BIG INTERVIEW: Find out more about BBC wildlife expert, Gordon Buchanan

At this moment in time, ‘Go Wild in the Country’ by new wave band Bow Wow Wow, from 1982, springs into mind.

The reason is this week’s big interview is with with BBC TV’S Wildlife Expert, Gordon Buchanan.

Hence the ‘Go Wild in the Country’ song with its verse of : “Go wild, go wild in the country, Where snakes in the grass are absolutely free, Wild, go wild, go wild in the country, Where snakes in the grass are absolutely free...”

Gordon has been a familiar face on TV screens as the wildlife television personality best known for his work on the ‘Animal Family and Me’ series. These popular BBC programmes have seen him getting up close with Elephants, Snow Wolves, Bears, Gorillas, Polar Bears and more recently with Reindeers in ‘Reindeer Family and Me’, the latest addition which was screened over Christmas.

Earlier this year his show ‘Animals with Cameras’ was met with critical acclaim as he offered a new perspective of life in the wild by placing cameras on a variety of animal resulting in some extraordinary footage.

He said: “It is a job which means you get to spend a lot of time by yourself.

“I like having time on my own and I do not have to be around people.

“What it has also taught me is I can work with big teams of people around the world.

“I could be working in five different teams at five different locations around the world.

“There is a lot of waiting around. Earlier on in my career I had less knowledge of how long things would take in the natural world.

“Now I have got an instinct for it and it doesn’t matter to me if it takes two or three days “I believe I know where I should be and be patient and be optimistic.

“There is no excuse to be uncomfortable and this is something which can be headed off at the pass.

“What is good is when I am a the North Pole sitting there I know I am probably the only person doing what I am doing.

“There is a great joy in anticipating what I will capture on film and what is good about it is this will be something I can share with other people.

“If I see something magical they will see it as well.”

By being out in the wild and going to locations which many of us only know on a map, Speaking about this, Gordon said: “I am never complacent about that. I have been travelling the world for 28 years and I have been to some amazing places and see amazing things.

“I try and savour it as much as possible and never take it for granted.

“It is a strange thing to be somewhere few people have had the chance to visit.”

Gordon has presented a long list of other popular BBC nature documentaries including Life in the Snow’ ‘Life in Polar Bear Land’, Tribes, Predators and Me’, ‘Winterwatch’, ‘The Lost Land’ series ‘Wild Burma’ as well as appearing on ‘Planet Earth 2’ with Sir David Attenborough’.

Hailing from the Isle of Mull in Western Scotland, Gordon’s passion for raising awareness of the world’s most endangered species & habitats has led to expeditions around the globe to places as diverse as South America, Asia, Africa, Papua New Guinea, Russia and Alaska.

What his job has given Gordon is a better understanding of the fragile line between the animal and human world.

He has seen at first hand what threat species face and and great necessity for reducing waste, food, plastic and fossil fuel which he feels is having a negative impact on the planet.

One of the best things she has seen is with Elephants.

He said: “I was filming elephants a couple few years ago and it was amazing to see the depth of affection they had for one another.

“They really do care for each other and it was wonderful to see that moment.”

You can see Animal Families and Me with Gordon Buchanan when the show comes to Somerset at the Cheese and Grain in Frome on November 7.

To buy tickets which cost £23, you need to go online to cheeseandgrain.com or call 01373 455420.

Also go online for further details about the show.