Vacationers aren’t the only ones attracted to Charleston area beaches. On April 1-4, 2012, the British Broadcast Company (BBC) will be visiting Kiawah Island to film an episode of the wildlife series entitled Deadly 60. The show follows naturalist Steve Backshall to different countries as he seeks out and studies the world’s 60 top predators. It is set to air in the United Kingdom on CBBC, the BBC’s channel for children, later this summer and is also slated to air on BBC1 and BBC2. The show is in its third season, and episodes are sometimes aired in the United States on Animal Planet and Nat Geo Wild. The half-hour program is geared toward the 6-12 age group.
During the show’s first season, Backshall visits South Africa, Australia, India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom before coming over to the United States and spending time in Alaska, Arizona and Louisiana. The first season finishes in the Bahamas and Brazil.
During the second season, Backshall visits Mexico, British Columbia, Vancouver, Costa Rica, Panama, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, Uganda, Thailand, the Philippines, Romania, Norway, the United Kingdom, Argentina and Peru.
Backshall is visiting Kiawah to check out the island’s bobcat population. Bobcats can weigh up to 25 pounds and are considered important for rodent control. They also prey on deer fawns, helping to keep down their numbers as well. The bobcat population on Kiawah Island is about twice as dense as it is in mainland South Carolina, making Kiawah a favorite spot for research on these predators.
Here is a video clip from a past Deadly 60 episode in which Backshall tracks down a mantis shrimp.
