Sir David Attenborough was attacked by a cactus while filming a new documentary.
Sir David Attenborough was attacked by a cactus
The 95-year-old star was shooting his latest BBC series ‘The Green Planet’ when he went to investigate a cholla cactus in protective gear, but it penetrated the clothing with its glass-like spikes.
He said: “The cholla really is a physical danger. It has these very dense spines in rosettes, so they point in all directions. And if you just brush against it, the spines are like spicules of glass.
“I mean they are that sharp and they go into you and you really have trouble getting them out!
“So that is a really dangerous plant. The cholla is an active aggressor. I mean you feel you better stand back and you better watch out [for it]."
“The Green Planet’ - which has been in production for more than four years and filmed in more than 27 countries – uses new filmmaking technology to get a close-up look into the hidden world of plants.
David was able to enjoy filming in locations that ranged from Croatia to northern Europe, to Costa Rica and the USA.
Executive producer Michael Gunton said: “One of the joys of going on location is thinking up horrible things to get David to do.
“Because it was so dangerous, we got a Kevlar under-glove, and then on top of that, a welding glove. That protection is about as good as you could possibly get.
“So David bravely put his hand inside this cholla cactus, as requested. And half-way through it, these spikes still managed to get through those two bits of protection.
“Not only does it puncture you, but they act like a trap. If you put your hand into it, you can’t remove your fingers.”
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