Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, on 10 April 1972 and brought up on the
Isle of Mull
The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Arg ...
. As a child, Buchanan was a fan of
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...
's television programmes and ''
Survival
Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...
'', a nature programme.
Career
Buchanan's career in wildlife photography has yielded a number of documentaries, shot variously in Asia (especially the Indian Subcontinent), Latin America, Europe and Africa. His career began when survival cameraman Nick Gordon, whose wife owned the restaurant Buchanan was working in, invited Buchanan to become his camera assistant for a project he was completing in
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
. Buchanan was there for almost a year before the project had to be abandoned due to the danger presented by the
civil unrest
Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty m ...
in the country. He left school to join Nick Gordon on this trip and continued to work with him on his next projects in
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
Buchanan began to work independently in 1995, and in time became known for his films of
big cats
The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus '' Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard.
Despite enormous differences in size, various cat species are quite similar ...
and worked on '' Big Cat Diary''.Gordon Buchanan IMDB profile /ref> He also returned to his home on the Isle of Mull to film white tailed eagles. The resulting 2005 ''
Natural World
''Natural World'' is a strand of British wildlife documentary programmes broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Two HD and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history series. It is the longest-running documentary in its genre on British televisi ...
'' episode, "Eagle Island", received good reviews. (It was broadcast on 3 May 2009 as "Eagles of Mull" on ''
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
''.) He also filmed the ''Natural World'' episode "Leopards of Yala".
Buchanan has filmed
foxes
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
for
Springwatch
''Springwatch'', ''Autumnwatch'' and ''Winterwatch'', sometimes known collectively as ''The Watches'', are annual BBC television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom. The p ...
and Autumnwatch in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, where he currently lives. His coverage of
grey seal
The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...
pups was identified as one of the highlights of the programme. He then returned for ''
Springwatch
''Springwatch'', ''Autumnwatch'' and ''Winterwatch'', sometimes known collectively as ''The Watches'', are annual BBC television series which chart the fortunes of British wildlife during the changing of the seasons in the United Kingdom. The p ...
'' 2008 completing a series on people with amazing wildlife stories including a one-off Springwatch special. In ''Autumnwatch'' 2008 he travelled to the
Farne Islands
The Farne Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Northumberland, England. The group has between 15 and 20 islands depending on the level of the tide.
to film
grey seal
The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. In Latin Halichoerus grypus means "hook-nosed sea pig". It is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or " ...
pups again. In early 2009 Buchanan worked with the BBC, filming the ''
Lost Land of the Volcano
''Lost Land of the Volcano'' is a three-part nature documentary series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit which follows a scientific expedition to the island of New Guinea. The expedition team, which includes specialist zoologists, explorer ...
''. Filming took place during the month of February 2009, around
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
, and its islands. He also filmed the Lost Land of the Tiger and Lost Land of the Jaguar, which followed a similar format.
In December 2010, a documentary called '' The Bear Family and Me'' aired on the BBC. It showed the year which Buchanan spent with black bears in the U.S. state of
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. In January 2013, Buchanan presented and partially filmed '' The Polar Bear Family & Me'' for the BBC, covering the life of a polar bear and her cubs in the spring, summer and autumn.
In 2013 Buchanan became a patron of Trees for Life, a conservation charity working to restore the Caledonian Forest in the Highlands of Scotland. He became an ambassador for the Scottish Wildlife Trust the following year.
In December 2014, another '...& Me' 2-part series was broadcast on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
. For this series, ''The Snow Wolf Family & Me'', Buchanan visited
Ellesmere Island
Ellesmere Island ( iu, script=Latn, Umingmak Nuna, lit=land of muskoxen; french: île d'Ellesmere) is Canada's northernmost and List of Canadian islands by area, third largest island, and the List of islands by area, tenth largest in the world. ...
in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
in both summer and autumn. Here he followed a wolf pack as they raised their cubs over the course of a year. This was shortly followed, in February 2015, by ''Super Cute Animals'', a 60-minute documentary.
In 2015, he presented the documentary ''Leopard in the City'' at
Sanjay Gandhi National Park
Sanjay Gandhi National Park, also known as SGNP, is an protected area in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It was established in 1969 with its headquarters situated at Borivali.
The 2400-year-old Kanheri caves, sculpted by monks out of the rocky basaltic ...
in the
Borivli
Borivali (Pronunciation: oːɾiʋəliː is a suburb and is located at the north-western end of Mumbai and has a large Gujarati population followed by others. Traditionally the tribals and East Indians lived in Borivali.
The attractions incl ...
section of northern
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, on the "urban leopards" of the area, which prey almost entirely on stray dogs. He also continued to film his ‘…And Me’ series, this time focusing on Gorillas, which was again broadcast on the BBC.
2016 saw him appear in ‘Elephant Family and Me’ where he visited Africa to get a better understanding of how a family of elephants live and communicate with each other. He also narrated a one-off programme called Life in the Snow, before again working with Polar Bears, this time looking at how they interact with the local human population in ‘Life in Polar Bear Town’.
From 2016 to 2017 he filmed two series of Tribes, Predators and Me. During these six episodes he spent time with several groups of people who lived alongside dangerous animals, such as hyenas and crocodiles. He continued the series with ‘The Reindeer Family and Me’ which saw him follow a herd of Reindeer as they journeyed on their migration. He also filmed a six part series titled '‘Into the Wild’', in which he took six famous people to nature hotspots around the UK to get a glimpse of the local wildlife. 2018 saw Buchanan present ‘Animals with Cameras’ in which he used new camera techniques to get a better insight into their lives. Following this, he filmed ‘Grizzly Bear Cubs and Me’, where he helps to rehabilitate young bears in order to help them return to the wild.
2019 saw Buchanan continuing to present nature programmes on the BBC. He travelled around the equator to present the series ‘Equator from the Air. He also filmed and presented ‘Snow Cats and Me’ in which he helped rehabilitate Lynx so that they could return to the wild. 2020 saw him return to Springwatch once again as a guest presenter, filming live from his native Scotland. He ended the with yet another ‘…And Me’ series, this time following Cheetahs in the wild in Africa.
In 2021, it was announced that he would front a second series of Animals with Cameras.
In November 2021, it was confirmed that Buchanan would tour the UK (30 Years in the Wild) in February 2022.
In April 2022, the first two episodes of a long-running program ''Our Changing Planet'' premiered on the BBC, presented by Buchanan along with
Liz Bonnin
Elizabeth Bonnin (born 16 September 1976) is a French science, wildlife and natural history presenter, who has worked on television in both Ireland and the United Kingdom. She presented morning show ''RI:SE'' and music show ''Top of the Pops'' ...
Chris Packham
Christopher Gary Packham CBE (born 4 May 1961) is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author, best known for his television work including the CBBC children's nature series ''The Really Wild Show'' from 1986 t ...
,
Ade Adepitan
Adedoyin Olayiwola "Ade" Adepitan (born 27 March 1973) is a Nigerian-born British television presenter and wheelchair basketball player. As a presenter, he has hosted a range of travel documentaries and sports programmes for BBC television. Ade ...
and
Steve Backshall
Stephen James Backshall (born 21 April 1973) is an English naturalist, explorer, presenter and writer, best known for BBC TV's ''Deadly 60''.
His other BBC work includes being part of the expedition teams in ''Lost Land of the Tiger'', ''Lo ...
.
Awards
In June 2013 Buchanan was granted an honorary doctorate by the
University of Stirling
The University of Stirling (, gd, Oilthigh Shruighlea (abbreviated as Stir or Shruiglea, in post-nominals) is a public university in Stirling, Scotland, founded by royal charter in 1967. It is located in the Central Belt of Scotland, built w ...
. He also won the Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland award in the environment category in the same year, cementing his position as one of Scotland's finest cameramen and reputation as a renowned film maker.
Buchanan was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the
2020 New Year Honours
The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...
for services to conservation and wildlife film-making.
Personal life
Buchanan frequently mentions missing his family at various points within his shows. ''The Bear Family & Me'' includes a segment in which his wife (Wendy) and their two children (Lola and Harris) visit him.''The Bear Family & Me'', Season 1, Episode 2, "Summer", 41 minutes into the show He also has an interest in whisky.
Lost Land of the Jaguar
''Lost Land of the Jaguar'' is a 2008 British nature documentary series on the fauna of Guyana's rainforest. The four presenters are George McGavin, Steve Backshall, Justine Evans, and Gordon Buchanan. The series is a production of the BBC Nat ...
'' (2008)
* ''
Lost Land of the Volcano
''Lost Land of the Volcano'' is a three-part nature documentary series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit which follows a scientific expedition to the island of New Guinea. The expedition team, which includes specialist zoologists, explorer ...
'' (2009)
* ''Snow Watch'' (2010)
* ''
Lost Land of the Tiger
''Lost Land of the Tiger'' is a three-part nature documentary series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit which follows a scientific expedition to the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. The expedition team is made up of specialist zoologists, expl ...
'' (2011)
* ''
The Bear Family & Me
''The Bear Family & Me'' is a three-part nature documentary series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. It follows wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan as he spends a year with a family of wild black bear
Black bear or Blackbear may refer to ...