The Voice That Revealed a Planet

Four decades ago, Sir David Attenborough traveled to Nigeria to examine a complex insect society built by more than a million constituents with no more than five brain cells apiece. It was a termite mound, standing 15 feet tall, with imposing concrete-like spires built entirely of clay and saliva. Local Nigerian workers were clearing the area for farmland, which meant that this termite manor would have to be demolished. But not before Attenborough and a documentary film crew burrowed more than 6 feet beneath the surface to capture one of nature’s most extraordinary feats of architectural engineering for the 1990 series The Trials of Life.