Planet Earth II viewers blast BBC over fake sound effects including millipede footsteps and bizarre creaking mushrooms
Viewers have questioned the authenticity of Attenborough's second series despite its beautiful landscapes and amazing wildlife footage
THE BBC has been caught using fake sound effects on David Attenborough’s Planet Earth.
Dozens of viewers have blasted the authenticity of the second series after hearing a host of questionable noises such as a jaguar crunching a caiman’s skull and a millipede’s footsteps.
Now Beeb bosses have admitted “recreating” droves of wildlife sounds in the studio.
They say they need to “create a sense of a wild place, as well as emotion and drama”.
During Sunday’s jungle-themed episode, watched by an audience of 9.7million, fans were baffled as a swivelling sound was used for a draco lizard’s eyes moving.
A loud munch was also heard as a railroad worm swallowed a millipede. Later in the show, viewers hit out at a disturbing cracking noise added as a jaguar crushed the skull of a crocodile-like reptile called a caiman.
Viewer Nicola King fumed: “Finding the #planetearth2 sound effects intrusive now. Can’t believe eyeballs make a noise when they swivel, or fungi creak when they grow.”
Daniel Hames said: “#planetearth2... Beautifully shot. But the plot/sound effects are so fake that they might as well have had the animals speaking to camera.”
Producers confessed they often can’t pick up detailed sounds such as footsteps due to the “limited range of microphones”.
The BBC said: “Range and ambient noise ensure quite a lot of wild sounds simply cannot be recorded in the field.
“As a result, wildlife film-makers often turn to sound designers to recreate something that sounds like it would in the wild — a soundtrack that is true to nature.”