Chris Packham on narrating new National Geographic shows and his vegan diet

Chris Packham tells Georgia Humphreys about the shows he is narrating for National Geographic and how he ‘audits’ his life so it is more sustainable and regenerative.
Chris Packham in 2019 making a speech on top of a bus stop during the Extinction Rebellion demonstration on Waterloo Bridge in London. Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Archive/PA Images.Chris Packham in 2019 making a speech on top of a bus stop during the Extinction Rebellion demonstration on Waterloo Bridge in London. Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Archive/PA Images.
Chris Packham in 2019 making a speech on top of a bus stop during the Extinction Rebellion demonstration on Waterloo Bridge in London. Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Archive/PA Images.

Chris Packham is back in the wild, so to speak.

The presenter and environmentalist, 60, is voicing Russia’s Wild Tiger and Thailand’s Wild Cats for National Geographic WILD’s annual Big Cat Week.

Russia’s Wild Tiger tracks the battle for survival of big cats, including exploring the fate of Siberian tigers, while Thailand’s Wild Cats explores jungles which are home to some of the rarest wild cats on earth, including the clouded leopard and the Indian fishing cat.

A tiger pictured in Russia's Wild Tiger from National Geographic's WILD. Picture: National Geographic's WILD.A tiger pictured in Russia's Wild Tiger from National Geographic's WILD. Picture: National Geographic's WILD.
A tiger pictured in Russia's Wild Tiger from National Geographic's WILD. Picture: National Geographic's WILD.
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Packham, who presents the BBC’s Springwatch, Autumnwatch and Winterwatch programmes, says he loved voicing the Big Cat Week programmes.

He said: “I like the idea of these weeks that we have – they turn into more of a celebration. And I think that rather than having a one-off programme which can generate a bit of interest, if you have a week of programming, it tends to focus people more.

“National Geographic run their big cat initiative as well, where they provide funding for research and conservation.

“So there are ulterior motives and I obviously champion and support that. If you have a week it’s more than a gig, it’s a festival.”

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He adds that “what I like about this style of filmmaking, is that some parts of it are what I would call sort of long form narrative”.

“Very often, when we watch programmes now, documentaries about animals, we see quite short sequences, and they give us remarkable insights into their behaviour and ecology, but we don’t see it in anywhere near real-time.”

Just how important are wildlife shows for raising awareness about the natural world?

“I always say that wildlife programmes are a great way of instigating an interest, but they won’t be able to fully satisfy it.

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“I think wildlife programmes, particularly programmes like this, have a much stronger conservation message now than they used to have.

“And again, obviously, Nat Geo, they’ve got their initiative which runs in parallel with this, which is about proactively conserving and researching the animals, and that’s coming to the fore.

And obviously, I’m very pleased to see that.

“I’d like to see it go even further, frankly, because many of these species, well all of the cat species that we look at, even leopards now, are in trouble in some parts…

“So it’s really important to highlight that it’s not a utopia out there – these animals are struggling.

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“And if we don’t help them, then it’s going to backfire for everyone, including us. I don’t think we’ve reached that point.”

Do people need to make more longer-term changes?

“My life now is a constant audit, constantly looking at what I do, how I do it, and thinking about how I can do it in a more, not just sustainable way, but regenerative way.

“I think we have to constantly ask ourselves, what do we do? How do we travel? What do we eat? What do we buy outside of food?

“All of these things. And obviously there are a plethora of ways that we can have a less damaging impact on the planet and its wildlife, and by simply changing the way that we live.”

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He adds: “Now I am vegan, and I have been for some time; if you cut down, I’m happy, because that’s moving in the right direction.

National Geographic’s annual Big Cat Week starts on WILD on Monday, February 7 with Russia’s Wild Tiger.