David Attenborough's 'most gruesome scene' shows heartbreaking reality of life
One of the most disturbing yet revealing scenes ever filmed on a David Attenborough show has revealed a lot about our world today.
The moment was captured on the latest episode of BBC series Mammals, showcasing the true effects of climate change on the animal kingdom.
The gut-wrenching moment on the TV series, narrated by Attenborough, highlighted the problems we face in the 21st century, as the camera focused on a group of Arctic foxes.
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Desperate and hungry, the animals are seen feasting on something in these increasingly trying times.
The starving creatures are then revealed to be feeding one one of their own, who is thought to have died from starvation, with its corpse exposed.
Normally, a predator would take advantage of the opportunity, but as rising temperatures in the Arctic circle have delayed the freezing of the sea until later in the year, foxes are unable to hunt.
Seeing the foxes resort to cannibalism might be one of the saddest things ever covered by the broadcaster and biologist.
The scenes reveal a skulk of foxes fighting over the carcass of one of their pack on Canada's Hudson Bay.
According to the Mirror, Attenborough will damningly inform the viewers that 'time will tell' if the species can survive in the long term.
He claims: "Arctic foxes form unlikely alliances with the polar bears.
"It's late in the year and both species are waiting for the sea to freeze.
"Once it does, polar bears will once again be able to hunt seals out on the ice and Arctic foxes will scavenge from their leftovers.
"But right now, both are hungry and both must wait. Ten days pass but there is still no sea ice in sight.
"For the foxes the situation is becoming desperate. The wait for one Arctic fox has been too long.
"The starving survivors cannot ignore this opportunity. Desperation has led to cannibalism, something being seen more and more in the Arctic," he explained.
The latest series from Attenborough has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics and fans alike, despite some claims that a particular clip of some elephants 'look like CGI'.
Despite complaints from some fans on social media about the night shots of the African elephants in Zimbabwe, Mammals assistant producer Sarah-Jane Walsh re-iterated that the shots were real.
She explained that due to the 'low light camera' used and 'high ISO', which is a setting to capture brighter images in dark settings, the images look a bit different.
Fellow assistant producer Harriet Lawrence said that because the elephants were so hard to spot, they had to use thermal scopes to find them on dark paths.
The latest episode of the nature series will air on BBC One this Sunday.
Topics: Animals, BBC, David Attenborough, Environment
Joshua Nair