Prince William has praised Sir David Attenborough as the inspiration behind his new wildlife documentary series, “Guardians”, which highlights the crucial work of rangers protecting endangered species and vital ecosystems.
The six-part series, which features an introduction by the Prince of Wales in each episode, aims to raise awareness and appreciation for these often-unsung heroes.
Drawing parallels with Attenborough’s acclaimed documentaries, which brought remote corners of the world into viewers’ living rooms, William hopes Guardians will similarly shine a light on the rangers’ dedication and the importance of the regions they protect.
The series showcases rangers engaged in diverse and challenging roles, from safeguarding snow leopards in the Indian Himalayas to defending marine life in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez and protecting elephants and gorillas in the Central African Republic.
“Any progress, any future we want for the natural world, has to come from the ranger community being valued, respected, seen,” the Prince of Wales said during a surprise appearance at the series’ press launch.
He described the work of these individuals as “one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet.”
“David Attenborough – big inspiration for me growing up and being able to present wonderful parts of the world to many of us most of us will never get a chance to visit, and I hope this does the same kind of thing.
“It reminds people that there are still wonderful parts of the world and there is still hope, and there’s still amazing work being done.”
With a shared passion for protecting the natural world, the prince and the naturalist have supported each other in their missions to tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges the planet faces.
William has attended screenings of Sir David’s nature documentaries privately, most recently his new film Ocean, while the broadcaster – whose Life On Earth natural history series was a TV landmark – has been a champion of the prince’s environmental Earthshot Prize since its inception.
The future King spoke during a Q&A session, after the first thee episodes were screened, attended by Rohit Singh, vice president of the International Ranger Federation, and hosted by TV presenter Michaela Strachan, a regular host on BBC’s Springwatch.
William told the screening that friends working as rangers had given him “feedback” about “how much more dangerous the job’s become” with 1,400 rangers dying during the past decade.
The reasons behind the increased threat was “community conflicts or civil wars or illegal fishing or poaching – whatever it might be is just spreading further and further across the globe”.
William stressed the work of rangers was more than their role safeguarding nature: “It’s about the community initiatives they do, it’s the education, it’s the teaching, the scientific research. These people do so much more than just protecting wildlife and looking after wildlife.
“And if we are to reach our goals, and we do generally as a world care about the natural environment, then we need more of these guys and girls.”
Last November the prince announced a new life insurance cover for rangers who safeguard Africa’s wildlife, a five-year Ranger Welfare and Standards Initiative providing 10,000 rangers with access to the financial scheme.
Mr Singh called for more rangers to be trained, working conditions to be improved and for the workforce to be “accountable and responsible” and more women employed.
He added: “At the moment one ranger is managing an area equal to 11,000 football fields – it’s impossible to do the job.”
The first episode of the series, launched by the Royal Foundation’s United for Wildlife and co-produced by Zandland, is available from Friday on BBC Earth’s YouTube and social channels, with a new episode released every Friday.
