Vienna (OTS) – “Wild animals private!”: For four years, 150 well-camouflaged and remotely controlled cameras filmed wild animals that live without human disturbance in Germany’s remote forests, inaccessible lake areas and abandoned coalfields. The result is a fascinating insight into their “privacy” in which they flirt undisturbed, tease or trick each other and reveal previously unknown behavior. Never before have wolves, deer, cranes and co revealed so much of their hidden everyday life as in these animal “home stories” that will be featured in the new “Universum” production by Axel Gebauer (ORF editing: Wolfgang Stickler) on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 , at 8:15 p.m. on ORF 2. “Wild Animals Private” is a production by NDR Naturfilm/Doclights on behalf of NDR in collaboration with ARTE and ORF.
When food resources become scarce in winter, some inhabitants of the wilderness like to prey on the prey of successful hunters. Foxes follow the trail of wolves and dust off whatever bone remains. Egrets, which easily skid on frozen lakes, openly snap at fresh fish as otters emerge from beneath the ice. As spring approaches, wild boars can be seen making their beds: they pluck out bundles of reeds and pile them up into “cloth ducks” to provide their young ones with a warm, soft bed. Things are less comfortable in the crib of a crane couple. It has built its nest too close to the routes of hinds giving birth to their calves in the reeds. The reed belt also offers privacy for the love life of an otter couple. Their tête-à-tête lasts two weeks. Only then do they discreetly retreat into the privacy of the night. The extensive foreplay was documented on film for the first time. Once the little ones are born, the stress begins for young parents with the burglars. Wolves and pine martens were caught trying to dig up puppies at three fox dens, and one or two of them succeeded. There are hidden dramas that take place every night at the entrances to the children’s rooms. Even a hoopoe chick in its tree hole is not safe from the prey of a raccoon climber, and a mother nightjar loses her eggs to a thieving jay despite fierce anti-aircraft fire. Pack and herd animals have it easier. Deer calves and wolf pups spend exuberant summer days in forest playgrounds with a wide range of activities on offer, protected by the group. The young wolves are often looked after by older siblings who patiently take care of their socialization. An idyllic forest pool turns out to be a wellness oasis for a large deer family who indulge in intensive bathing pleasure. Even the top dog isn’t too proud to let off steam in the paddling pool like a teenager. The recordings show how foolish and careless wild animals can behave when they are not disturbed.
If they fall into the fixed video traps, the secret of the many small, inconspicuous paths that wind through the thicket is revealed: mice, martens, wild boars and raccoons use them to move back and forth between their hiding places, watering holes, feeding places or hunting grounds. The commuters usually keep to themselves, but newly built beaver dams quickly become meeting areas and fallen trees become bridges, where unpleasant encounters with predators sometimes occur. Long-term surveillance cameras and drone flights show how difficult hunting can be for predators. On average, wolves are only successful in one out of 20 attacks and in times of need they like to feed on ripe berries, something that was previously unknown to this extent. A look behind the scenes also makes the challenging sides of “wild” life clear – even when there are no human disturbances.
The foray into the “privacy” of the animal neighborhood comes to an end when the deer rut. Before the cameras are switched off, a final bird’s-eye view reveals the winding paths the males take to be “heard” by females in the reed belts of the lakes. A new annual cycle begins in the hidden everyday life of wild animals.