FAKERY in Wildlife Documentaries

Here is a guide to some notable nature documentaries where scenes were either staged or faked.

1909

Hunting Big Game in Africa: The staged shooting of a lion is included in this early nature film.

1913

Wild Fox: In this British documentary, trapped rabbits are released so foxes can catch and kill them in front of the camera.

1922

Nanook of the North. One of the most famous documentaries of all time. This classic supposedly depicts the every day of an Inuit hunter named Nanook (whose real name was Allakariallak). The movie has come under intense criticism for falsifying the life of the star of the film as well as hunting scenes.

1923

Hunting Big Game in Africa with Gun and Camera: This movie was condemned by other filmmakers for faking scenes.

1928

Simba: A compilation of three unfinished nature films. Includes the staged killing of animals in Africa.

1930

Ingagi: Distributed by RKO. A documentary about safaris in Africa. The movie was banned by the US censors because of its blatant fakery. Some of the hunting scenes were actually filmed in a studio.

Africa Speaks: A documentary depicting a twelve-thousand mile trek across equatorial Africa by an American expedition. This film was savaged in the press when it was revealed a tribal lion hunt had actually been filmed in a Hollywood studio using tamed lions.

1932

Bring ‘Em Back Alive: Different species of animals are put into conflict situations and are filmed as natural encounters. The staged fights are accompanied by the sound effects created by actors howling and hissing in a studio. In one scene a tiger and a python are pitted against each other. The python constricts around the tiger and crushes him.

1934

Beyond Bengal: A safari film in which Bengalese actors are shown getting into a crocodile infested river. Crocodiles are then filmed being killed. There are also staged encounters between animals, including a python smothering a monkey.

1934

Wild Cargo: A wildlife documentary which includes staged confrontations between different species.

1948

Beaver Valley: The second of Disney's true-life nature films. In one scene a coyote and beaver are separated by a glass barrier  to facilitate both animals in the same shot. This was done despite Disney's claim that scenes in its films were "unstaged and unrehearsed."

The controversial shot of lemmings leaping to their death into the ocean. In reality, they were flung from a turntable (not seen) into a river.

1958

White Wilderness: Disney's ode to life in the north. Will become notorious when the fifth estate reveals in 1982 that a scene showing lemmings jumping to their deaths was actually staged. The lemmings, it turns out, were thrown into the river by a member of the film crew. The Disney documentary promotes the idea that lemmings commit suicide, which is not true.

In 1982, Marlin Perkins did not want to talk to fifth estate host, Bob McKeown about fakery on his show.

1963

Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom starring Marlin Perkins premiers on NBC. It will run for more than two decades. In some instances the show will use staged confrontations between various species of animals. Perkins was know to also put animals in situations where he will be filmed dramatically capturing them.

1996

Wild America: Marty Stouffer's PBS series is accused of using tame animals in staged scenes. An internal investigation by PBS confirms the allegations.

1997

Tale of the Tides: In this acclaimed documentary, a hyena, porcupine and caracal are sent to a Kenyan game park where they are used in staged confrontations. In one scene the hyena is speared by the quill of the porcupine. The caracal is filmed stalking monkeys.

A screen shot from Polar Bear, Arctic Warrior which depicts the controversial polar bear cub birth.

1997

Polar Bear, Arctic Warrior: In the most memorable scene of Sir David Attenborough's documentary, a mother bear is filmed giving birth to and snuggling with her newborn cub. Viewers are led to believe the scene is actually taking place in the Arctic. In fact it was filmed in a zoo in Frankfurt, Germany.

2001

Blue Planet: The acclaimed BBC documentary, narrated by Sir David Attenborough is accused of using deceptive techniques when it included a lobster spawning scene that was filmed in a British aquarium. Viewers were led to believe the scene was taking place off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Screen shot from Winged Migration where viewers are led to believe that these birds are devouring a wounded bird.

2002

Winged Migration: An award-winning documentary following the flight of birds around the world. One of the most powerful scenes in the movie shows a bird with a broken wing being stalked on a beach by crabs. The bird is swarmed and consumed. In fact the bird is rescued by the crew and viewers are actually watching the crabs eat a dead fish. Unbeknownst to the audience, the birds in the film were raised by the film crew and their "migration" was actually the birds following their trainers.

2006

White Wilderness: Disney releases the 1958 wildlife film on DVD. The notorious lemming scene is included.

Popular television host Bear Grylls in a scene from Man Vs Wild.

2007

Man vs Wild: This extremely popular British show, shown around the world on the Discovery channel, follows the exploits of a former paratrooper as he survives in the wilderness. In fact, the star of the show, Bear Grylls, stayed in hotels and motels when he was supposed to be struggling to survive in the wilderness. And in one scene he tries to capture a wild mustang he comes upon in the California hinterland to ride it to safety. The group of mustangs were actually trucked to site for the staged "discovery."

2008

Sir David Attenborough is accused of staging a confrontation between himself and a cobra in a South African desert for his new BBC series, Life in Cold Blood.

Information from: New York Times, Denver Post, Wildlife Films by Derek Bouse, Wildlife Documentaries from Classical Forms to Reality TV (Film History), BBC News website, Reel Nature by Gregg Mitman, Sunday Times of London