Aimee Walker
David Attenborough has reportedly been ‘stabbed by a cactus with needles like glass’ while filming his latest show for the BBC, The Green Planet.
Although the 95-year-old was wearing a Kevlar under-glove and welding glove when investigating the cholla cactus, in California, he managed to get hurt by ‘spicules of glass’ when reaching inside the plant.
Recalling the incident, the natural historian said: “The cholla really is a physical danger. It has these very dense spines in rosettes, so they point in all directions.
Watch David Attenborough urge people to act on climate change below…
“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.”
The executive producer of the series, Michael Gunton, added: “One of the joys of going on location is thinking up horrible things to get [David] to do.
“So what we did, because it was so dangerous, was we got a Kevlar under-glove, and then on top of that, a welding glove.
“So you can imagine that’s about as good protection as you could possibly get.
“So, David bravely put his hand inside this cholla cactus, as requested. And halfway through it, these spikes still managed to get through those two bits of protection.
“And it’s quite painful, isn’t it?”
‘The Salisbury Poisonings’ Series Is Instant Hit With Netflix Viewers
Attenborough’s latest instalment will see him travel around the world and explore different terrains, including deserts, water worlds, tropical forests and the frozen north.
According to the BBC, the programme aims to show ‘how science and technologies have advanced, and how our understanding of the ways in which plants behave and interact has evolved’.
The show premiered in Glasgow in November 202, in conjunction with the COP26 summit on tackling climate change.
Watch our Video of the Day below…
Do you have a story for us? If so, email us at [email protected]. All contact will be treated in confidence.
