world-by-the-Bible.html |archive-date=3 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2982907/Margaret-Thatcher-Richard-Branson-and-Judi-Dench-picked-as-National-Treasures.html |title=Margaret Thatcher, Richard Branson and Judi Dench picked as National Treasures |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=18 September 2008 |location=London |access-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008095312/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2982907/Margaret-Thatcher-Richard-Branson-and-Judi-Dench-picked-as-National-Treasures.html |archive-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> He is the younger brother of the director, producer and actor Richard Attenborough,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.richardattenborough.com/Biography/ |title=Richard Attenborough's official website: Biography |publisher=Richardattenborough.com |access-date=2 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715182913/http://www.richardattenborough.com/Biography/ |archive-date=15 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and older brother of the motor executive John Attenborough.<ref name=":4" />

==Life and family==
David Frederick Attenborough was born on 8 May 1926 in Isleworth, Middlesex,<ref name=whoswho>{{Who's Who | author=Anon| title=Attenborough, Sir David (Frederick) | id = U5973 | year = 2015 | edition = online [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.5973}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/42130/Sir-David-Attenborough |title=Sir David Attenborough (English broadcaster and author) |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=26 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409032823/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/42130/Sir-David-Attenborough |archive-date=9 April 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> and grew up in College House on the campus of the [[Organization:University of Leicester|University of Leicester]], where his father, Frederick, was [[Social:Principal (academia)|principal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.le.ac.uk/careers/collegehouse.html |title=History of College House |access-date=24 September 2006 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060924005526/http://www.le.ac.uk/careers/collegehouse.html |archive-date=24 September 2006}}</ref> He is the middle of three sons; his elder brother, Richard (died in 2014), became an actor and director, and his younger brother, John (died in 2012), was an executive at the Italian car manufacturer [[Company:Alfa Romeo|Alfa Romeo]].<ref name=":4">{{cite web |last1=Robinson |first1=David |title=Remembering Richard Attenborough |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/remembering-richard-attenborough |publisher=British Film Institute |access-date=14 February 2017 |date=2 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705051641/http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/remembering-richard-attenborough |archive-date=5 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> During the Second World War, through a British volunteer network known as the Refugee Children's Movement, his parents also fostered two Jewish refugee girls from Germany.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/the-children-britain-took-to-its-heart-1.8535?highlight=attenborough |title=The children Britain took to its heart |work=The Jewish Chronicle |date=2 April 2009 |access-date=18 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170818091145/https://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/the-children-britain-took-to-its-heart-1.8535?highlight=attenborough |archive-date=18 August 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Attenborough spent his childhood collecting [[Biology:Fossil|fossil]]s, stones, and natural specimens.<ref name="BAFTA Guru">{{cite web |url=http://guru.bafta.org/david-attenborough-life-television |title=David Attenborough: A Life in Television |work=BAFTA Guru |date=19 May 2009 |access-date=18 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801192215/http://guru.bafta.org/david-attenborough-life-television |archive-date=1 August 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He received encouragement when a young Jacquetta Hawkes admired his collection.<ref name="Hitchhiker">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/plain/A20218628 |title=Sir David Attenborough – Naturalist |publisher=BBC |access-date=26 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328212319/http://h2g2.com/dna/h2g2/plain/A20218628 |archive-date=28 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> He spent much time in the grounds of the university. Aged around 11, he heard that the zoology department needed a large supply of [[Biology:Newt|newt]]s, which he offered through his father to supply for 3d each. The source, which he did not reveal at the time, was a pond right next to the department.<ref name=merc>{{cite news |url=http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Picture-day-12-Leicester-celebs-famous/story-20596134-detail/story.html |title=Picture of the day: Leicester celebs, before they were famous |work=Leicester Mercury |date=11 February 2014 |access-date=11 February 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222033240/http://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/Picture-day-12-Leicester-celebs-famous/story-20596134-detail/story.html |archive-date=22 February 2014}}</ref> A year later, his adoptive sister Marianne gave him a piece of [[Earth:Amber|amber]] containing prehistoric creatures; some sixty years later, it would be the focus of his programme ''[[Earth:The Amber Time Machine|The Amber Time Machine]].''<ref name=amber>{{cite news |title=Jewel of the Earth |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3305_jewel.html |access-date=2 July 2021 |publisher=PBS |archive-date=3 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603022425/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/3305_jewel.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1936, Attenborough and his brother Richard attended a lecture by Grey Owl (Archibald Belaney) at De Montfort Hall, Leicester, and were influenced by his advocacy of conservation. According to Richard, David was "bowled over by the man's determination to save the beaver, by his profound knowledge of the flora and fauna of the Canadian wilderness and by his warnings of ecological disaster should the delicate balance between them be destroyed. The idea that mankind was endangering nature by recklessly despoiling and plundering its riches was unheard of at the time, but it is one that has remained part of Dave's own credo to this day."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Robinson|first1=David|date=2 September 2014|title=Remembering Richard Attenborough|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/remembering-richard-attenborough|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705051641/http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/remembering-richard-attenborough|archive-date=5 July 2017|access-date=14 February 2017|publisher=British Film Institute}}</ref> In 1999, Richard directed a biopic of Belaney entitled ''Grey Owl''.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/oct/27/culture.features1 |title=Animal Magic:Richard Attenborough on the Life and Times of Grey Owl |last=Attenborough |first=Richard |date=26 October 2000 |work={{wipe|The Guardian}} |access-date=16 July 2014 |location=London |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725205221/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/oct/27/culture.features1 |archive-date=25 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Attenborough was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite news |author1=Rebecca Tyrrel |title=David Attenborough: in the beginning |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8090747/David-Attenborough-in-the-beginning.html |access-date=26 May 2016 |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=29 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510133918/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8090747/David-Attenborough-in-the-beginning.html |archive-date=10 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> He won a scholarship to [[Organization:Clare College, Cambridge|Clare College, Cambridge]] in 1945 to study geology and zoology and obtained a degree in [[Natural science|natural science]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.clarealumni.com/s/845/file_lib/1/1/clarenews11_633540413018489651.pdf |title=Cover.Qxd |access-date=4 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708163043/http://www.clarealumni.com/s/845/file_lib/1/1/clarenews11_633540413018489651.pdf |archive-date=8 July 2011}}</ref> In 1947, he was called up for national service in the Royal Navy and spent two years stationed in North Wales and the Firth of Forth.<ref name="Hitchhiker" /> In 1950, Attenborough married Jane Elizabeth Ebsworth Oriel. The couple had two children, Robert and Susan. Jane died in 1997.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rushin |first1=Tess |title=What you need to know about Sir David Attenborough |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/who-is-sir-david-attenborough-1345596 |work=LeicestershireLive |date=16 April 2018 |access-date=22 August 2021 |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822064644/https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/celebs-tv/who-is-sir-david-attenborough-1345596 |url-status=live}}</ref> Robert is a senior lecturer in [[Biology:Biological anthropology|bioanthropology]] for the School of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Australian National University in [[Place:Canberra|Canberra]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Dr Robert Attenborough |url=https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/attenborough-rd |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406235803/https://researchers.anu.edu.au/researchers/attenborough-rd |archive-date=6 April 2016 |access-date=22 August 2021 |website=School of Archaeology & Anthropology – ANU |publisher=Arts.anu.edu.au}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Canberra has marvellous facilities |url=http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-has-marvellous-facilities-20130525-2n47w.html |access-date=9 July 2016 |work=The Canberra Times |date=26 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911092633/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-has-marvellous-facilities-20130525-2n47w.html |archive-date=11 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Susan is a former primary school headmistress.<ref name="Telegraph" />

Attenborough had a [[Artificial cardiac pacemaker|pacemaker]] fitted in June 2013 as well as a double [[Medicine:Knee replacement|knee replacement]] in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Murphy |first=Claire |date=2016-11-06 |title=Sir David Attenborough reveals he's got a 'new lease of life' at 90 |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/sir-dave-attenborough-reveals-pacemaker-9194114 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161108173203/https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/sir-david-attenborough-lease-life-9194114 |archive-date=2016-11-08 |access-date=2020-04-14 |website=The Mirror |language=en}}</ref> In September 2013, he commented: "If I was earning my money by hewing coal I would be very glad indeed to stop. But I'm not. I'm swanning round the world looking at the most fabulously interesting things. Such good fortune."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Meikle|first1=James|date=10 September 2013|title=Sir David Attenborough warns against large families and predicts things will only get worse|newspaper=The Guardian|publisher=The Guardian news group|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/sep/10/david-attenborough-human-evolution-stopped|url-status=live|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211131905/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/sep/10/david-attenborough-human-evolution-stopped|archive-date=11 February 2017}}</ref>

==Career==
===Early years at the BBC===
After leaving the navy, Attenborough took a position editing children's science textbooks for a publishing company. He soon became disillusioned with the work and in 1950 applied for a job as a radio talk producer with the BBC.<ref name="Life on Air, p.13"/> Although he was rejected for this job, his CV later attracted the interest of Mary Adams, head of the Talks (factual broadcasting) department of the BBC's fledgling television service.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fara |first1=Patricia |title=A Lab of One's Own: Science and Suffrage in the First World War |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=266}}</ref> Attenborough, like most Britons at that time, did not own a television, and he had seen only one programme in his life.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Attenborough, David |title=Life on Air |publisher=BBC Books |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-563-53461-7}} pp. 10–11.</ref>

He accepted Adams' offer of a three-month training course. In 1952 he joined the BBC full-time. Initially discouraged from appearing on camera because Adams thought his teeth were too big,<ref name="Life on Air, p.13">''Life on Air'', p.13.</ref> he became a producer for the Talks department, which handled all non-fiction broadcasts. His early projects included the quiz show ''Animal, Vegetable, Mineral?'' and ''Song Hunter,'' a series about [[Social:Folk music|folk music]] presented by Alan Lomax.<ref name="Life on Air, p.13"/>

Attenborough's association with natural history programmes began when he produced and presented the three-part series ''Animal Patterns.'' The studio-bound programme featured animals from London Zoo, with the naturalist [[Biography:Julian Huxley|Julian Huxley]] discussing their use of [[Biology:Camouflage|camouflage]], [[Earth:Aposematism|aposematism]] and [[Biology:Courtship display|courtship display]]s. Through this programme, Attenborough met Jack Lester, the curator of the zoo's reptile house, and they decided to make a series about an animal-collecting expedition. The result was ''Zoo Quest,'' first broadcast in 1954, where Attenborough became the presenter at short notice due to Lester being taken ill.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/david-attenborough-used-to-steal-the-animals-he-found-in-the-jungle-and-take-them-home/ |title=David Attenborough used to steal the animals he found in the jungle and take them home |first=James |last=Walton |date=21 May 2016 |magazine=The Spectator |access-date=8 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408234820/https://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/david-attenborough-used-to-steal-the-animals-he-found-in-the-jungle-and-take-them-home/ |archive-date=8 April 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1957, the BBC Natural History Unit was formally established in Bristol. Attenborough was asked to join it, but declined, not wishing to move from London where he and his young family were settled. Instead, he formed his own department, the Travel and Exploration Unit,<ref name="Life on Air, pp.60–61">''Life on Air'', pp. 60–61.</ref> which allowed him to continue to front ''Zoo Quest'' as well as produce other documentaries, notably the ''Travellers' Tales'' and ''Adventure'' series.<ref name="Life on Air, pp.60–61"/> In the early 1960s, Attenborough resigned from the permanent staff of the BBC to study for a postgraduate degree in [[Social:Social anthropology|social anthropology]] at the [[Organization:London School of Economics|London School of Economics]], interweaving his study with further filming.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/helpers/force-download.php?file=pdf/David_Attenborough.pdf |title=Transcript of interview with David Attenborough |access-date=4 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202034238/http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/helpers/force-download.php?file=pdf%2FDavid_Attenborough.pdf |archive-date=2 December 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> However, he accepted an invitation to return to the BBC as controller of BBC Two before he could finish the degree.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://uk.businessinsider.com/famous-alumni-from-lse-2015-10/#mick-jagger-was-studying-at-lse-when-he-began-playing-with-the-rolling-stones-in-1961-at-first-he-played-with-the-stones-just-on-weekends-and-attended-classes-during-the-week-but-he-ultimately-dropped-out-to-pursue-his-music-career-2 |title=These 18 insanely successful people all went to the London School of Economics |website=Business Insider |access-date=17 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526073843/http://uk.businessinsider.com/famous-alumni-from-lse-2015-10#mick-jagger-was-studying-at-lse-when-he-began-playing-with-the-rolling-stones-in-1961-at-first-he-played-with-the-stones-just-on-weekends-and-attended-classes-during-the-week-but-he-ultimately-dropped-out-to-pursue-his-music-career-2 |archive-date=26 May 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===BBC administration===
Attenborough became Controller of BBC Two in March 1965, succeeding Michael Peacock.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/archive/article/1965-03-05/6/1.html |title=Mr. David Attenborough is New B.B.C.-2 Head |work=The Times |date=5 March 1965 |access-date=20 June 2021 |page=6 |archive-date=24 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205850/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/archive/article/1965-03-05/6/1.html |url-status=live}}{{subscription required}}</ref> He had a clause inserted in his contract that would allow him to continue making programmes on an occasional basis. Later the same year he filmed elephants in Tanzania, and in 1969 he made a three-part series on the cultural history of the Indonesian island of [[Place:Bali|Bali]]. For the 1971 film ''A Blank on the Map'', he joined the first Western expedition to a remote highland valley in New Guinea to seek out a lost tribe.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03smb54 |title=BBC Two – Attenborough's Passion Projects, A Blank on the Map, First contact with the Biami tribe in 1971 |date=4 May 2016 |publisher=BBC |access-date=22 August 2021 |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822090544/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03smb54 |url-status=live}}</ref>

BBC Two was launched in 1964, but had struggled to capture the public's imagination. When Attenborough arrived as controller, he quickly abolished the channel's quirky kangaroo mascot and shook up the schedule. With a mission to make BBC Two's output diverse and different from that offered by other networks, he began to establish a portfolio of programmes that defined the channel's identity for decades to come. Under his tenure, music, the arts, entertainment, archaeology, experimental comedy, travel, drama, sport, business, science and natural history all found a place in the weekly schedules. Often, an eclectic mix was offered within a single evening's viewing. Programmes he commissioned included ''Man Alive'', ''Call My Bluff'', ''Chronicle'', ''Match of the Day'', ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'', ''[[Philosophy:Monty Python's Flying Circus|Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' and ''The Money Programme''.<ref>{{cite news |title=David Attenborough: a fine specimen |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/mar/03/davidattenboroughafinespec |access-date=15 September 2019 |work=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708225157/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/mar/03/davidattenboroughafinespec |archive-date=8 July 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> With the addition of colour television, Attenborough brought snooker to the BBC to show the benefits of the format, as the sport uses coloured balls.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://wst.tv/wpbsa/history-of-snooker/ |title=History of Snooker |website=World Snooker |access-date=22 August 2021 |archive-date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815075857/https://wst.tv/wpbsa/history-of-snooker/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The show – ''Pot Black'' – was later credited with the boom of the sport into the 1980s.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sports around the World: History, Culture, and Practice |page=191 |author=John Nauright |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2012 |isbn=978-1598843019}}</ref>

One of his most significant decisions was to order a 13-part series on the history of Western art, to show off the quality of the new UHF colour television service that BBC Two offered. Broadcast to universal acclaim in 1969, ''Civilisation'' set the blueprint for landmark authored documentaries, which were informally known as "sledgehammer" projects.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/oct/22/david-attenborough-climate-change-bbc |title=The real David Attenborough |date=22 October 2019 |website=The Guardian |access-date=23 August 2021 |archive-date=23 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823195442/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/oct/22/david-attenborough-climate-change-bbc |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Hearn |first=Marcus |title=Civilisation |year=2005 |location=London |publisher=BBC |oclc=778343652 |page=16}}</ref> Others followed, including [[Biography:Jacob Bronowski|Jacob Bronowski]]'s ''[[Biology:The Ascent of Man|The Ascent of Man]]'' (also commissioned by Attenborough), and Alistair Cooke's ''America''. Attenborough thought that the story of evolution would be a natural subject for such a series. He shared his idea with Christopher Parsons, a producer at the Natural History Unit, who came up with a title ''Life on Earth'' and returned to Bristol to start planning the series. Attenborough harboured a strong desire to present the series himself, but this would not be possible so long as he remained in a management post.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chris Parsons |work=The Telegraph |date=27 November 2002 |access-date=22 August 2021 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1414374/Chris-Parsons.html |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822160731/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1414374/Chris-Parsons.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

While in charge of BBC Two, Attenborough turned down Terry Wogan's job application to be a presenter on the channel, stating that there weren't any suitable vacancies. The channel already had an Irish announcer, with Attenborough reflecting in 2016: "To have had two Irishmen presenting on BBC Two would have looked ridiculous. This is no comment whatsoever on Terry Wogan's talents."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/david-attenborough-rebuffed-terry-wogans-bbc-presenter-job-application-because-they-had-an-irish-announcer-34436348.html |title=David Attenborough 'rebuffed' Terry Wogan's BBC presenter job application because they had an Irish announcer |first=Kerri-Ann |last=Roper |work=Irish Independent |date=9 February 2016 |access-date=9 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160210093803/http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/david-attenborough-rebuffed-terry-wogans-bbc-presenter-job-application-because-they-had-an-irish-announcer-34436348.html |archive-date=10 February 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Attenborough has also acknowledged that he sanctioned the [[Engineering:Lost television broadcast#Wiping|wiping]] of television output during this period to cut costs, including a series by Alan Bennett, which he later regretted.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10784285/David-Attenborough-my-regrets-over-wiping-Alan-Bennett-dross.html |title=David Attenborough: my regrets over wiping Alan Bennett 'dross' |work=The Telegraph |date=24 April 2014 |access-date=8 April 2018 |last1=Furness |first1=Hannah |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409090437/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10784285/David-Attenborough-my-regrets-over-wiping-Alan-Bennett-dross.html |archive-date=9 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1969, Attenborough was promoted to director of programmes, making him responsible for the output of both BBC channels.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/nine-astonishing-ways-david-attenborough-shaped-your-world/z4k2kmn|title=Nine astonishing ways David Attenborough shaped your world|website=BBC Teach|access-date=31 October 2021|archive-date=31 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031201515/https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/nine-astonishing-ways-david-attenborough-shaped-your-world/z4k2kmn|url-status=live}}</ref> His tasks, which included agreeing budgets, attending board meetings and firing staff, were now far removed from the business of filming programmes. When Attenborough's name was being suggested as a candidate for the position of Director-General of the BBC in 1972, he phoned his brother Richard to confess that he had no appetite for the job. Early the following year, he left his post to return to full-time programme-making, leaving him free to write and present the planned natural history epic.<ref name="BAFTA Guru"/>

After his resignation, Attenborough became a freelance broadcaster and started work on his next project, a trip to Indonesia with a crew from the Natural History Unit. It resulted in the 1973 series ''Eastwards with Attenborough'', which was similar in tone to the earlier ''Zoo Quest''; the main difference was the introduction of colour. Attenborough stated that he wanted to work in Asia, because previous nature documentaries had mostly focused on Africa.<ref>{{cite book |first=Jean-Baptiste |last=Gouyon |title=BBC Wildlife Documentaries in the Age of Attenborough |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2019 |isbn=978-3-030-19981-4 |pages=201–212}}</ref> That year, Attenborough was invited to deliver the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on ''The Language of Animals''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The languages of animals |url=https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/watch/1973/the-languages-of-animals |url-status=live |access-date=21 August 2021 |website=The Royal Institution |date=December 1973 |archive-date=21 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821200021/https://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/watch/1973/the-languages-of-animals}}</ref> After his work on ''Eastwards with Attenborough'', he began to work on the scripts for ''Life on Earth''.<ref name="ftvdb.bfi.org.uk">{{cite web |url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/67588?view=credit |title=BFI Fil and TV Database Attenborough |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117024717/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/individual/67588?view=credit |archive-date=17 January 2009}}</ref>

Due to the scale of his ambition, the BBC decided to partner with an American network to secure the necessary funding. While the negotiations were proceeding, he worked on a number of other television projects. He presented a series on tribal art (''The Tribal Eye'', 1975) and another on the voyages of discovery (''The Explorers'', 1975).<ref name="ftvdb.bfi.org.uk"/> He presented a BBC children's series about [[Biology:Cryptozoology|cryptozoology]] entitled ''Fabulous Animals'' (1975), which featured mythical creatures such as [[Unsolved:Mermaid|mermaid]]s and unicorns.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gately |first=Martin |url=http://www.forteantimes.com/features/articles/101/attenboroughs_fabulous_animals.html |title=Fortean Times episode guide to ''Fabulous Animals'' |publisher=Forteantimes.com |date=1 April 2006 |access-date=4 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827065546/http://www.forteantimes.com/features/articles/101/attenboroughs_fabulous_animals.html |archive-date=27 August 2009}}</ref> Eventually, the BBC signed a co-production deal with Turner Broadcasting and ''Life on Earth'' moved into production in 1976.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Life On Earth |publisher=BBC |access-date=22 August 2021 |url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/january/life-on-earth |archive-date=9 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109111318/https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/january/life-on-earth |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1979, he visited China and reported to the West for the first time about China's one-child policy.<ref>[https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-02/david-attenborough-and-chinas-one-child-policy/102793902 China's One Child Policy was a secret from the West. Then David Attenborough asked one question]</ref>

=== ''Life'' series ===
Beginning with ''Life on Earth'' in 1979, Attenborough set about creating a body of work which became a benchmark of quality in wildlife film-making, and influenced a generation of documentary film-makers. The series established many of the hallmarks of the BBC's natural history output. By treating his subject seriously and researching the latest discoveries, Attenborough and his production team gained the trust of scientists, who responded by allowing him to feature their subjects in his programmes.<ref>{{cite book |author=Attenborough, David |title=Life on Air |publisher=BBC Books |year=2002 |isbn=0-563-48780-1 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeonair00atte}} pp. 289–291.</ref>

Innovation was another factor in ''Life on Earth''{{'s}} success: new film-making techniques were devised to get the shots Attenborough wanted, with a focus on events and animals that were up till then unfilmed. International air travel enabled the series to be devised so that Attenborough visited several locations around the globe in each episode, sometimes even changing continents in one sequence. Although appearing as the on-screen presenter, he restricted his time on camera to give more time to his subjects.<ref>{{Cite AV media |people=Miles Barton (director), David Attenborough (presenter), Alastair Fothergill (executive producer) |title=Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild, Episode 1, Life on Camera |year=2012 |publisher=BBC |format=documentary |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00zsqsz}}</ref>

Five years after the success of ''Life on Earth'', the BBC released ''The Living Planet''.{{Sfn|Gouyon|2019|p=233}} This time, Attenborough built his series around the theme of ecology, the adaptations of living things to their environment. It was another critical and commercial success, generating huge international sales for the BBC. In 1990, ''The Trials of Life'' completed the original Life trilogy, looking at [[Biology:Ethology|animal behaviour]] through the different stages of life.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/october/trials-of-life |title=The Trials of Life |access-date=5 September 2021 |archive-date=17 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417084551/https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/october/trials-of-life |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the 1990s, Attenborough continued to use the "Life" title for a succession of authored documentaries. In 1993, he presented ''Life in the Freezer'', the first television series to survey the natural history of [[Earth:Antarctica|Antarctica]]. Although past normal retirement age, he then embarked on a number of more specialised surveys of the natural world, beginning with plants. They proved a difficult subject for his producers, who had to deliver hours of television featuring what are essentially immobile objects. The result was ''The Private Life of Plants'' (1995), which showed plants as dynamic organisms by using [[Time-lapse photography|time-lapse photography]] to speed up their growth, and went on to earn a Peabody Award.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-private-life-of-plants |title=Peabody Award Citation: The Private Life of Plants (1995) |access-date=24 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826234123/http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-private-life-of-plants |archive-date=26 August 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Prompted by an enthusiastic [[Biology:Ornithology|ornithologist]] at the BBC Natural History Unit, Attenborough then turned his attention to birds. As he was neither an birdwatcher nor a bird expert, he decided he was better qualified to make ''[[Biology:The Life of Birds|The Life of Birds]]'' (1998) on the theme of behaviour. The documentary series won a second Peabody Award the following year.<ref>[http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-life-of-birds-by-david-attenborough 59th Annual Peabody Awards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006131052/http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-life-of-birds-by-david-attenborough |date=6 October 2014 }}, May 2000.</ref> The order of the remaining "Life" series was dictated by developments in camera technology. For ''The Life of Mammals'' (2002), low-light and [[Infrared photography|infrared]] cameras were deployed to reveal the behaviour of nocturnal mammals. The series contains a number of memorable [[Engineering:Two shot|two shot]]s of Attenborough and his subjects, which included chimpanzees, a [[Biology:Blue whale|blue whale]] and a [[Biology:Grizzly bear|grizzly bear]]. Advances in [[Macro photography|macro photography]] made it possible to capture the natural behaviour of very small creatures for the first time, and in 2005, ''Life in the Undergrowth'' introduced audiences to the world of [[Biology:Invertebrate|invertebrate]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Science & Nature – Life In The Undergrowth |publisher=BBC |access-date=6 September 2021 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/lifeintheundergrowth/ |archive-date=4 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210804004715/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/lifeintheundergrowth/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

At this point, Attenborough realised that he had spent 20 years unconsciously assembling a collection of programmes on all the major groups of terrestrial animals and plants – only [[Biology:Reptile|reptile]]s and [[Biology:Amphibian|amphibian]]s were missing. When ''Life in Cold Blood'' was broadcast in 2008, he had the satisfaction of completing the set, brought together in a DVD encyclopaedia called ''Life on Land''. He commented: "The evolutionary history is finished. The endeavour is complete. If you'd asked me 20 years ago whether we'd be attempting such a mammoth task, I'd have said 'Don't be ridiculous!' These programmes tell a particular story and I'm sure others will come along and tell it much better than I did, but I do hope that if people watch it in 50 years' time, it will still have something to say about the world we live in."<ref name="rtimes2">''Radio Times'' 26 Jan–1 February 2008: "The Last Word", interview with Jeremy Paxman</ref>

However, in 2010 Attenborough asserted that his ''First Life'' – dealing with evolutionary history before ''Life on Earth'' – should be included within the "Life" series. In the documentary ''Attenborough's Journey'', he stated, "This series, to a degree which I really didn't fully appreciate until I started working on it, really completes the set."<ref>''Attenborough's Journey'', BBC Two, 24 October 2010</ref>

===Beyond ''Life on Earth''===
[[File:David Attenborough NASA.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Attenborough filming commentary for a documentary at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with a Space Shuttle in the background]]
Alongside the ''Life'' series, Attenborough continued to work on other television documentaries, mainly in the natural history genre. He wrote and presented a series on man's influence on the natural history of the [[Place:Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean Basin]], ''The First Eden'', in 1987. Two years later, he demonstrated his passion for fossils in ''Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/lost-worlds-vanished-lives/ |title=Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives |via=topdocumentaryfilms.com |access-date=23 August 2021 |archive-date=23 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823194655/https://topdocumentaryfilms.com/lost-worlds-vanished-lives/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1990, he worked on the BBC's ''Prisoners of Conscience'' series where he highlighted the case of the Sudanese poet Mahjoub Sharif.<ref name="Amnesty2008">{{Cite journal |date=September–October 2008 |title=Solidarity and Return to Sender |journal=Amnesty Magazine |volume=0264-3278 |issue=151 |page=24}}</ref>

Attenborough narrated every episode of ''Wildlife on One'', a BBC One wildlife series that ran for 253 episodes between 1977 and 2005. At its peak, it drew a weekly audience of eight to ten million, and the 1987 episode "Meerkats United" was voted the best wildlife documentary of all time by BBC viewers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/film/151/Meerkats+United.html |title=Meerkats United |publisher=WildFilmistory.org |access-date=20 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100204223809/http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/film/151/Meerkats+United.html |archive-date=4 February 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He has narrated over 50 episodes of ''Natural World'', BBC Two's flagship wildlife series. Its forerunner, ''The World About Us'', was created by Attenborough in 1969, as a vehicle for colour television.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/info/policies/madeintheuk/pdfs/5_david_attenborough_where_the_wild_things_are.pdf |title="Where the Wild Things Are" (Essay for BBC "Made in the Uk") |publisher=BBC |first=David |last=Attenborough |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805031208/http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/policies/madeintheuk/pdfs/5_david_attenborough_where_the_wild_things_are.pdf |archive-date=5 August 2011 |access-date=20 January 2010}}</ref> In 1997, he narrated the ''BBC Wildlife Specials'', each focussing on a charismatic species, and screened to mark the Natural History Unit's 40th anniversary.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://realscreen.com/1998/01/01/20282-19980101/ |title=Tribute to BBC Natural History Unit: Bristol's Natural Wonder |access-date=23 August 2021 |archive-date=23 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823194908/https://realscreen.com/1998/01/01/20282-19980101/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

As a writer and narrator, Attenborough continued to collaborate with the BBC Natural History Unit in the new millennium. Alastair Fothergill, a senior producer with whom Attenborough had worked on ''The Trials of Life'' and ''Life in the Freezer'', was making ''The Blue Planet'' (2001), the Unit's first comprehensive series on [[Biology:Marine life|marine life]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/david-attenborough-blue-planet-ii|title=Sir David Attenborough to present Blue Planet II for BBC One|publisher=BBC|date=20 February 2017|access-date=20 February 2017|archive-date=23 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223022123/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/david-attenborough-blue-planet-ii|url-status=live}}</ref> He decided not to use an on-screen presenter due to difficulties in speaking to a camera through diving apparatus, but asked Attenborough to narrate the films. The same team reunited for ''Planet Earth'' (2006), the biggest nature documentary ever made for television and the first BBC wildlife series to be shot in [[Engineering:High-definition video|high definition]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/arts/television/18slen.html|title=Alastair Fothergill – Planet Earth – TV|last=Slenske|first=Michael|date=18 March 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=20 October 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=20 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191020140524/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/arts/television/18slen.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2009, Attenborough co-wrote and narrated ''Life'', a ten-part series focussing on extraordinary animal behaviour,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/21/bbc.television1 |title=Attenborough is back – again |last=Holmwood |first=Leigh |date=21 September 2007 |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=28 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190516181655/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/sep/21/bbc.television1 |archive-date=16 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> and narrated ''Nature's Great Events'', which showed how seasonal changes trigger major natural spectacles.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/01_january/05/nature.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090216032713/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/01_january/05/nature.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 February 2009 |title=Nature's Great Events press pack: introduction |date=11 February 2009 |publisher=BBC Press Office |access-date=20 December 2019}}</ref> In January 2009, the BBC commissioned Attenborough to provide a series of 20 ten-minute monologues covering the history of nature. Entitled ''David Attenborough's Life Stories'', they were broadcast on Radio 4 on Friday nights.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 January 2009 |title=Attenborough takes on Cooke's radio slot |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a145070/attenborough-takes-on-cookes-radio-slot.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609170435/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a145070/attenborough-takes-on-cookes-radio-slot.html |archive-date=9 June 2009 |access-date=4 November 2009 |work=Digital Spy |first=Sarah |last=Rollo}}</ref>

In 2011, Fothergill gave Attenborough a more prominent role in ''Frozen Planet'', a major series on the natural history of the [[Earth:Polar regions of Earth|polar regions]]; Attenborough appeared on screen and authored the final episode, in addition to performing voiceover duties. Attenborough introduced and narrated the Unit's first [[Engineering:Ultra-high-definition television|4K]] production ''Life Story.'' For ''Planet Earth II'' (2016), Attenborough returned as narrator and presenter, with the main theme music composed by Hans Zimmer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/planet-earth-two |title=Sir David Attenborough to present brand new landmark natural history series for BBC One |publisher=BBC |date=22 February 2016 |access-date=22 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223204759/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/planet-earth-two |archive-date=23 February 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02544td |title=Planet Earth II – BBC One |publisher=BBC |access-date=21 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312235701/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02544td |archive-date=12 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:David Attenborough Great Barrier Reef screening.jpg|thumb|right|Attenborough at a screening of ''Great Barrier Reef'', 2015]]
In October 2014, the corporation announced a trio of new one-off Attenborough documentaries as part of a raft of new natural history programmes. "Attenborough's Paradise Birds" and "Attenborough's Big Birds" was shown on BBC Two and "Waking Giants", which follows the discovery of giant dinosaur bones in South America, aired on BBC One.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29641107 |title=David Attenborough to examine ostriches and dinosaurs |newspaper=BBC News |access-date=17 October 2014 |date=16 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141016233543/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29641107 |archive-date=16 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> The BBC also commissioned Atlantic Productions to make a three-part, Attenborough-fronted series ''Great Barrier Reef'' in 2015. The series marked the 10th project for Attenborough and Atlantic, and saw him returning to a location he first filmed at in 1957.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/great-barrier-reef |title=David Attenborough to present new landmark series on the Great Barrier Reef for BBC One |publisher=BBC Media Centre |access-date=17 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141001215646/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2014/great-barrier-reef |archive-date=1 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/commissioning/sir-david-attenborough-heads-back-to-great-barrier-reef/5077382.article |title=Sir David Attenborough heads back to Great Barrier Reef |access-date=17 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141024180056/http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/commissioning/sir-david-attenborough-heads-back-to-great-barrier-reef/5077382.article |archive-date=24 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On radio, Attenborough has continued as one of the presenters of BBC Radio 4's ''Tweet of the Day'', which began a second series in September 2014.<ref>{{cite web |date=23 June 2014 |title=Michael Palin to become Radio 4 Tweet of the Day presenter |url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/news/a579579/michael-palin-to-become-radio-4-tweet-of-the-day-presenter.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021132003/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/media/news/a579579/michael-palin-to-become-radio-4-tweet-of-the-day-presenter.html |archive-date=21 October 2014 |access-date=17 October 2014 |work=Digital Spy}}</ref> Attenborough forged a partnership with Sky, working on documentaries for the broadcaster's new 3D network, Sky 3D. Their first collaboration was ''Flying Monsters 3D'', a film about [[Biology:Pterosaur|pterosaur]]s which debuted on Christmas Day of 2010.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8606923.stm |title=Sir David Attenborough to front Sky 3D wildlife show |work=BBC News |date=7 April 2010 |access-date=11 May 2010 |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203611/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8606923.stm |url-status=live}}</ref> A second film, ''The Penguin King 3D'', followed a year later. His next 3D project, ''Conquest of the Skies'', made by the team behind the BAFTA award-winning ''David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive'', aired on Sky 3D during Christmas 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skymedia.co.uk/news/attenborough's-conquest-of-the-skies-3d.aspx |title=David Attenborough to explore the evolution of flight in Conquest of the Skies 3D, a 3 part series for broadcast on Sky 3D and in 2D on Sky 1 this Xmas. |publisher=Sky Media Centre |access-date=1 January 2015 |archive-date=2 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102081420/http://www.skymedia.co.uk/news/attenborough%27s-conquest-of-the-skies-3d.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

Attenborough has narrated three series of ''David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities'' for UKTV channel Watch, with the third series showing in 2015. He has also narrated ''A majestic celebration: Wild Karnataka'', India's first blue-chip natural history film, directed by Kalyan Varma and Amoghavarsha.<ref>[https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/a-majestic-celebration/article26429185.ece/ "Majestic celebration: Wild Karnataka"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401001041/https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/a-majestic-celebration/article26429185.ece |date=1 April 2019 }}. TheHindu.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019</ref> ''Blue Planet II'' was broadcast in 2017, with Attenborough returning as presenter.<ref>{{cite web |date=20 February 2017 |title=Sir David Attenborough to present Blue Planet II for BBC One |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/david-attenborough-blue-planet-ii |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170223022123/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/david-attenborough-blue-planet-ii |archive-date=23 February 2017 |access-date=20 February 2017 |publisher=BBC}}</ref> The series was critically acclaimed and gained the highest UK viewing figure for 2017 of 14.1&nbsp;million.<ref>{{cite web |date=29 December 2017 |title=''Radio Times'' top 40 TV shows of 2017 |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2017-12-29/radio-times-top-40-tv-shows-of-2017-10-to-1/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122072115/http://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2017-12-29/radio-times-top-40-tv-shows-of-2017-10-to-1/ |archive-date=22 January 2018 |access-date=21 January 2018 |work=Radio Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Ruddick |first1=Graham |date=6 November 2017 |title=Blue Planet II is year's most watched British TV show |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/nov/06/blue-planet-ii-years-most-watched-tv-show-david-attenborough |url-status=live |access-date=21 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122001157/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/nov/06/blue-planet-ii-years-most-watched-tv-show-david-attenborough |archive-date=22 January 2018}}</ref> The series is thought to have triggered a long-lasting increase in public, media and political attention to plastic pollution.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Males |first1=Jennifer |last2=Van Aelst |first2=Peter |date=2 January 2021 |title=Did the Blue Planet set the Agenda for Plastic Pollution? An Explorative Study on the Influence of a Documentary on the Public, Media and Political Agendas |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2020.1780458 |journal=Environmental Communication |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=40–54 |doi=10.1080/17524032.2020.1780458 |bibcode=2021Ecomm..15...40M |hdl=10067/1703940151162165141 |s2cid=221492454 |issn=1752-4032 |hdl-access=free |access-date=28 April 2022 |archive-date=31 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831232304/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17524032.2020.1780458 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Has Blue Planet II had an impact on plastic pollution? |url=https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/has-blue-planet-ii-had-an-impact-on-plastic-pollution/ |access-date=28 April 2022 |website=BBC Science Focus Magazine |language=en |archive-date=30 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220630004825/https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/has-blue-planet-ii-had-an-impact-on-plastic-pollution/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Attenborough narrated the 2018 five-part series ''Dynasties'', each episode dealing with one species in particular.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC – Sir David Attenborough to present BBC One's Dynasty – Media Centre |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2018/dynasty-david-attenborough |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112022513/https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2018/dynasty-david-attenborough |archive-date=12 January 2019 |access-date=4 November 2018 |publisher=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=White |first=Peter |date=25 September 2018 |title=Sir David Attenborough's Wildlife Doc Series 'Dynasties' Goes Global Via BBC Studios |work=Deadline |url=https://deadline.com/2018/09/dynasties-david-attenborough-1202470705/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417002123/https://deadline.com/2018/09/dynasties-david-attenborough-1202470705/ |archive-date=17 April 2019}}</ref> In 2021, he presented the three-part series ''Attenborough's Life in Colour'',<ref>{{Cite web|title=Attenborough's Life in Colour Season 1|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-dj3d88/attenboroughs-life-in-colour-season-1/|access-date=15 November 2021|website=Radio Times|language=en|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115205203/https://www.radiotimes.com/programme/b-dj3d88/attenboroughs-life-in-colour-season-1/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and ''The Mating Game'', a five-part series.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC One – The Mating Game|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010bc1|access-date=15 November 2021|website=BBC|language=en-GB|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115205202/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0010bc1|url-status=live}}</ref>

Attenborough returned to prehistoric life with ''Dinosaurs: The Final Day'' and ''Prehistoric Planet'' aired in April and May 2022 respectively.

===Environmentalist advocacy===
[[File:Sir David Attenborough- “O mundo está olhando para vocês”.webm|thumb|Attenborough speaking at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference]]
By the turn of the millennium, Attenborough's authored documentaries were adopting a more overtly environmentalist stance. In ''State of the Planet'' (2000), he used the latest scientific evidence and interviews with leading scientists and conservationists to assess the impact of human activities on the natural world. He later turned to the issues of [[Earth:Global warming|global warming]] (''The Truth about Climate Change'', 2006) and human population growth (''How Many People Can Live on Planet Earth?'', 2009). He contributed a programme which highlighted the plight of [[Biology:Endangered species|endangered species]] to the BBC's ''Saving Planet Earth'' project in 2007, the 50th anniversary of the Natural History Unit.<ref>{{cite news |date=21 September 2007 |title=IBC Honours BBC Natural History Unit For Contribution To Wildlife Film |publisher=4rfv.co.uk |url=http://www.4rfv.co.uk/industrynews.asp?id=66138 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108102754/http://www.4rfv.co.uk/industrynews.asp?id=66138 |archive-date=8 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=David Attenborough lays out 7 actions to save the world |work=MINDFOOD |access-date=6 September 2021 |url=https://www.mindfood.com/article/david-attenboroughs-7-actions-to-save-the-world/ |archive-date=28 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210328061111/https://www.mindfood.com/article/david-attenboroughs-7-actions-to-save-the-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2019, Attenborough narrated ''Our Planet'', an eight-part documentary series, for [[Company:Netflix|Netflix]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/nov/08/david-attenborough-to-present-netflix-nature-series-our-planet |title=David Attenborough to present Netflix nature series Our Planet |last=Waterson |first=Jim |date=8 November 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=9 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108223343/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/nov/08/david-attenborough-to-present-netflix-nature-series-our-planet |archive-date=8 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> In contrast to much of his prior work for the BBC, this series emphasised the destructive role of human activities throughout the series. Before, he would often note concerns in a final section of the work.{{Sfn|Gouyon|2019|p=247–251}} He also narrated ''Wild Karnataka'', a documentary about the Karnataka forest area.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/173503/wild-karnataka-documentary-david-attenborough-kalyan-varma-india/ |title=Exclusive: The Story Behind Wild Karnataka, India's First Blue Chip Natural History Film! |date=26 February 2019 |last=Norbu Wangchuk |first=Rincehn |access-date=27 February 2019 |publisher=The Better India |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203602/https://www.thebetterindia.com/173503/wild-karnataka-documentary-david-attenborough-kalyan-varma-india/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019,  Attenborough's one-off film documentary about climate change for BBC One called ''Climate Change – The Facts'' was aired; the tone of the documentary was significantly graver than previous work for the BBC.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47666007 |title=Sir David Attenborough to present climate change documentary |work=BBC News |date=22 March 2019 |access-date=23 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323071233/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47666007 |archive-date=23 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=18 April 2019 |title=Climate Change: The Facts review – our greatest threat, laid bare |url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/18/climate-change-the-facts-review-our-greatest-threat-laid-bare-david-attenborough |access-date=22 August 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822150927/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/apr/18/climate-change-the-facts-review-our-greatest-threat-laid-bare-david-attenborough |url-status=live}}</ref> This was followed by ''Extinction: The Facts'', which is partly based on the 2019 IPBES report on the [[Biology:Biodiversity loss|decline of biodiversity]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Vaughan |first=Adam |date=6 September 2020 |title=Extinction: The Facts – An Attenborough guide to nature's destruction |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/2253673-extinction-the-facts-an-attenborough-guide-to-natures-destruction/ |work=New Scientist |access-date=9 September 2020 |archive-date=7 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200907092915/https://www.newscientist.com/article/2253673-extinction-the-facts-an-attenborough-guide-to-natures-destruction/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54118769 "Sir David Attenborough makes stark warning about species extinction"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928045146/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54118769 |date=28 September 2020 }}. BBC Science. Retrieved 14 October 2020</ref>

In 2020, Attenborough narrated the documentary film ''David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet''. The film acts as Attenborough's witness statement, reflecting on his career as a naturalist and his hopes for the future.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lowry |first=Brian |date=2 October 2020 |title=David Attenborough offers his 'witness statement,' and a warning, in 'A Life on Our Planet' |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/02/entertainment/david-attenborough-a-life-on-our-planet-review/index.html |work=CNN|access-date=9 October 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008031049/https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/02/entertainment/david-attenborough-a-life-on-our-planet-review/index.html |url-status=live}}</ref> It was released on Netflix on 4 October 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |title=David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet {{!}} Netflix Official Site|url=https://www.netflix.com/title/80216393|access-date=27 March 2021|website=www.netflix.com|archive-date=12 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312003952/https://www.netflix.com/title/80216393|url-status=live}}</ref> Further work for Netflix includes the documentary titled ''Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet'', released on 4 June 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet release date – David Attenborough to narrate Netflix documentary |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/breaking-boundaries-the-science-of-our-planet-release-date-netflix/ |access-date=27 May 2021 |website=Radio Times |archive-date=4 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604102100/https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/documentaries/breaking-boundaries-the-science-of-our-planet-release-date-netflix/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2020, Attenborough began filming in Cambridge for ''The Green Planet''.<ref>[https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/david-attenborough-bbc-cambridge-programme-19018399 "Sir David Attenborough spotted filming in Cambridge for new series of The Green Planet"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003163816/https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/david-attenborough-bbc-cambridge-programme-19018399 |date=3 October 2020 }}. ''Cambridge News''. Retrieved 14 October 2020</ref> In 2021, Attenborough narrated ''A Perfect Planet'', a five-part [[Earth:Earth science|earth science]] series for BBC One.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Marshall |first=Sarah |date=3 January 2021 |title=A Perfect Planet: Behind the scenes on David Attenborough's breathtaking new show |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/safaris-and-wildlife/perfect-planet-behind-scenes-david-attenboroughs-breathtaking/ |access-date=27 March 2021 |issn=0307-1235 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205141248/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/safaris-and-wildlife/perfect-planet-behind-scenes-david-attenboroughs-breathtaking/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Attenborough was a key figure in the build-up to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and gave a speech at the opening ceremony.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Attenborough's full speech: 'Not fear, but hope'|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/science-environment-59121615|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=4 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211104205855/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/science-environment-59121615|url-status=live}}</ref> In his speech he stated that humans were "the greatest problem solvers to have ever existed on Earth" and spoke of his optimism for the future, finishing by saying "In my lifetime I've witnessed a terrible decline. In yours, you could and should witness a wonderful recovery."<ref>{{Cite news|date=1 November 2021|title=COP26: David Attenborough says world is looking to leaders|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59125138|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105201611/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-59125138|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2022, the [[Organization:United Nations Environment Programme|United Nations Environment Programme]] recognised Attenborough as a Champion of the Earth "for his dedication to research, documentation, and advocacy for the protection of nature and its restoration".<ref name=champion /><ref>{{cite web |title=Sir David Attenborough named Champion of the Earth by UN |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61167925 |website=BBC News |access-date=21 April 2022 |date=20 April 2022 |archive-date=20 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420235456/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-61167925 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Views and advocacy==
===Environment===
[[File:David Attenborough.jpg|thumb|right|Attenborough in 2003 at the launch of [[ARKive|ARKive]] – a global initiative with the mission of "promoting the conservation of the world's threatened species, through the power of wildlife imagery".]]
Attenborough's programmes have often included references to the impact of human society on the natural world. The last episode of ''The Living Planet'', for example, focuses almost entirely on humans' destruction of the environment and ways that it could be stopped or reversed. Despite this, he has been criticised for not giving enough prominence to environmental messages. In 2018 while promoting ''Dynasties'', he said that repeated messages on threats to wildlife in programming could be a "turn-off" to viewers.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 November 2018 |title=David Attenborough: too much alarmism on environment a turn-off |url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/04/attenborough-dynasties-ecological-campaign |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827083303/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/04/attenborough-dynasties-ecological-campaign |url-status=live}}</ref>

Some environmentalists feel that programmes like Attenborough's give a false picture of idyllic wilderness and do not do enough to acknowledge that such areas are increasingly encroached upon by humans.<ref>James Fair, "Small Things Bright and Beautiful", BBC Wildlife Magazine, November 2005, pp. 25–26.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/01/planet-earth-ii-david-attenborough-martin-hughes-games-bbc-springwatch|title= Planet Earth II 'a disaster for world's wildlife' says rival nature producer|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029131211/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/01/planet-earth-ii-david-attenborough-martin-hughes-games-bbc-springwatch |archive-date=29 October 2020 |work=The Guardian|date= January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 November 2018 |title=David Attenborough has betrayed the living world he loves {{!}} George Monbiot|url=http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/07/david-attenborough-world-environment-bbc-films|access-date=27 August 2021|website=The Guardian|archive-date=27 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827084422/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/07/david-attenborough-world-environment-bbc-films|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Julia P. G. |title=Our Planet is billed as an Attenborough documentary with a difference but it shies away from uncomfortable truths |url=http://theconversation.com/our-planet-is-billed-as-an-attenborough-documentary-with-a-difference-but-it-shies-away-from-uncomfortable-truths-114889 |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=The Conversation |date=5 April 2019 |archive-date=2 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902183104/https://theconversation.com/our-planet-is-billed-as-an-attenborough-documentary-with-a-difference-but-it-shies-away-from-uncomfortable-truths-114889 |url-status=live}}</ref> However, the increased urgency of environmental messaging in films such as ''Extinction: The Facts'', which depicts the continuing sixth mass extinction,<ref>{{cite news |title=Sir David Attenborough makes stark warning about species extinction |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54118769 |work=BBC News |date=12 September 2020 |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030072157/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54118769 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Climate Change – The Facts'' and ''A Life on Our Planet'' from 2019 and 2020 received praise.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Julia P. G. |title='Extinction: The Facts': Attenborough's new documentary is surprisingly radical |url=http://theconversation.com/extinction-the-facts-attenboroughs-new-documentary-is-surprisingly-radical-146127 |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=The Conversation |date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827084459/https://theconversation.com/extinction-the-facts-attenboroughs-new-documentary-is-surprisingly-radical-146127 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 September 2020 |title=David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet review – stark climate emergency warning |url=http://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/25/david-attenborough-a-life-on-our-planet-review-climate-emergency-documentary |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=1 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901172325/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/sep/25/david-attenborough-a-life-on-our-planet-review-climate-emergency-documentary |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=22 March 2019 |title=Attenborough to front climate-change film as BBC moves from teach to preach |url=http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/mar/22/attenborough-to-front-climate-change-film-as-bbc-moves-from-teach-to-preach |access-date=27 August 2021 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827084419/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/mar/22/attenborough-to-front-climate-change-film-as-bbc-moves-from-teach-to-preach |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 April 2019 |title=David Attenborough climate change TV show a 'call to arms' |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47988337 |access-date=27 August 2021 |archive-date=27 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210827083803/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-47988337 |url-status=live}}</ref> In ''Seven Worlds, One Planet'', Attenborough  discusses the devastating impact that deforestation is having on the planet and the species.<ref>{{cite news |title='Harrowing' and 'heartbreaking': Sir David Attenborough's new documentary shocks viewers |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/117170122/harrowing-and-heartbreaking-sir-david-attenboroughs-new-documentary-shocks-viewers |work=Stuff.co.nz |date=5 November 2019 |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030072158/https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/117170122/harrowing-and-heartbreaking-sir-david-attenboroughs-new-documentary-shocks-viewers |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2005 and 2006, Attenborough backed a [[Organization:BirdLife International|BirdLife International]] project to stop the killing of [[Biology:Albatross|albatross]] by longline fishing boats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.savethealbatross.net/the_latest/the_latest_item.asp?newsid=24 |title=Personal plea by David Attenborough |publisher=savethealbatross.net |date=27 January 2006 |access-date=22 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061229153331/http://www.savethealbatross.net/the_latest/the_latest_item.asp?newsid=24 |archive-date=29 December 2006 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He gave support to [[Organization:World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF]]'s campaign to have 220,000&nbsp;square kilometres of Borneo's rainforest designated a protected area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwf.org.uk/core/about/ta_0000001801.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909100837/https://www.wwf.org.uk/core/about/ta_0000001801.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 September 2006 |title=Sir David Attenborough: Heart of Borneo is a global heritage |publisher=WWF-UK press release}}</ref> He serves as a vice-president of The Conservation Volunteers,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Governance {{!}} TCV|url=https://www.tcv.org.uk/about/governance/|url-status=live|access-date=5 September 2021|website=The Conservation Volunteers|date=20 March 2012 |archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629031652/https://www.tcv.org.uk/about/governance/}}</ref> vice-president of [[Organization:Fauna and Flora International|Fauna and Flora International]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=People {{!}} Fauna & Flora International|url=https://www.fauna-flora.org/people|url-status=live|access-date=5 September 2021|website=Fauna & Flora International|archive-date=7 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171007074644/http://www.fauna-flora.org/about/presidents/}}</ref> president of Butterfly Conservation<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our President – Sir David Attenborough |url=https://butterfly-conservation.org/about-us/our-president-sir-david-attenborough |access-date=5 September 2021 |website=butterfly-conservation.org |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306124102/https://butterfly-conservation.org/about-us/our-president-sir-david-attenborough |url-status=live}}</ref> and president emeritus of Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust.<ref>{{Cite web |title=News {{!}} Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust|url=https://www.lrwt.org.uk/news/tag/david-attenborough|access-date=5 September 2021|website=www.lrwt.org.uk|date=25 October 2019 |archive-date=19 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119173754/https://www.lrwt.org.uk/news/tag/david-attenborough|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2003, Attenborough launched an appeal on behalf of the World Land Trust to create a [[Earth:Rainforest|rainforest]] reserve in Ecuador in memory of Christopher Parsons, the producer of ''Life on Earth'' and a personal friend, who had died the previous year.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rainforest Saved in Memory of Christopher Parsons – World Land Trust |author=Farrows |work=World Land Trust |date=25 May 2021 |access-date=6 September 2021 |url=https://www.worldlandtrust.org/news/2003/09/rainforest-saved-in-memory-of-christopher-parsons/ |archive-date=25 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225102353/https://www.worldlandtrust.org/news/2003/09/rainforest-saved-in-memory-of-christopher-parsons/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, he helped to launch [[ARKive]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/conservation/story/0,,969572,00.html |title=Arkive sets sail on the web |work={{wipe|The Guardian}} |date=20 May 2003 |location=London |first=Ashley |last=Davies |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203611/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2003/may/20/conservationandendangeredspecies.uknews |url-status=live}}</ref> a global project instigated by Parsons to gather together natural history media into a digital library. ARKive is an initiative of Wildscreen, of which Attenborough is a patron.<ref name="AR-2010">{{cite book |title=WildScreen Annual Review 2010 |url=http://www.wildscreen.org.uk/downloads/AnnualReview2010.pdf |access-date=11 July 2011 |publisher=Wildscreen |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715110342/http://www.wildscreen.org.uk/downloads/AnnualReview2010.pdf |archive-date=15 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> He later became patron of the World Land Trust. In 2020, he backed a Fauna and Flora International campaign calling for a global moratorium on [[Earth:Deep sea mining|deep sea mining]] for its impact on marine life.<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 March 2020|title=David Attenborough calls for ban on 'devastating' deep sea mining|url=http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/12/david-attenborough-calls-for-ban-on-devastating-deep-sea-mining|access-date=7 September 2021|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906031542/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/12/david-attenborough-calls-for-ban-on-devastating-deep-sea-mining|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Sir David Attenborough & President Obama.webm|thumb|Attenborough and US President [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]] discuss the natural world at the White House (2015).]]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Attenborough advocated on behalf of the [[Organization:Zoological Society of London|Zoological Society of London]] (ZSL) and its conservation efforts, which have been impacted by the economic fallout from the pandemic.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 July 2020 |title=Attenborough warns London Zoo risks 'extinction' |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-53346800 |access-date=20 July 2020 |archive-date=11 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711053503/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-53346800 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2020, Attenborough was named as a member of the Earthshot prize Council,<ref>{{Cite web |title=AKDN partners with Prince William in Earthshot prize |url=https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/science-health/akdn-partners-with-prince-william-in-earthshot-prize-2723128 |access-date=27 October 2020 |website=The East African |date=27 October 2020 |archive-date=27 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027085349/https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/science-health/akdn-partners-with-prince-william-in-earthshot-prize-2723128 |url-status=live}}</ref> an initiative of Prince William to find solutions to environmental issues.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sh7bn environment 'Nobel' prize launched |url=https://nation.africa/kenya/news/sh7bn-environment-nobel-prize-launched-2461136 |access-date=14 October 2020 |website=Nation |date=9 October 2020 |archive-date=15 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015010055/https://nation.africa/kenya/news/sh7bn-environment-nobel-prize-launched-2461136 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 October 2020 |title=AKDN launches Earthshot Prize in partnership with Prince William |url=https://tbsnews.net/bangladesh/education/akdn-launches-earthshot-prize-partnership-prince-william-142951 |access-date=14 October 2020 |website=Business Standard |archive-date=23 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123023553/https://tbsnews.net/bangladesh/education/akdn-launches-earthshot-prize-partnership-prince-william-142951 |url-status=live}}</ref> He is a patron of the Friends of Richmond Park and serves on the advisory board of BBC Wildlife magazine.<ref name="FRP">{{cite news |author=Christine Fleming |date=3 April 2011 |title=Sir David Attenborough steps up as Friends of Richmond Park marks golden anniversary |publisher=This is Local London (Newsquest) |url=http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/8949352.Sir_David_steps_up_at_park_party/ |url-status=dead |access-date=1 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201221605/http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/8949352.Sir_David_steps_up_at_park_party/ |archive-date=1 February 2014}}</ref>

Attenborough was initially skeptical about the human influence on [[Earth:Climate change|climate change]], and stated that a 2004 lecture finally convinced him humans were responsible. He remained silent on the issue until 2006.<ref>{{cite news |last=Attenborough |first=David |date=24 May 2006 |title=Climate change is the major challenge facing the world |work=The Independent |location=London |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article570935.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516005117/http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article570935.ece |archive-date=16 May 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hickman |first=Leo |date=13 August 2018 |title=The 2004 lecture that finally convinced David Attenborough about global warming |url=https://www.carbonbrief.org/the-2004-lecture-that-finally-convinced-david-attenborough-about-global-warming |url-status=live |access-date=5 September 2021 |website=Carbon Brief |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817192300/https://www.carbonbrief.org/the-2004-lecture-that-finally-convinced-david-attenborough-about-global-warming}}</ref> Attenborough attended and spoke at COP26 as the "People's Advocate" for the event, and urged world leaders to act to reduce emissions.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 November 2021|title=The Latest: Attenborough: Earth's stable climate is breaking|url=https://apnews.com/article/science-business-boris-johnson-scotland-glasgow-05be3f0be78eeb46790168c88b453923|access-date=1 November 2021|website=AP NEWS|language=en|archive-date=1 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211101101931/https://apnews.com/article/science-business-boris-johnson-scotland-glasgow-05be3f0be78eeb46790168c88b453923|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 October 2021|title=David Attenborough says Britain has 'moral responsibility' to 'act now' on climate|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/david-attenborough-cop26-boris-johnson-b1945431.html|access-date=1 November 2021|website=The Independent|language=en|archive-date=30 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030043639/https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/david-attenborough-cop26-boris-johnson-b1945431.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He supported Glyndebourne in their successful application to obtain planning permission for a [[Physics:Wind turbine|wind turbine]] in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and gave evidence at the planning inquiry arguing in favour of the proposal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gammel |first=Caroline |date=11 July 2018 |title='Giant' wind turbine for Glyndebourne |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2286858/Giant-wind-turbine-for-Glyndebourne.html |url-status=live |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311163555/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2286858/Giant-wind-turbine-for-Glyndebourne.html |archive-date=11 March 2011}}</ref> In his 2020 documentary film ''David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet'', Attenborough advocates for people to adopt a vegetarian diet or to reduce meat consumption to save wildlife, noting that "the planet can't support billions of meat-eaters."<ref>{{cite news |last=Dalton |first=Jane |date=26 August 2020 |title=Go vegetarian to save wildlife and the planet, Sir David Attenborough urges |work=The Independent |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-attenborough-vegetarian-vegan-meat-life-our-planet-netflix-wildlife-earth-a9689816.html |access-date=9 October 2020 |archive-date=5 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201005110225/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-attenborough-vegetarian-vegan-meat-life-our-planet-netflix-wildlife-earth-a9689816.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Human population ===
Attenborough has linked anthropogenic effects on the environment with human population growth.<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 January 2020|title=David Attenborough warns 'human beings have overrun the world' in new film|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/a-life-on-our-planet-trailer-david-attenborough-new-film-teaser-release-date-385845|access-date=7 September 2021|website=inews.co.uk|language=en|archive-date=7 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907202909/https://inews.co.uk/news/a-life-on-our-planet-trailer-david-attenborough-new-film-teaser-release-date-385845|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=sophie-morris|date=14 January 2020|title=Chris Packham thinks we might need a one-child policy to save the world|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/chris-packham-7-7-billion-people-counting-bbc2-world-population-growth-385351|access-date=5 November 2021|website=inews.co.uk|language=en|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105201612/https://inews.co.uk/news/long-reads/chris-packham-7-7-billion-people-counting-bbc2-world-population-growth-385351|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=claire-schofield|date=21 January 2020|title=Chris Packham: 7.7 Billion People and Counting: when the documentary is on TV|url=https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/chris-packham-7-7-billion-people-and-counting-documentary-when-bbc-two-date-time-387015|access-date=5 November 2021|website=inews.co.uk|language=en|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105201611/https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/chris-packham-7-7-billion-people-and-counting-documentary-when-bbc-two-date-time-387015|url-status=live}}</ref> He has attracted criticism for his views on [[Unsolved:Human overpopulation|human overpopulation]]<ref name=":1" >{{Cite web |last=Manavis |first=Sarah |date=3 November 2020 |title=David Attenborough's claim that humans have overrun the planet is his most popular comment |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/environment/2020/11/david-attenborough-s-claim-humans-have-overrun-planet-his-most-popular |url-status=live |access-date=28 August 2021 |website=New Statesman |quote=A new study shows that Attenborough's unverified claims regarding overpopulation dominate social media discourse |archive-date=3 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210803154828/https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/environment/2020/11/david-attenborough-s-claim-humans-have-overrun-planet-his-most-popular}}</ref> and [[Earth:Human population planning|human population control]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Tran |first=Mark |date=18 September 2013 |title=David Attenborough: Trying to tackle famine with bags of flour is 'barmy' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/sep/18/david-attenborough-famine-population |url-status=live |website=The Guardian |access-date=23 August 2021 |archive-date=23 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823214515/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/sep/18/david-attenborough-famine-population}}</ref> He is a patron of [[Organization:Population Matters|Population Matters]],<ref name="popm">{{cite news |last1=Vidal |first1=John |date=14 April 2009 |title=Attenborough becomes patron for Optimum Population Trust |newspaper=The Guardian |publisher=The Guardian, UK broadsheet newspaper |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2009/apr/14/attenborough-patron-optimum-population-trust |url-status=live |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170709001127/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/blog/2009/apr/14/attenborough-patron-optimum-population-trust |archive-date=9 July 2017}}</ref> a UK charity advocating for family planning, sustainable consumption and proposed sustainable human population.<ref>{{cite news |title=Sir David Attenborough warns against large families and predicts things will only get worse |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/sep/10/david-attenborough-human-evolution-stopped |work=The Guardian |date=10 September 2021 |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=11 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211131905/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/sep/10/david-attenborough-human-evolution-stopped |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="popmat">{{cite web |title=Attenborough is new OPT patron |url=http://www.populationmatters.org/2009/press/attenborough-opt-patron/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102144305/http://www.populationmatters.org/2009/press/attenborough-opt-patron/ |archive-date=2 January 2016 |website=populationmatters.org |publisher=Population Matters, UK Charity}}</ref> In a 2013 interview with the ''Radio Times'', Attenborough described humans as a "plague on the Earth",<ref>{{cite web |date=22 January 2013 |title=David Attenborough: "Humans are a plague on the Earth" |url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-01-22/david-attenborough-humans-are-a-plague-on-the-earth |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808052741/http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-01-22/david-attenborough-humans-are-a-plague-on-the-earth |archive-date=8 August 2014 |access-date=28 June 2014 |website=Radio Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Gray |first=Louise |date=22 January 2013 |title=David Attenborough – Humans are plague on Earth |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/9815862/Humans-are-plague-on-Earth-Attenborough.html |url-status=live |access-date=27 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120085247/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/9815862/Humans-are-plague-on-Earth-Attenborough.html |archive-date=20 November 2016}}</ref> and described the act of sending food to famine-stricken countries as "barmy" for population reasons.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{cite news |title=David Attenborough says sending food to famine-ridden countries is 'barmy' |website=The Independent |publisher=The Independent, newsgroup |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-attenborough-says-sending-food-to-famineridden-countries-is-barmy-8823602.html |url-status=live |access-date=26 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925162536/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/david-attenborough-says-sending-food-to-famineridden-countries-is-barmy-8823602.html |archive-date=25 September 2015}}</ref> He called for more debate about human population growth,<ref name=":3" /> saying that since he "first started making programmes 60 years ago, the human population has tripled."<ref>{{cite news |title=Is population growth out of control? |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24303537 |work=BBC News |date=29 September 2013 |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030113011/https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-24303537 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to Attenborough, improving women's rights around the world is an effective way "to limit our birth rate."<ref name="Mongabay"/> He said that "anyone who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman or an economist."<ref name="Mongabay">{{cite news |last1=Cardwell |first1=Mark Riley |title=David Attenborough: someone who believes in infinite growth is 'either a madman or an economist' |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2013/10/david-attenborough-someone-who-believes-in-infinite-growth-is-either-a-madman-or-an-economist/ |work=Mongabay |date=16 October 2013 |access-date=30 October 2021 |archive-date=30 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211030072159/https://news.mongabay.com/2013/10/david-attenborough-someone-who-believes-in-infinite-growth-is-either-a-madman-or-an-economist/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Religious views ===
Attenborough considers himself an agnostic.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/listen/audioarchive.shtml Interview] with Simon Mayo, BBC Radio Five Live, 2 December 2005 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301170556/http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/listen/audioarchive.shtml |date=1 March 2009 }}</ref> When asked whether his observation of the natural world has given him faith in a creator, he generally responds with some version of this story, making reference to the ''[[Biology:Onchocerca volvulus|Onchocerca volvulus]]'' parasitic worm:

{{blockquote|My response is that when Creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance [[Biology:Hummingbird|hummingbird]]s, or orchids, sunflowers and beautiful things. But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that's going to make him blind. And [I ask them], 'Are you telling me that the God you believe in, who you also say is an all-merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually, are you saying that God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child's eyeball? Because that doesn't seem to me to coincide with a God who's full of mercy'.<ref>David Attenborough, 2003. "[http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/24/1048354544138.html Wild, wild life] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031211230726/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/03/24/1048354544138.html |date=11 December 2003 }}." ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 25 March. Attenborough has also told this story in numerous other interviews.</ref>}}

He has explained that he feels the evidence all over the planet clearly shows [[Biology:Evolution|evolution]] to be the best way to explain the diversity of life, and that "as far as [he's] concerned, if there is a supreme being then he chose organic evolution as a way of bringing into existence the natural world". In a BBC Four interview with Mark Lawson, he was asked if he at any time had any religious faith. He replied simply, "no".<ref>BBC ''Today'' programme, 31 January 2009</ref> He said "It never really occurred to me to believe in God".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/4347954/Sir-David-Attenborough-questioned-on-faith-naturally.html |location=London |work=The Daily Telegraph |last=Walker |first=Tim |title=Sir David Attenborough questioned on faith, naturally |date=26 January 2009 |access-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008095309/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/4347954/Sir-David-Attenborough-questioned-on-faith-naturally.html |archive-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2002, Attenborough joined an effort by leading [[Social:Clergy|clerics]] and scientists to oppose the inclusion of [[Philosophy:Creationism|creationism]] in the curriculum of UK state-funded independent schools which receive private sponsorship, such as the Emmanuel Schools Foundation.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/27/david-attenborough-science |title=Attenborough reveals creationist hate mail for not crediting God |last=Butt |first=Riazat |date=27 January 2009 |work=The Guardian |access-date=27 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130905180331/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/27/david-attenborough-science |archive-date=5 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In 2009, he stated that the [[Religion:Book of Genesis|Book of Genesis]], by saying that the world was there for people to control, had taught generations that they can "dominate" the environment, and that this has resulted in the devastation of vast areas of the environment. He further explained to the science journal ''Nature'', "That's why Darwinism, and the fact of evolution, is of great importance, because it is that attitude which has led to the devastation of so much, and we are in the situation that we are in".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rutherford |first1=A. |doi=10.1038/457967a |title=Q&A: Building on paradise |journal=Nature |volume=457 |issue=7232 |pages=967 |year=2009 |pmid=19225509 |bibcode=2009Natur.457..967R |doi-access=free}}</ref>

Also in early 2009, the BBC broadcast an Attenborough one-hour special, ''Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life''. In reference to the programme, Attenborough stated that "People write to me that evolution is only a theory. Well, it is not a theory. Evolution is as solid a historical fact as you could conceive. Evidence from every quarter. What is a theory is whether natural selection is the mechanism and the only mechanism. That is a theory. But the historical reality that dinosaurs led to birds and mammals produced whales, that's not theory."<ref name=whitworth>{{Cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5562484.ece |title=David Attenborough on Charles Darwin – Times Online |work=The Times |access-date=14 February 2009 |author=Whitworth, Damian |date=22 January 2009 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203628/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He strongly opposes creationism and its offshoot "[[Unsolved:Intelligent design|intelligent design]]", saying that the results of a survey that found a quarter of science teachers in state schools believe that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in science lessons was "really terrible".<ref name=whitworth />

In March 2009, Attenborough appeared on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross''. Attenborough stated that he felt evolution did not rule out the existence of a God and accepted the title of agnostic saying, "My view is: I don't know one way or the other but I don't think that evolution is against a belief in God".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvoJSlcIYmM |title=David Attenborough on ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' |via=YouTube |date=31 October 2009 |access-date=4 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902110558/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvoJSlcIYmM |archive-date=2 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Attenborough has joined the evolutionary biologist [[Biography:Richard Dawkins|Richard Dawkins]] and other top scientists in signing a campaign statement co-ordinated by the British Humanist Association (BHA). The statement calls for "creationism to be banned from the school science curriculum and for evolution to be taught more widely in schools".<ref name="The Telegraph">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8769353/David-Attenborough-joins-campaign-against-creationism-in-schools.html |title=David Attenborough joins campaign against creationism in schools |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=19 September 2011 |access-date=6 October 2014 |last=Collins |first=Nick |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008095340/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8769353/David-Attenborough-joins-campaign-against-creationism-in-schools.html |archive-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===BBC and public service broadcasting===
Attenborough is a lifelong supporter of the BBC, public service broadcasting and the [[Engineering:Television licence|television licence]]. He has said that public service broadcasting "is one of the things that distinguishes this country and makes me want to live here",<ref name="telegraph1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1921592/Sir-David-Attenborough-enters-political-jungle.html |title=Sir David Attenborough enters political jungle |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |first=Andrew |last=Pierce |date=2 May 2008 |access-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141008095347/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1921592/Sir-David-Attenborough-enters-political-jungle.html |archive-date=8 October 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> and believes that it is not reducible to individual programmes, but "can only effectively operate as a network [...] that measures its success not only by its audience size but by the range of its schedule".<ref name="bbc.co.uk">[http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/howwework/reports/pdf/attenborough_future_of_psb.pdf "The future of public service broadcasting"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503092810/http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/howwework/reports/pdf/attenborough_future_of_psb.pdf |date=3 May 2019 }}. BBC. Retrieved 15 September 2019</ref>

{{blockquote|... the BBC per minute in almost every category is as cheap as you can find anywhere in the world and produces the best quality. [...] The BBC has gone through swingeing staff cuts.<!-- Note to future editors: "swingeing" is not a typo. The definition is "severe or otherwise extreme." --> It has been cut to the bone, if you divert licence fee money elsewhere, you cut quality and services. [...] There is a lot of people who want to see the BBC weakened. They talk of this terrible tax of the licence fee. Yet it is the best bargain that is going. Four radio channels and god knows how many TV channels. It is piffling.<ref name="telegraph1"/>}}

Attenborough expressed the view that there had often been people wanting to remove the BBC, adding "there's always been trouble about the licence and if you dropped your guard you could bet our bottom dollar there'd be plenty of people who'd want to take it away. The licence fee is the basis on which the BBC is based and if you destroy it, broadcasting... becomes a wasteland."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/multi-platform/news/attenborough-backs-ross/1925560.article |title=Attenborough backs Ross |website=Broadcastnow.co.uk |access-date=26 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405100046/http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/multi-platform/news/attenborough-backs-ross/1925560.article |archive-date=5 April 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> He expressed regret at some of the changes made to the BBC in the 1990s by its Director-General, John Birt, who introduced an internal market at the corporation, slimmed and closed some departments and outsourced much of the corporation's output to private production companies.<ref name="new statesman 1998"/>

Although he said Birt's policies had poor results, Attenborough also acknowledged "the BBC had to change."<ref name="new statesman 1998">{{cite web |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/199812180019 |title=The New Statesman Interview – David Attenborough |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607080949/http://www.newstatesman.com/199812180019 |archive-date=7 June 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article820515.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1 |title=Interview: Marguerite Driscoll meets Sir David Attenborough: So much jollier than being DG |location=London |work=The Times |date=3 November 2002 |access-date=28 March 2010 |first=Fiona |last=Hamilton |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203604/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2008, he criticised the BBC's television schedules, positing that the two senior networks, BBC One and BBC Two – which Attenborough stated were "first set up as a partnership" – now "schedule simultaneously programmes of identical character, thereby contradicting the very reason that the BBC was given a second network."<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/>

===Politics===
In 1998, Attenborough described himself as "a standard, boring left-wing liberal" and expressed the view that the [[Finance:Market economy|market economy]] was "misery".<ref name="new statesman 1998"/> In 2013, Attenborough joined the rock guitarists Brian May and Slash in opposing the government's policy on the [[Medicine:Badger culling in the United Kingdom|cull of badgers in the UK]] by participating in a song dedicated to badgers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/04/slash-david-attenborough-brian-may-badger-swagger |title=Slash and David Attenborough join Brian May in pro-badger supergroup |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 June 2013 |access-date=16 June 2013 |last1=Michaels |first1=Sean |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130827184207/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/jun/04/slash-david-attenborough-brian-may-badger-swagger |archive-date=27 August 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> Attenborough was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''{{wipe|The Guardian}}'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in the 2014 referendum on that issue.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories &#124; Politics |newspaper=The Guardian |date=7 August 2014 |access-date=26 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817131736/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |archive-date=17 August 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> Prior to the 2015 UK general election, Attenborough was one of several celebrities who endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of the Green Party's Caroline Lucas.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/24/celebrities-sign-statement-support-caroline-lucas-not-green-party |title=Celebrities sign statement of support for Caroline Lucas – but not the Greens |work=The Guardian |location=London |first=Jessica |last=Elgot |date=24 April 2015 |access-date=22 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324092533/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/apr/24/celebrities-sign-statement-support-caroline-lucas-not-green-party |archive-date=24 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In a 2020 interview, Attenborough criticised excess [[Philosophy:Capitalism|capitalism]] as a driver of ecological imbalance, stating "the excesses the capitalist system has brought us, have got to be curbed somehow", and that "greed does not actually lead to joy", although he added "That doesn't mean to say that capitalism is dead".<ref>{{Cite news |date=8 October 2020 |title=Attenborough: 'Curb excess capitalism' to save nature |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54268038 |access-date=8 October 2020 |archive-date=8 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201008143757/https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54268038 |url-status=live}}</ref> He also lamented the lack of [[Earth:Politics of climate change|international cooperation on climate change]], and said "there should be no dominant nation on this planet."<ref>{{cite news |last=Blum |first=Jeremy |date=10 October 2020 |title=David Attenborough Calls Out The 'Excesses' Of Capitalism In A World Facing Climate Change |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/david-attenborough-covid-19-excesses-capitalism_n_5f81e2f8c5b6e6d033a3302d |work=HuffPost |access-date=12 October 2020 |archive-date=11 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201011234922/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/david-attenborough-covid-19-excesses-capitalism_n_5f81e2f8c5b6e6d033a3302d |url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, Attenborough told the leaders of the 47th G7 summit that "tackling climate change was now as much a political challenge as it was a scientific or technological one" and urged more action.<ref>{{cite news |title=Environmentalist Attenborough tells G7: We need the will to tackle climate change |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/environmentalist-attenborough-tells-g7-we-need-will-tackle-climate-change-2021-06-13/ |access-date=13 June 2021 |work=Reuters |date=13 June 2021 |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210613112925/https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/environmentalist-attenborough-tells-g7-we-need-will-tackle-climate-change-2021-06-13/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Attenborough also stated that "(we) are on the verge of destabilising the entire planet."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Dulcie |last2=Lee |first2=Joseph |title=G7 to agree tough measures on burning coal to tackle climate change |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-57456641 |access-date=13 June 2021 |work=BBC News |date=13 June 2021 |archive-date=12 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612222526/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-57456641 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

In 2023, Attenborough was described by the New Statesman as a figure “invaluable to green diplomacy” in the UK, placing him number twenty-third in their list of Britain's most powerful left-wing figures, above many elected politicians.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Statesman |first=New |date=2023-05-17 |title=The New Statesman's left power list |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2023/05/the-new-statesmans-left-power-list |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Achievements, awards and recognition==
{{quote box
 | quote =  He roamed the globe and shared his discoveries and enthusiasms with his patented semi-whisper way of narrating. He talks like he's revealing secrets and draws you in using such simple language that he's instantly understood, making his sense of wonder infectious. And when he goes on site to share the screen with one of his subjects, it's magical.
 | source = —NPR review of ''Attenborough's Journey' Salutes The Broadcaster With A Passion For Nature''.<ref name="NPR review"/>
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Attenborough's contribution to broadcasting and wildlife film-making has brought him international recognition. He has been called "the great communicator, the peerless educator"<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4729076/What-comes-naturally.html |title=What comes naturally |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=31 December 2001 |location=London |first=Giles |last=Smith |access-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402132845/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/4729076/What-comes-naturally.html |archive-date=2 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> and "the greatest broadcaster of our time."<ref name=whitworth /> His programmes are often cited as an example of what public service broadcasting should be, even by critics of the BBC, and have influenced a generation of wildlife film-makers.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/mar/03/davidattenboroughafinespec |title=David Attenborough: a fine specimen |work={{wipe|The Guardian}} |date=3 March 2008 |location=London |first=James |last=Donaghy |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220045749/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/mar/03/davidattenboroughafinespec |archive-date=20 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Honorary titles===
By January 2013, Attenborough had collected 32 honorary degrees from British universities,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7920613/Sir-David-Attenborough-heads-lists-of-most-honoured-by-Britains-universities.html |title=Sir David Attenborough heads lists of most honoured by Britain's universities |last1=Howie |first2=Joshi Eichner |last2=Herrmann |first3=Jack |last3=Rivlin |first1=Michael |website=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=6 April 2016 |date=1 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925000818/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7920613/Sir-David-Attenborough-heads-lists-of-most-honoured-by-Britains-universities.html |archive-date=25 September 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> more than any other person.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fergus |first=Lindsay |title=David Attenborough: The man with the most honorary degrees in UK gets one more from Queen's University |url=http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/david-attenborough-the-man-with-the-most-honorary-degrees-in-uk-gets-one-more-from-queenrsquos-university-16261947.html |newspaper=The Belfast Telegraph |date=16 January 2013 |access-date=4 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120100329/http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/education/david-attenborough-the-man-with-the-most-honorary-degrees-in-uk-gets-one-more-from-queenrsquos-university-16261947.html |archive-date=20 January 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/23144921 |title=David Attenborough receives '32nd' honorary degree – CBBC Newsround |publisher=BBC |date=2 July 2013 |access-date=6 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151125071812/http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/23144921 |archive-date=25 November 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1980, he was honoured by the [[Organization:Open University|Open University]], with which he has had a close association throughout his career. He has honorary [[Social:Doctor of Science|Doctor of Science]] degrees from [[Organization:Durham University|Durham University]] (1982)<ref>{{cite web |title=Honorary Degrees |url=https://www.dur.ac.uk/university.calendar/volumei/honorary_degrees/ |website=[[Organization:Durham University|Durham University]] |access-date=13 October 2020 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801035252/https://www.dur.ac.uk/university.calendar/volumei/honorary_degrees/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the [[Organization:University of Cambridge|University of Cambridge]] (1984)<ref name=":0" /> and honorary [[Social:Doctor of Philosophy|Doctor of Philosophy]] degrees from the [[Organization:University of Oxford|University of Oxford]] (1988)<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.wwf.org.uk/about_wwf/more_about_wwf/wwf_uk_council_of_ambassadors/sir_david_attenborough.cfm |title=Council of ambassadors {{!}} Sir David Attenborough, OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS |publisher=WWF-UK |access-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006123048/http://www.wwf.org.uk/about_wwf/more_about_wwf/wwf_uk_council_of_ambassadors/sir_david_attenborough.cfm |archive-date=6 October 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and the University of Ghent (1997).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ugent.be/nl/univgent/voorzieningen/collecties/archief/geschiedenis/overzichten/eredoctoren.htm |title=Overzicht eredoctoraten – Universiteit Gent |language=nl |publisher=Universiteit Gent |access-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106010813/http://www.ugent.be/nl/univgent/bronnen/archief/geschiedenis/overzichten/eredoctoren.htm/#1990_-_1999 |archive-date=6 November 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2006, the two eldest Attenborough brothers returned to their home city to receive the title of Distinguished Honorary Fellows of the University of Leicester, "in recognition of a record of continuing distinguished service to the University."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Sky-News-Archive/Article/200806413532577 |title=British Icons Pick Up Uni Honours |publisher=Sky News |date=13 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110619215858/http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Sky-News-Archive/Article/200806413532577 |archive-date=19 June 2011}}</ref> David Attenborough was previously awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the university in 1970, and was made an honorary Freeman of the City of Leicester in 1990. In 2013, he was made an Honorary Freeman of the City of Bristol.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.bristol.gov.uk/press/sir-david-attenborough-receive-freedom-city |title=Sir David Attenborough to receive Freedom of the City |publisher=Bristol City Council |access-date=4 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150504154019/http://www.bristol.gov.uk/press/sir-david-attenborough-receive-freedom-city |archive-date=4 May 2015}}</ref> In 2010, he was awarded Honorary Doctorates from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and [[Organization:Nottingham Trent University|Nottingham Trent University]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://alumni.mandela.ac.za/Honorary-Doctorates |title=Honorary Doctorates – Alumni Relations |access-date=21 August 2021 |archive-date=2 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214341/https://alumni.mandela.ac.za/Honorary-Doctorates |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Honorary graduates {{!}} 2010 {{!}} Sir David Attenborough|url=https://www.ntualumni.org.uk/your_alumni_association/notable_alumni/honorary_graduates/david_attenborough|url-status=live|access-date=21 August 2021|website=Nottingham Trent University|archive-date=21 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821201548/https://www.ntualumni.org.uk/your_alumni_association/notable_alumni/honorary_graduates/david_attenborough}}</ref>

Attenborough has received the title Honorary Fellow from Clare College, Cambridge (1980),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.clare.cam.ac.uk/Honorary-Fellows/|title=Honorary Fellows – Clare College Cambridge|access-date=31 October 2021|archive-date=31 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031213651/https://www.clare.cam.ac.uk/Honorary-Fellows/|url-status=live}}</ref> the Zoological Society of London (1998),<ref>[https://www.zsl.org/sites/default/files/media/2020-11/ZSL%2520Honorary%2520Fellows_2019.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi0oeTEzfXzAhVRilwKHX_nDK4QFnoECAQQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1Xe21o52RMolfyZJC-7MUs] {{dead link|date=November 2021}}</ref> the Linnean Society (1999),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.linnean.org/our-fellows/royal-patrons-and-honorary-fellows|title=Royal Patrons and Honorary Fellows|website=The Linnean Society|access-date=31 October 2021|archive-date=27 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027015832/https://www.linnean.org/our-fellows/royal-patrons-and-honorary-fellows|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Organization:Institute of Biology|Institute of Biology]] (Now the [[Organization:Royal Society of Biology|Royal Society of Biology]]) (2000),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/attenborough-prize/|title=Royal Society David Attenborough Award and Lecture &#124; Royal Society|website=royalsociety.org|access-date=31 October 2021|archive-date=31 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211031213651/https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/attenborough-prize/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the Society of Antiquaries (2007). He is Honorary Patron of the [[Organization:North American Native Plant Society|North American Native Plant Society]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nanps.org/index.php/contact-us/nanps-board |title=North American Native Plant Society – NANPS Board |publisher=Nanps.org |access-date=28 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231001042/http://www.nanps.org/index.php/contact-us/nanps-board |archive-date=31 December 2013}}</ref> and was elected as a Corresponding Member of the Australian Academy of Science.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-08-17 |title=Sir David Attenborough signs Academy Charter {{!}} Australian Academy of Science |url=https://www.science.org.au/news-and-events/news-and-media-releases/sir-david-attenborough-signs-academy-charter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226150018/https://www.science.org.au/news-and-events/news-and-media-releases/sir-david-attenborough-signs-academy-charter |archive-date=2022-02-26 |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=Australian Academy of Science |language=en}}</ref>

===Recognition===
Attenborough has been featured as the subject of a number of BBC television programmes. ''Life on Air'' (2002) examined the legacy of his work, and ''Attenborough the Controller'' (2002) focused on his time in charge of BBC Two. He was also featured prominently in ''The Way We Went Wild'' (2004), a series about natural history television presenters, and ''100 Years of Wildlife Films'' (2007), a programme marking the centenary of the nature documentary. In 2006, British television viewers were asked to vote for their ''Favourite Attenborough Moments'' for a UKTV poll to coincide with the broadcaster's 80th birthday. The winning clip showed Attenborough observing the [[Biology:Mimicry|mimicry]] skills of the [[Biology:Superb lyrebird|superb lyrebird]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=West |first=Dave |date=7 May 2006 |title=Impression bird is voted Sir Dave fave |url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a32656/impression-bird-is-voted-sir-dave-fave/ |access-date=28 August 2021 |website=Digital Spy |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203606/https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/a32656/impression-bird-is-voted-sir-dave-fave/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Attenborough was named the most trusted celebrity in the UK in a 2006 ''Reader's Digest'' poll,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/Columnists/Column/0,5673,1696927,00.html |title=In David we trust ... but not Peter |work={{wipe|The Guardian}} |last=Hoggart |first=Simon |date=28 January 2006 |location=London |access-date=11 December 2016 |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203606/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/jan/28/politicalcolumnists.politics |url-status=live}}</ref> and in 2007 he won ''The Culture Show''{{'s}} Living Icon Award.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/livingicons/bio01.shtml |title=Living Icons – David Attenborough |publisher=BBC |access-date=31 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427151844/http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/livingicons/bio01.shtml |archive-date=27 April 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> He has been named among the 100 Greatest Britons in a 2002 BBC poll and is one of the top ten "Heroes of Our Time" according to ''New Statesman'' magazine.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.newstatesman.com/200605220016 |title=Heroes of our time – the top 50 |work=New Statesman |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428104750/http://www.newstatesman.com/200605220016 |archive-date=28 April 2011}}</ref> In September 2009, London's [[Biology:Natural History Museum, London|Natural History Museum]] opened the Attenborough Studio, part of its Darwin Centre development.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8254804.stm |title=Prince opens £78m Darwin Centre |work=BBC News |date=14 September 2009}}</ref>

In 2012, Attenborough was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life.<ref>{{cite news |title=New faces on Sgt Pepper album cover for artist Peter Blake's 80th birthday |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/apr/02/peter-blake-sgt-pepper-cover-revisited |work=The Guardian |date=5 October 2016 |access-date=5 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105095109/https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/apr/02/peter-blake-sgt-pepper-cover-revisited |archive-date=5 November 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, Attenborough featured in the BBC Radio 4 series ''The New Elizabethans'' to mark the diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. A panel of seven academics, journalists and historians named him among the group of people in the UK "whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jxs2c/features/about |publisher=BBC |title=The New Elizabethans – David Attenborough |access-date=30 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125012450/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jxs2c/features/about |archive-date=25 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A British polar research ship was named RRS ''Sir David Attenborough'' in his honour. While an Internet poll suggesting the name of the ship had the most votes for ''[[Engineering:Boaty McBoatface|Boaty McBoatface]]'', the science minister Jo Johnson said there were "more suitable names", and the official name was eventually picked up from one of the more favoured choices. However, one of its research sub-sea vehicles was named "Boaty" in recognition of the public vote.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36225652 |title='Boaty McBoatface' polar ship named after Attenborough |newspaper=BBC News |date=6 May 2016 |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506121010/http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36225652 |archive-date=6 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Species named after Attenborough====
[[File:Trigonopterus attenboroughi holotype - ZooKeys-467-011.tif|thumb|upright|''Trigonopterus attenboroughi'' ]]
At least 20 species and genera, both living and extinct, have been named in Attenborough's honour.<ref name="Dijkstra2016">{{cite journal |last=Dijkstra |first=Klaas-Douwe B. |year=2016 |title=Natural history: Restore our sense of species |journal=Nature |volume=533 |issue=7602 |pages=172–174 |issn=0028-0836 |doi=10.1038/533172a |pmid=27172032 |bibcode=2016Natur.533..172D |doi-access=free}}</ref> Plants named after him include an alpine hawkweed (''[[Biology:Hieracium attenboroughianum|Hieracium attenboroughianum]]'') discovered in the Brecon Beacons,<ref>{{cite web |author=BSBI |title=Hawkweed named for Sir David Attenborough |url=http://bsbipublicity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/hawkweed-named-for-sir-david.html |date=24 December 2014 |access-date=24 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141224172836/http://bsbipublicity.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/hawkweed-named-for-sir-david.html |archive-date=24 December 2014 |url-status=dead}}, {{cite journal |date=December 2014 |title=''Hieracium attenboroughianum'' (Asteraceae), a new species of hawkweed |author=T. C. G. Rich |volume=4 |issue=3 |pages=172–178 |journal=New Journal of Botany |doi=10.1179/2042349714Y.0000000051 |bibcode=2014NJBot...4..172R |s2cid=84969327 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/15032 |access-date=29 August 2019 |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203612/https://zenodo.org/record/15032/preview/Hieracium_attenboroughianum_njb91.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> a species of Ecuadorian flowering tree (''[[Biology:Blakea attenboroughi|Blakea attenboroughi]]''), one of the world's largest-pitchered carnivorous plants (''[[Biology:Nepenthes attenboroughii|Nepenthes attenboroughii]]''), along with a genus of flowering plants (''[[Biology:Sirdavidia|Sirdavidia]]'').<ref name="Couvreur2015">{{cite journal |vauthors=Couvreur TL, Niangadouma R, Sonké B, Sauquet H |title=Sirdavidia, an extraordinary new genus of Annonaceae from Gabon |journal=PhytoKeys |year=2015 |issue=46 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.3897/phytokeys.46.8937 |pmid=25878546 |pmc=4391954 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Several Arthropods are named after Attenborough including a butterfly, Attenborough's black-eyed satyr (''[[Biology:Euptychia attenboroughi|Euptychia attenboroughi]]''),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20151202-rare-amazonian-butterfly-named-after-sir-david-attenborough |title=Rare Amazonian butterfly named after Sir David Attenborough |work=BBC Earth |date=3 December 2015 |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826050500/http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20151202-rare-amazonian-butterfly-named-after-sir-david-attenborough |archive-date=26 August 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> a dragonfly, Attenborough's pintail (''[[Biology:Acisoma attenboroughi|Acisoma attenboroughi]]''),<ref name="DA90">{{Cite episode |title=Attenborough at 90 |series=Attenborough at 90 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03qxjzj |access-date=8 May 2016 |network=BBC Television |date=8 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425135009/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03qxjzj |archive-date=25 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> a millimetre-long goblin spider (''[[Biology:Prethopalpus attenboroughi|Prethopalpus attenboroughi]]''), an ornate Caribbean smiley-faced spider (''[[Biology:Spintharus davidattenboroughi|Spintharus davidattenboroughi]]''),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/182/4/758/4222834?redirectedFrom=fulltext |title=Agnarsson et al. 2018. A radiation of the ornate Caribbean 'smiley-faced spiders', with descriptions of 15 new species (Araneae: Theridiidae, Spintharus) |publisher=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 182: 758–790 |date=26 September 2017 |access-date=27 September 2020 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224161948/https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/182/4/758/4222834?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sci-news.com/biology/fifteen-new-species-smiley-faced-spiders-05260.html |title=Fifteen New Species of 'Smiley-Faced' Spiders Discovered |publisher=Sci News |date=27 September 2017 |access-date=27 September 2020 |archive-date=17 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190117172915/http://www.sci-news.com/biology/fifteen-new-species-smiley-faced-spiders-05260.html |url-status=live}}</ref> an Indonesian flightless weevil (''[[Biology:Trigonopterus attenboroughi|Trigonopterus attenboroughi]]''),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/following-a-plant-and-a-spider-sir-david-attenborough-now-has-a-beetle-named-after-him-9941035.html |title=Following a plant and a spider, Sir David Attenborough now has a beetle named after him |last=Bawden |first=Tom |date=22 December 2014 |website=The Independent |access-date=30 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231035227/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/following-a-plant-and-a-spider-sir-david-attenborough-now-has-a-beetle-named-after-him-9941035.html |archive-date=31 December 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://entertainment.ie/life/David-Attenborough-is-getting-a-beetle-named-after-him/325920.htm |title=David Attenborough is getting a beetle named after him |last=Collins |first=Adrian |date=23 December 2014 |website=entertainment.ie |access-date=30 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205093941/http://entertainment.ie/life/David-Attenborough-is-getting-a-beetle-named-after-him/325920.htm |archive-date=5 February 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> a Madagascan ghost shrimp (''Ctenocheloides attenboroughi''), and a soil snail (''Palaina attenboroughi'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Greķe |first=Kristīne |year=2017 |editor-last=Telnov |editor-first=Dmitry |title=Taxonomic review of Diplommatinidae (Caenogastropoda: Cyclophoroidea) from Wallacea and the Papuan Region |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320921280 |journal=Biodiversity, Biogeography and Nature Conservation in Wallacea and New Guinea |volume=3 |pages=151–316, pls 19–47 |access-date=13 January 2018 |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203637/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320921280_Taxonomic_review_of_Diplommatinidae_Caenogastropoda_Cyclophoroidea_from_Wallacea_and_the_Papuan_Region |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Biology:Monogenea|Monogenea]]n ''[[Biology:Cichlidogyrus attenboroughi|Cichlidogyrus attenboroughi]]'', a parasite from a deep-sea fish in the Lake Tanganyika, is probably the only parasite species named after him.<ref name="KmentováGelnar2016">{{cite journal |last1=Kmentová |first1=Nikol |last2=Gelnar |first2=Milan |last3=Koblmüller |first3=Stephan |last4=Vanhove |first4=Maarten P. M. |title=Deep-water parasite diversity in Lake Tanganyika: description of two new monogenean species from benthopelagic cichlid fishes |journal=Parasites & Vectors |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=426 |year=2016 |issn=1756-3305 |doi=10.1186/s13071-016-1696-x |doi-access=free |pmid=27488497 |pmc=4972994}}</ref> Vertebrates have also been named after Attenborough, including a Namibian lizard (''[[Biology:Platysaurus attenboroughi|Platysaurus attenboroughi]]''),<ref name="Slate_14species" /> a bird (''Polioptila attenboroughi''),<ref name="Slate_14species" /> a Peruvian frog (''[[Biology:Pristimantis attenboroughi|Pristimantis attenboroughi]]''),<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lehr |first1=Edgar |last2=von May |first2=Rudolf |title=A new species of terrestrial-breeding frog (Amphibia, Craugastoridae, ''Pristimantis'') from high elevations of the Pui Pui Protected Forest in central Peru |journal=ZooKeys |year=2017 |issue=660 |pages=17–42 |doi=10.3897/zookeys.660.11394 |pmid=28794672 |pmc=5549528 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2017ZooK..660...17L }}</ref> a Madagascan [[Biology:Stumpffia|stump-toed frog]] (''Stumpffia davidattenboroughi''),<ref name="Rakoto17">{{cite journal |last1=Rakotoarison |first1=A. |last2=Scherz |first2=M.D. |last3=Glaw |first3=F. |last4=Köhler |first4=J |last5=Andreone |first5=F. |last6=Franzen |first6=M. |last7=Glos |first7=J. |last8=Hawlitschek |first8=O. |last9=Jono |first9=T.|last10=Mori|first10=A. |last11=Ndriantsoa |first11=S.H. |last12=Raminosoa Rasoamampionona |first12=N. |last13=Riemann |first13=J.C. |last14=Rödel |first14=M.-O. |last15=Rosa |first15=G.M. |last16=Vieites |first16=D.R. |last17=Crottini |first17=A. |last18=Vences |first18=M. |title=Describing the smaller majority: Integrative fast-track taxonomy reveals twenty-six new species of tiny microhylid frogs (genus ''Stumpffia'') from Madagascar |journal=Vertebrate Zoology |year=2017 |volume=67 |issue=3 |pages=271–398|doi=10.3897/vz.67.e31595 |s2cid=257190990 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and one of only four species of echidna (''[[Biology:Zaglossus attenboroughi|Zaglossus attenboroughi]]'').<ref name="InPics">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardin.com/environment/gallery/2014/jul/31/species-named-after-sir-david-attenborough-in-pictures |title=Species named after Sir David Attenborough – in pictures |date=31 July 2014 |newspaper={{wipe|The Guardian}} |access-date=1 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190805203411/https://www.theguardin.com/environment/gallery/2014/jul/31/species-named-after-sir-david-attenborough-in-pictures |archive-date=5 August 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Sitana attenboroughii David Raju.jpg|thumb|''Sitana attenboroughii'']]
In 1993, after discovering that the [[Earth:Mesozoic|Mesozoic]] reptile ''Plesiosaurus conybeari'' did not belong to the genus ''Plesiosaurus'', the palaeontologist Robert Bakker renamed the species ''Attenborosaurus conybeari''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dinosauria.com/dml/names/ples.html |title=Plesiosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide |publisher=Dinosauria.com |access-date=4 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091001060613/http://www.dinosauria.com/dml/names/ples.html |archive-date=1 October 2009}}</ref> A fossilised armoured fish discovered in Western Australia in 2008 was named ''[[Biology:Materpiscis|Materpiscis]] attenboroughi'', after Attenborough had filmed at the site and highlighted its scientific importance in ''Life on Earth''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080528-mother-fossil.html |title=Oldest Live-Birth Fossil Found; Fish Had Umbilical Cord |publisher=National Geographic News |date=28 May 2008 |access-date=29 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080530065627/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/05/080528-mother-fossil.html |archive-date=30 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2015, a species of tree from Gabon (in the [[Biology:Annonaceae|Annonaceae]] family) ''[[Biology:Sirdavidia|Sirdavidia]]'' {{small|Couvreur & Sauquet}} was named with his title.<ref>{{cite book | last=Burkhardt | first=Lotte | title=Eine Enzyklopädie zu eponymischen Pflanzennamen | trans-title=Encyclopedia of eponymic plant names | publisher=Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin | year=2022 | isbn=978-3-946292-41-8 | url=https://doi.org/10.3372/epolist2022 | format=pdf | language=German | location=Berlin | doi=10.3372/epolist2022 | s2cid=246307410 | access-date=27 January 2022 | archive-date=31 August 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230831232306/https://www.bgbm.org/de/eine-enzyklopadie-zu-eponymischen-pflanzennamen | url-status=live }}</ref>

The ''Materpiscis'' fossil is believed to be the earliest organism capable of internal fertilisation. A miniature marsupial lion, ''Microleo attenboroughi'', was named in his honour in 2016.<ref name="Gough2016">{{cite news |last1=Gough |first1=Myles |title=Kitten-sized extinct 'lion' named after David Attenborough |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-37182388 |work=BBC News |access-date=29 August 2016 |date=25 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160829000904/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-37182388 |archive-date=29 August 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="GillespieEtAL2016">{{cite journal |last1=Gillespie |first1=Anna K. |last2=Archer |first2=Michael |last3=Hand |first3=Suzanne J. |title=A tiny new marsupial lion (Marsupialia, Thylacoleonidae) from the early Miocene of Australia |journal=Palaeontologia Electronica |year=2016 |volume=19 |issue=2.26A |pages=1–26 |url=http://palaeo-electronica.org/content/pdfs/632.pdf |access-date=29 August 2016 |doi=10.26879/632 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911054640/http://palaeo-electronica.org/content/pdfs/632.pdf |archive-date=11 September 2016 |url-status=live |doi-access=free}}</ref> The fossil grasshopper ''Electrotettix attenboroughi'' was named after Attenborough. In March 2017, a 430&nbsp;million year old tiny [[Biology:Crustacean|crustacean]] was named after him. Called ''Cascolus ravitis'', the first word is a [[Social:Latin|Latin]] translation of the root meaning of "Attenborough", and the second is based on a description of him in Latin.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39348150 |title=Fossil named after Sir David Attenborough |work=BBC News |date=22 March 2017 |access-date=20 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717085303/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39348150 |archive-date=17 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2017/03/whats-in-a-name-sir-david-attenborough-creatures/ |title=What's in a name? |website=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=4 April 2017 |date=22 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404045459/https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2017/03/whats-in-a-name-sir-david-attenborough-creatures/ |archive-date=4 April 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In July 2017, the Caribbean [[Biology:Bat|bat]] ''Myotis attenboroughi'' was named after him.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317381815 |title=Caribbean Myotis (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae), with description of a new species from Trinidad and Tobago |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=98 |issue=4 |pages=994–1008 |access-date=23 October 2018 |doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyx062 |year=2017 |last1=Moratelli |first1=Ricardo |last2=Wilson |first2=Don E. |last3=Novaes |first3=Roberto L. M. |last4=Helgen |first4=Kristofer M. |last5=Gutiérrez |first5=Eliécer E. |doi-access=free |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203611/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317381815_Caribbean_Myotis_Chiroptera_Vespertilionidae_with_description_of_a_new_species_from_Trinidad_and_Tobago |url-status=live}}</ref> A new species of fan-throated lizard from coastal Kerala in {{wipe|India}} was named ''Sitana attenboroughii'' in his honour when it was described in 2018.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sadasivan |first1=Kalesh |last2=Ramesh |first2=M. B. |last3=Palot |first3=Muhamed Jafer |last4=Ambekar |first4=Mayuresh |last5=Mirza |first5=Zeeshan A. |title=A new species of fan-throated lizard of the genus Sitana Cuvier, 1829 from coastal Kerala, southern India |journal=Zootaxa |date=21 January 2018 |volume=4374 |issue=4 |pages=545–564 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.4374.4.5 |pmid=29689791 |url=http://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4374.4.5 |issn=1175-5334 |access-date=23 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180122181628/http://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4374.4.5 |archive-date=22 January 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2018, a new species of [[Earth:Phytoplankton|phytoplankton]], ''Syracosphaera azureaplaneta'', was named to honour ''The Blue Planet'', the TV documentary presented by Attenborough, and to recognise his contribution to promoting understanding of the oceanic environment.<ref>{{cite web |title=New ocean plankton species named after BBC's Blue Planet series |url=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0418/170418-Syracosphaera-azureaplaneta |publisher=University College London |access-date=17 April 2018 |date=17 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420044837/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0418/170418-Syracosphaera-azureaplaneta |archive-date=20 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, Attenborough was also commemorated in the name of the scarab beetle ''Sylvicanthon attenboroughi''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vaz-de-Mello |first1=Fernando Z. |last2=Cupello |first2=Mario |title=A monographic revision of the Neotropical dung beetle genus ''Sylvicanthon'' Halffter & Martínez, 1977 (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae: Deltochilini), including a reappraisal of the taxonomic history of 'Canthon sensu lato' |journal=European Journal of Taxonomy |year=2018 |issue=467 |url=http://www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/598/1378 |issn=2118-9773 |access-date=10 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181210111101/http://www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/598/1378 |archive-date=10 December 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2021 an extinct species of horseshoe crab was named ''[[Biology:Attenborolimulus|Attenborolimulus superspinosus]].''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bicknell |first1=Russell D. C. |last2=Shcherbakov |first2=Dmitry E. |date=30 June 2021 |title=New austrolimulid from Russia supports role of Early Triassic horseshoe crabs as opportunistic taxa |journal=PeerJ |volume=9 |pages=e11709 |doi=10.7717/peerj.11709 |pmid=34249518 |pmc=8254475 |issn=2167-8359 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bicknell |first=Russell Dean Christopher |date=30 June 2021 |title=We discovered a new fossil species of horseshoe crab (and named it after David Attenborough) |url=http://theconversation.com/we-discovered-a-new-fossil-species-of-horseshoe-crab-and-named-it-after-david-attenborough-163086 |url-status=live |access-date=29 October 2021 |website=The Conversation |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822153232/https://theconversation.com/we-discovered-a-new-fossil-species-of-horseshoe-crab-and-named-it-after-david-attenborough-163086}}</ref> In July 2022, a fossil of a 560-million-year-old creature named ''Auroralumina attenboroughii'', which researchers believe to be the first animal predator, was named after Attenborough.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 July 2022 |title=Fossil of believed first animal predator named after David Attenborough |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-fossil-of-believed-first-animal-predator-named-after-david/ |access-date=25 July 2022 |archive-date=25 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220725173133/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-fossil-of-believed-first-animal-predator-named-after-david/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Attenborough is also recognised by ''Guinness World Records'' as having the longest career as a natural historian and presenter in television.<ref>{{cite web |title=David Attenborough: Longest career as a TV presenter |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/david-attenborough-longest-career-as-a-tv-presenter |website=Guinness World Records |publisher=Jim Pattison Group |access-date=14 July 2022 |archive-date=12 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612060809/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records/hall-of-fame/david-attenborough-longest-career-as-a-TV-presenter |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Awards===
[[File:Bærekraftsprisen 2018.jpg|thumb|Attenborough in 2018 receiving an honorary award for his sustainability work from [[Place:Bergen|Bergen]] Business Council and Fana Sparebank]]
[[File:LI Awards 2019 270 N762.jpg|alt=award, Landscape architecture, sustainable, Landscape Architect, LI, Landscape Institute|thumb|Attenborough receiving the Landscape Institute Medal for Lifetime Achievement, and becoming an Honorary Fellow of the Landscape Institute in 2019]]
{|class="sortable wikitable"
!scope="col"|Year
!scope="col"|Award
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | {{abbr|2=References|Refs.}}
|-
|1972 || Royal Geographical Society's Cherry Kearton Medal and Award||<ref name="RGS">{{cite web |url=http://www.rgs.org/NR/rdonlyres/5733E422-4831-4451-B7D8-052E80E8CD75/0/MedalWinners19702012.pdf |title=Medals and Awards |publisher=Royal Geographical Society |access-date=28 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002055718/http://www.rgs.org/NR/rdonlyres/5733E422-4831-4451-B7D8-052E80E8CD75/0/MedalWinners19702012.pdf |archive-date=2 October 2013}}</ref>
|-
|1974 || Appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to nature conservation in the 1974 Birthday Honours || <ref>{{London Gazette |issue=46310 |date=7 June 1974 |page=6799 |supp=y}}</ref>
|-
|1980 || BAFTA Fellowship ||<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of television |first=Horace |last=Newcomb |isbn=1-57958-394-6 |page=157 |publisher=Routledge |edition=2 |date=7 October 2004}}</ref>
|-
|1981 || Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science from [[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]] ||<ref>{{cite web |title=UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/science-technology/sti-policy/global-focus/science-popularization/prizes/kalinga-prize/kalinga-winners/laureates-89-70/ |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=15 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140416191624/http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/science-technology/sti-policy/global-focus/science-popularization/prizes/kalinga-prize/kalinga-winners/laureates-89-70/ |archive-date=16 April 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|1983 || Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) ||<ref name=frs>{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151014064120/https://royalsociety.org/people/david-attenborough-11015/ |url-status=live |access-date=22 August 2021 |archive-date=14 October 2015 |url=https://royalsociety.org/people/david-attenborough-11015/ |title=Sir David Attenborough OM CH CVO CBE FRS Statute 12 |publisher=Royal Society |location=London}}</ref>
|-
|1985 || Knight Bachelor in the 1985 Birthday Honours || <ref>{{London Gazette|issue=50154 |date=15 June 1985 |page=1 |supp=y}}</ref>
|-
|1991 || Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) for producing Queen Elizabeth II's Christmas broadcast for a number of years from 1986 in the 1991 Birthday Honours || <ref>{{London Gazette |issue=52563 |date=14 June 1991 |page=4 |supp=y}}</ref>
|-
|1991 || Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences ||<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web |title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter A |url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf |publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences |access-date=27 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510021801/http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterA.pdf |archive-date=10 May 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|1992 || Elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal Academy of Arts ||<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/royal-academicians|title=Sir David Attenborough OM CH CVO CBE FRS (1992), Royal Academy of Arts, London|access-date=29 January 2023|archive-date=29 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230129133649/https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/royal-academicians|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| 1996 || Kew International Medal || <ref name=seb/>
|-
|1996 || Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) for services to nature broadcasting in the 1996 New Year Honours||<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=54255 |date=29 December 1995 |page=5 |supp=y}}</ref>
|-
|1998 || International Cosmos Prize ||<ref>{{cite news |title=Conservation and biodiversity research wins international prize for British scientist |url=https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/14094/conservation-biodiversity-research-wins-international-prize/ |access-date=12 March 2019 |agency=Imperial College London |archive-date=5 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905203614/https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/14094/conservation-biodiversity-research-wins-international-prize/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| 2000 ||[[Biology:RSPB Medal|RSPB Medal]] ||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/rspb-news/news/408162-stanley-johnson-awarded-rspb-medal |title=Gifted naturalist is awarded prestigious RSPB medal |date=10 October 2015 |publisher=RSPB |access-date=18 November 2017 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906110056/http://ww2.rspb.org.uk/our-work/rspb-news/news/408162-stanley-johnson-awarded-rspb-medal |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2003 || Michael Faraday Prize awarded by the Royal Society|| <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/research/rtdinfo/44/article_2024_en.html |title=Research – RTD info -N° 44 – February 2005 – European science – from Nobel to Descartes |date=14 February 2010 |access-date=5 September 2021 |archive-date=14 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100214141107/http://ec.europa.eu/research/rtdinfo/44/article_2024_en.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| 2004 || Descartes Prize for Outstanding Science Communication Actions || <ref>{{Cite journal |title=Descartes' Europe: one good revolution deserves another |first=Andrew |last=Moore |date=5 February 2005 |journal=EMBO Reports |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=110–113 |doi=10.1038/sj.embor.7400340 |pmid=15689937 |pmc=1299250}}</ref>
|-
| 2004 || Caird Medal of the National Maritime Museum || <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.captaincooksociety.com/vol27no4.pdf |title=Cook's Log v27 no. 4 |access-date=5 September 2021 |archive-date=30 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210830225748/https://www.captaincooksociety.com/vol27no4.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| 2004 || José Vasconcelos World Award of Education awarded by the [[Organization:World Cultural Council|World Cultural Council]] || <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/winners-education-davidattenborough.php |title=World Cultural Council / Winners – Education – Sir David Attenborough |date=29 October 2013 |access-date=5 September 2021 |archive-date=29 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202032/http://www.consejoculturalmundial.org/winners-education-davidattenborough.php |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|2005 || Order of Merit (OM) || <ref>{{London Gazette |issue=57645 |date=20 May 2005 |page=6631}}</ref>
|-
|2005 || Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest ||<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nierenberg Prize for Science in the Public Interest |url=https://scripps.ucsd.edu/about/awards/nierenberg |access-date=6 September 2021 |work=Scripps Institution of Oceanography |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414085833/https://scripps.ucsd.edu/about/awards/nierenberg |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2006 || National Television Awards Special Recognition Award || <ref>{{Cite web|last=Awards|first=National Television|title=Winners {{!}} National Television Awards|url=https://www.nationaltvawards.com/winners|access-date=6 September 2021|work=nationaltvawards.com|archive-date=11 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111215721/https://www.nationaltvawards.com/winners|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|2006 || Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management ||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ieem.net |title=Welcome to IEEM |publisher=IEEM |access-date=31 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105172744/http://www.ieem.net/ |archive-date=5 November 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|2006 || ''The Culture Show'' British Icon Award || <ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC – Culture Show – Living Icons |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/livingicons/ |access-date=6 September 2021 |publisher=BBC |archive-date=25 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125015313/http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/livingicons/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2007 || British Naturalists' Association Peter Scott Memorial Award || <ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter Scott award – British Naturalists' Association |url=https://bna-naturalists.org/scott-prize/ |access-date=6 September 2021 |work=bna-naturalists.org |archive-date=28 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228002452/https://bna-naturalists.org/scott-prize/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2007 || Fellowship of Society of Antiquaries || <ref>{{Cite web |title=About the Fellowship – Society of Antiquaries of London |url=https://www.sal.org.uk/our-fellows/about-the-fellowship/ |access-date=6 September 2021 |work=Society of Antiquaries of London |archive-date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618020027/https://www.sal.org.uk/our-fellows/about-the-fellowship/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2008 || The Royal Photographic Society Progress medal and Honorary Fellowship || <ref>{{Cite web |title=Progress Medal |url=https://rps.org/about/awards/history-and-recipients/progress-medal/ |access-date=6 September 2021 |work=The RPS |archive-date=7 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210507040456/https://rps.org/about/awards/history-and-recipients/progress-medal |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2009 || Prince of Asturias Award ||<ref name="Asturias">{{cite web |url=http://fundacionprincipedeasturias.org/en/awards/2009/david-attenborough-1/ |title=Prince of Asturias Awards 2009 |access-date=4 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726071526/http://fundacionprincipedeasturias.org/en/awards/2009/david-attenborough-1/ |archive-date=26 July 2011}}</ref>
|-
|2010 || Fonseca Prize || <ref>{{Cite web |title=Fonseca Prize 2010 – ConCiencia Programme – USC |url=https://www.usc.gal/en/cursos/conciencia/premio_fonseca2010.html |access-date=6 September 2021 |work=usc.gal |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906110020/https://www.usc.gal/en/cursos/conciencia/premio_fonseca2010.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2010 ||Queensland Museum Medal || <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/About+Us/News/Media+Releases/2010/01/Sir+David+Attenborough+honoured+by+Qld+Museum |title=Sir David Attenborough honoured by Qld Museum |publisher=Queensland Government |date=20 January 2010 |access-date=15 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110330164328/http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/About%2BUs/News/Media%2BReleases/2010/01/Sir%2BDavid%2BAttenborough%2Bhonoured%2Bby%2BQld%2BMuseum |archive-date=30 March 2011}}</ref>
|-
|2011 || Society for the History of Natural History Founders' Medal || <ref>{{Cite web |title=Sir David Attenborough OM CH FRS is awarded the SHNH – Society for the History of Natural History Founders' Medal. – Society for the History of Natural History |url=https://shnh.org.uk/news/sir-david-attenborough-om-ch-frs-is-awarded-the-shnh-society-for-the-history-of-natural-history-fo/ |access-date=6 September 2021 |work=Society for the History of Natural History |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906110019/https://shnh.org.uk/news/sir-david-attenborough-om-ch-frs-is-awarded-the-shnh-society-for-the-history-of-natural-history-fo/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| 2011 || Association for International Broadcasting International TV Personality of the year || <ref>{{Cite web|title=AIB announces Winners of 2011 AIBs International Media Awards {{!}} AIB|url=https://aib.org.uk/aib-announces-winners-of-2011-aibs-international-media-awards/|access-date=6 September 2021|work=aib.org.uk|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906110021/https://aib.org.uk/aib-announces-winners-of-2011-aibs-international-media-awards/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|2012 || IUCN Phillips Memorial Medal for outstanding service in international conservation || <ref>{{cite web |last=Cole |first=Alan |title=Sir David Attenborough: IUCN award |url=http://www.xperedon.com/news_1676 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130210111220/http://www.xperedon.com/news_1676 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 February 2013 |publisher=Xperedon Charity News |access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref>
|-
|2015 || Individual Peabody Award || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://grady.uga.edu/naturalist-sir-david-attenborough-awarded-individual-peabody/ |title=Naturalist Sir David Attenborough Awarded Individual Peabody |website=uga.grady.edu |date=14 April 2015 |access-date=24 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190825060258/http://grady.uga.edu/naturalist-sir-david-attenborough-awarded-individual-peabody/ |archive-date=25 August 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| 2017 || Britain-Australia Society Award for outstanding contribution to strengthening British/Australian bilateral understanding and relations ||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://britain-australia.org.uk/events/event/the-britain-australia-society-award-2017/ |title=BritainAustralia Society Award 2017 |publisher=Britain-Australia Society |date=4 January 2018 |access-date=13 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413190447/http://britain-australia.org.uk/events/event/the-britain-australia-society-award-2017/ |archive-date=13 April 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|2017 || Honorary Member of the Moscow Society of Naturalists ||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moip.msu.ru/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/poch-chlen-02.doc |title=Moscow Society of Naturalists official site |language=ru |website=Moip.msu.ru |access-date=16 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180416013525/http://www.moip.msu.ru/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/poch-chlen-02.doc |archive-date=16 April 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| 2017 || Gold Medal of the [[Organization:Royal Canadian Geographical Society|Royal Canadian Geographical Society]] ||<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rcgs.org/awards/gold_medal/previous_winners.asp |title=Gold Medal-Award Recipients since its inception in 1972 |publisher=RCGS |access-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106221951/http://www.rcgs.org/awards/gold_medal/previous_winners.asp |archive-date=6 November 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
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|2018 || Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator ||<ref name="2018 Emmys">{{Cite web |url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2018/outstanding-narrator |title=Nominees/Winners |website=Television Academy |access-date=17 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119122915/http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2018/outstanding-narrator |archive-date=19 January 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|2018 || [[Organization:The Perfect World Foundation|The Perfect World Foundation]] Award ||<ref>{{cite web |title=The Perfect World Award |url=https://www.theperfectworld.com/the-perfect-world-award/ |website=The Perfect World Foundation |access-date=22 August 2021 |archive-date=22 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210822152104/https://www.theperfectworld.com/the-perfect-world-award/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|2019 || Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator ||<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2019/outstanding-narrator |title=Nominees/Winners &#124; Television Academy |publisher=Academy of Television Arts & Sciences |access-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105155628/https://www.emmys.com/awards/nominees-winners/2019/outstanding-narrator |archive-date=5 November 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|2019 || Landscape Institute Medal for Lifetime Achievement ||<ref name="2019 LI">{{cite news |title=LI to honour Sir David Attenborough with the Landscape Institute Medal |url=https://www.landscapeinstitute.org/news/li-to-honour-sir-david-attenborough-with-the-landscape-institute-medal/ |access-date=2 November 2019 |agency=Landscape Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191202212313/https://www.landscapeinstitute.org/news/li-to-honour-sir-david-attenborough-with-the-landscape-institute-medal/ |archive-date=2 December 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|2019 || Landscape Institute Honorary Fellow (HonFLI) ||<ref name="2019 LI"/>
|-
|2019 || Crystal Award at the [[Organization:World Economic Forum|World Economic Forum]] in Davos, Switzerland ||<ref>{{cite web |title=Davos 2019: Meet the Crystal Award winners |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/12/davos-2019-meet-the-crystal-award-winners/ |website=World Economic Forum |date=10 December 2018 |access-date=22 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120183442/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/12/davos-2019-meet-the-crystal-award-winners/ |archive-date=20 November 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=David Attenborough: 'The Garden of Eden is no more'. Read his Davos speech in full |url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/david-attenborough-transcript-from-crystal-award-speech/ |website=World Economic Forum |date=21 January 2019 |access-date=22 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213091400/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/david-attenborough-transcript-from-crystal-award-speech |archive-date=13 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|2019 || Indira Gandhi Peace Prize|| <ref>{{Cite news |title=British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough awarded Indira Gandhi Peace Prize at online event |work=The Economic Times |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/british-broadcaster-sir-david-attenborough-awarded-indira-gandhi-peace-prize-at-online-event/articleshow/77993456.cms |access-date=14 May 2021 |archive-date=14 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514032707/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/british-broadcaster-sir-david-attenborough-awarded-indira-gandhi-peace-prize-at-online-event/articleshow/77993456.cms |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|2019 || Chatham House Prize || <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chathamhouse.org/2019/11/sir-david-attenborough-and-bbc-studios-natural-history-unit-awarded-chatham-house-prize |title=Sir David Attenborough and the BBC Studios Natural History Unit awarded Chatham House Prize 2019 for ocean advocacy |access-date=8 July 2022 |archive-date=12 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220512041701/https://www.chathamhouse.org/2019/11/sir-david-attenborough-and-bbc-studios-natural-history-unit-awarded-chatham-house-prize |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2020 || Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 2020 Birthday Honours for services to television broadcasting and to conservation. ||<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/attenborough-gets-a-second-knighthood-6hzp527r7 |title=Attenborough gets a second knighthood |last=Low |first=Valentine |date=10 October 2020 |newspaper=The Times |access-date=10 October 2020 |type=subscription |archive-date=10 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010070123/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/attenborough-gets-a-second-knighthood-6hzp527r7 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=63135|supp=y|page=B3|date=10 October 2020}}</ref>
|-
|2021 || Lifetime Achievement Award (Champions of the Earth) || <ref>{{cite web |last1=Programme |first1=UN Environment |title=Lifetime Achievement |url=https://www.unep.org/championsofearth/award/lifetime-achievement |website=Champions of the Earth |language=en |date=26 November 2020 |access-date=22 July 2022 |archive-date=22 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722083705/https://www.unep.org/championsofearth/award/lifetime-achievement |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2022 ||Champion of the Earth award from the [[Organization:United Nations Environment Programme|United Nations Environment Programme]].||<ref name=champion>{{cite web |title=David Attenborough receives the UN's most distinguished environment award |url=https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/david-attenborough-receives-uns-most-distinguished-environment-award |publisher=UN Environment Programme |language=en |date=21 April 2022 |access-date=21 April 2022 |archive-date=21 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421063808/https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/david-attenborough-receives-uns-most-distinguished-environment-award |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
|2022||Lifetime Achievement Award at 43rd News and Documentary Emmy Awards||<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/national-academy-of-tv-arts-sciences-announces-2022-news-documentary-emmy-nominees-1235188293/|title=2022 News & Documentary Emmy Nominations Revealed|website=The Hollywood Reporter|first=Beatrice|last=Verhoeven|date=28 July 2022|accessdate=30 July 2022|archive-date=29 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220729204703/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/national-academy-of-tv-arts-sciences-announces-2022-news-documentary-emmy-nominees-1235188293/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|2023 || UK's Favourite TV Presenter of All Time (Perspectus Global) || <ref>{{cite web |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sir-david-attenborough-voted-uks-123000340.html |title=Sir David Attenborough voted UK's favourite TV presenter of all time |website=Yahoo! News |date=9 March 2023 |publisher=Yahoo |access-date=March 10, 2023 |archive-date=10 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230310165030/https://uk.news.yahoo.com/sir-david-attenborough-voted-uks-123000340.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|}
As of 2014, he was the only person to have won BAFTA awards for programmes in black and white, colour, high-definition and [[Digital 3D|3D]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Sir David Attenborough: Bafta TV awards 2014 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/may/11/tv-baftas-2014-observer-portfolio |work=The Guardian |date=3 December 2017 |access-date=3 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204114534/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/may/11/tv-baftas-2014-observer-portfolio |archive-date=4 December 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Filmography==
Attenborough's television credits span eight decades. His association with natural history programmes dates back to ''The Pattern of Animals'' and ''Zoo Quest'' in the early 1950s. His most influential work, 1979's ''Life on Earth'', launched a strand of nine authored documentaries with the BBC Natural History Unit which shared the ''Life'' strand name and spanned 30 years.<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes">{{Cite web |title=Rotten Tomatoes: David Attenborough |work=Rotten Tomatoes |access-date=6 September 2021 |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/david_attenborough |archive-date=21 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210621153753/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/david_attenborough |url-status=live }}</ref> He narrated the long-running BBC series ''Wildlife on One''. In his later career, he provided narration for several high-profile BBC wildlife documentaries, among them ''The Blue Planet'' and ''Planet Earth''. He became a pioneer in the 3D documentary format with ''Flying Monsters'' in 2010.<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/>

==Bibliography==
David Attenborough's work as an author has strong parallels with his broadcasting career. In the 1950s and 1960s, his published work included accounts of his animal collecting expeditions around the world, which became the ''Zoo Quest'' series. He wrote an accompanying volume to each of his nine ''Life'' documentaries, along with books on tribal art and [[Biology:Bird-of-paradise|birds of paradise]]. His autobiography, ''Life on Air'', was published in 2002, revised in 2009 and is one of a number of his works which is available as a self-narrated [[Engineering:Audiobook|audiobook]]. Attenborough has contributed forewords and introductions to many other works, notably those accompanying ''Planet Earth'', ''Frozen Planet'', ''Africa'' and other BBC series he has narrated.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.waterstones.com/author/sir-david-attenborough/4330 |title=Sir David Attenborough |publisher=Waterstones |access-date=5 September 2021 |archive-date=17 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817202741/https://www.waterstones.com/author/sir-david-attenborough/4330 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biblio.co.uk/david-attenborough/author/21689|title=David Attenborough Books – Biography and List of Works – Author of 'Life On Earth – a Natural History'|website=biblio.co.uk|access-date=5 September 2021|archive-date=5 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210905204903/https://biblio.co.uk/david-attenborough/author/21689|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* ''Zoo Quest to Guyana'' (1956)
* ''Zoo Quest for a Dragon'' (1957) – republished in 1959 to include an additional 85 pages titled ''Quest for the Paradise Birds''
* ''Zoo Quest in Paraguay'' (1959)
* ''Quest in Paradise'' (1960)
* ''People of Paradise'' (1960)
* ''Zoo Quest to Madagascar'' (1961)
* ''Quest Under Capricorn'' (1963)
* ''Fabulous Animals'' (1975)
* ''The Tribal Eye'' (1976)
* ''Life on Earth'' (1979)
* ''Discovering Life on Earth'' (1981)
* ''The Living Planet'' (1984)
* ''The First Eden: The Mediterranean World and Man'' (1987)
* ''The Atlas of the Living World'' (1989)
* ''The Trials of Life'' (1990)
* ''The Private Life of Plants'' (1994)
* ''[[Biology:The Life of Birds|The Life of Birds]]'' (1998)
* ''The Life of Mammals'' (2002)
* ''Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster'' (2002) – autobiography, revised in 2009
* ''Life in the Undergrowth'' (2005)
* ''Amazing Rare Things: The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery'' (2007) – with Susan Owens, Martin Clayton and Rea Alexandratos
* ''Life in Cold Blood'' (2007)
* ''David Attenborough's Life Stories'' (2009)
* ''David Attenborough's New Life Stories'' (2011)
* ''Drawn From Paradise: The Discovery, Art and Natural History of the Birds of Paradise'' (2012) – with Errol Fuller
* ''Adventures of a Young Naturalist: The Zoo Quest Expeditions'' (2017)
* ''Journeys to the Other Side of the World: Further Adventures of a Young Naturalist'' (2018)
* ''Dynasties: The Rise and Fall of Animal Families'' with Stephen Moss (2018)
* ''A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future'' (2020)
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|refs =
<ref name="Slate_14species">{{cite news |last1=Laskow |first1=Sarah |title=All the Creatures Named After David Attenborough |date=12 January 2016 |work=Slate |url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2016/01/12/here_s_every_living_or_extinct_creature_named_after_naturalist_david_attenborough.html |access-date=10 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831140156/http://www.slate.com/blogs/atlas_obscura/2016/01/12/here_s_every_living_or_extinct_creature_named_after_naturalist_david_attenborough.html |archive-date=31 August 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
}}


==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140810122408/http://www.davidattenborough.co.uk/ BBC Books David Attenborough website] (archived)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160727151608/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2ba11e009b David Attenborough] at the British Film Institute
* {{IMDb name|id=0041003|name=David Attenborough}}
*[https://attenboroughfilm.com/ David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210220181854/https://attenboroughfilm.com/ |date=20 February 2021 }}.
* [http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/person/85/David+Attenborough.html Wildfilmhistory.org biography]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728190930/http://www.wildfilmhistory.org/person/85/David+Attenborough.html |date=28 July 2011 }}.
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501235151/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/audiointerviews/profilepages/attenboroughd1.shtml |date=1 May 2012 |title=BBC interviews with Attenborough in 1976 and 1998 }}
* [https://www.pbs.org/lifeofbirds/sirdavid/index.html PBS interview with Attenborough in 1998]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK0rXRmC4DQ#t=100 People and Planet: David Attenborough], video of the 2011 RSA President's Lecture
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00942qy David Attenborough] interview on BBC Radio 4 ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', 27 December 1998.
*[http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2016-10-13/david-attenborough-humanity-must-come-to-its-senses-or-face-environmental-disaster David Attenborough: humanity must come to its senses or face environmental disaster]. ''Radio Times''. 13 October 2016.

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{{S-bef|before=Michael Peacock}}
{{S-ttl|title=Controller of BBC Two|years=1965–1969}}
{{S-aft|after=Robin Scott}}
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{{s-bef|before=?}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the Royal Society for Nature Conservation|years=1991–1995}}
{{s-aft|after=David Bellamy}}
{{s-bef|before=Position established}}
{{s-ttl|title=President Emeritus of the Royal Society for Nature Conservation|years=2012–present}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Attenborough, David}}
[[Category:Critics of creationism]]
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{{Sourceattribution|David Attenborough}}