Animals On Dynasties Documentary Suffered Even Sadder Fates Once Cameras Left

David Attenborough's Dynasties did not make for easy viewing. The BBC documentary focused on the struggles faced by five species: chimpanzees, Emperor penguins, lions, painted wolves and tigers. More specifically, the programme honed in on the battles individual animals faced, which made the whole thing way more heartbreaking.

Remember the baby penguin chick that was abandoned by its mother as she tried to escape an icy ravine? Or David the alpha chimp who got the shit kicked out of him by two youths trying to dethrone him? Then there was lioness, Charm, who defended her pride valiantly even after losing her two cubs to the poison of farmers.

Well, if this sorrowfest was slightly tainted for you by the occasional glimmer of hope offered by the documentary, then grab yourself some tissues and read on to learn about the dire fates of the animals post-doc.

PA

First up, we can pretty much write off that penguin chick, as experts says it is extremely unlikely it would have survived in the horrific weather conditions in which it was abandoned.

Then there's Charm and her cubs. After losing her first cubs to poison, Charm had another two. But when crews returned a few weeks later, there was no sign of them, meaning they had probably been killed.

According to the Mirror, a source from the show said: "The most likely explanation is that they were taken by hyenas or another predator or even trampled by buffalos.

"No one can be sure, but what became clear was they were no longer with Charm and there was no way they could have survived alone at a few weeks old."

BBC

Meanwhile, everyone's favourite chimp, David, is no longer with us. In February, he was attacked by young males once again and this time he wasn't strong enough to fight them off.

Jill Pruetz, who is one of the directors of the Fongoli Savannah Chimpanzee Project, said: "He died from wounds inflicted from what I'm sure are these young males.

"There aren't other animals that would have inflicted wounds like that - especially when you have multiple individuals attacking a single individual.

"He was pretty clever but our best interpretation of what happened is that these adult males jumped him.

"Jumkin, who was a beta male, is now the alpha. There's a huge absence. It's like more than one chimp is gone."

Then there's brave tiger, Raj Bhera - who is dead now too. In the documentary she bravely defended her cubs, but she was reportedly killed in a fight last June. Her three male cubs have since been sighted but there has been no sign of her daughter.

So that's what happened to the animals from Dynasties. Cheery stuff, eh? Hope you have a great day.

Topics: TV and Film, News, Animals

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey