Isle of Man Guide

The stars of Manx wildlife, past and present, have been on show again in the British media. The Isle of Man’s Department of Tourism and Leisure and Manx National Heritage have been involved with the making of several TV programmes this year about the Island’s natural history, demonstrating once again that the Isle of Man is a fantastic place for wildlife.

Extinct giant deer are to be the focus of attention for a short film for ‘The One Show’ on BBC1 on Monday 28th September. The Manx Museum’s skeleton of this huge animal is to be featured, together with the rib of another animal which has the tooth marks of a predator or scavenger. Giant Deer lived in the Isle of Man towards the end of the last Ice Age. The stags had enormous antlers, up to two metres across, and probably used them to challenge rival males during the mating season, just as their closest modern relatives, fallow deer, do today. Their bones turn up from time to time in silt deposits filling ancient freshwater pools.

A full half hour programme about the Calf of Man and the work of the Bird Observatory was broadcast on Tuesday and Wednesday last week (22nd and 23rd September) as part of Radio 4’s ‘Nature’ series. The team from the BBC Natural History Unit stayed overnight at the Observatory in late June, so that they could experience and record the night time ringing of Manx Shearwaters and Storm Petrels. The weather was perfect and the birds arrived on cue to impress the programme’s presenter, Brett Westwood.

This isn’t the first time the Department of Tourism and Leisure and Manx National Heritage have provided assistance for some very successful broadcast this year. On ITV1 this Saturday 26th September ‘Animals do the funniest things’ will be screened, from 6pm to 7pm, where the farm animals at Cregneash and Wicket, the Old English Sheep dog, ‘helped’ the presenter to introduce the film clips. And as if that wasn’t enough… in June they assisted Granada Television in their visit to the Island where they were lucky enough to spot basking sharks during a boat trip.

Hon Martyn Quayle MHK, Minister for Tourism and Leisure, said:

‘We are proud to have supported the production company Icon Films during their visit to the Isle of Man for the One Show. Everyone on the Island is aware how much there is to see and do here, from beautiful coastal walks and wildlife, to the outdoor activities and we want those who have never visited to be aware of this too. The coverage of our Island’s wildlife which will appear on The One Show, and indeed Radio 4 and Animals do The Funniest Things, to be screened this Saturday evening, will do just that.’

Kate Hawkins of Manx National Heritage said:

‘It can be good fun helping visiting media companies to make programmes, but with wildlife you never know if your subjects are going to turn up, let alone behave how you want them to, so it is particularly gratifying to have everything go so well, especially on the Calf.’

While they were over here, the ‘One Show’ team took a trip to film porpoises and dolphins around the Isle of Man. This was yet another success, with good footage recorded and a satisfied and impressed production team!

An earlier episode of Radio 4’s ‘Nature’ Programme provided a thoughtful account of the discussions going on over the choice of site for the Island’s first Marine Protected Area. Spokespersons from the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, together with fishermen and other wildlife conservationists helped to make this a well-rounded presentation of the efforts to preserve the diversity of marine life around the Isle of Man.

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