How Bertie Gregory, of Disney+’s new natural history series ‘Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory,’ kept his poise — barely — after finding a crocodile in his bed.
You never know when elephants might intrude, 29-year-old National Geographic Explorer says on a Zoom conference from the wilds of Botswana. It is the middle of the night in the Okavango Delta river region, darkness has fallen, and one doesn’t need a wide-angle lens, or spotlights, to know that this is in the wild. His natural history series, Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory, will dawn this fall on the Disney+ Day streaming service. Gregory has just learned that the streaming service Disney+ has just picked up the five-part series in which he takes viewers into some of the most spectacular and secretive corners of the earth for a second season, before a single minute has aired. He’s on a Zoom conference call from literally halfway around the world to field questions from writers in the Television Critics Association.
It’s only a matter before the obvious questions come up — what is the most dangerous situation you’ve ever found yourself in; what is the most gnarly experience you’ve ever had in the wild; when were you first bitten by the, erm, bug; and so on. Gregory grew up in the commercial burgh of Reading, Berkshire, in southeast England — about as far from the wilds of Africa, spiritually and temporally, as it’s possible to be. Still in his 20s, he could not have anticipated a career in wildlife filmmaking, and yet here he is, the result of fortuitous timing and his own drive and determination.
Gregory has been making documentary films for much of his young adult life, and it was only natural that Washington, DC-based National Geographic might one day peg him as the face of a new generation of natural history storytellers. The imprimatur of the Walt Disney Company — National Geographic’s corporate owners — will expose him to a wide audience for the first time. If he’s feeling the pressure, though, he’s not showing it. The idea that elephants might suddenly crash the Zoom call is no cause for concern. Part of him hopes because that will show others on the call that elephants are real, they are wild, and they do not belong in a zoo or on a trophy wall.
They need to be appreciated and respected for what they are, Gregory insists, remnants of a past age of living, near-mythical beings, not props in a circus or the main attraction in a roadside amusement park.
Back to the questions. Satellite time is finite, after all: One never knows when the signal might cut out, especially with all these mozzies — mosquitoes — buzzing about in the camera lights. The elephants will decide in their own good time whether to make a cameo appearance or not, or leave that for another night.
So what are some of the hairiest encounters he has experienced in the wild, Gregory is asked.
Surprise question!
“The one that probably sticks out right now,” he replies, without missing a beat, “is the lion episode we just filmed in Zambia.
“I came back to my room in camp late one night. I had my head torch on, walked into my room, and there was this crocodile in my bed.” He pauses. “I can't say that's happened to me before.
©National Geographic/George Pagliero for Disney+
“I went charging out the room into the night to find one of our guides. I'd love to tell you I was really brave, but I wasn't. I screamed. I found Adrian, one of our guides, and told him, ‘Adrian, dude; there's a crocodile in my bed. Can you come and sort it out?’
“He didn’t believe me, of course. During these shoots, we play a lot of practical jokes on each other, crying wolf on occasion, or crocodile.. I’m definitely guilty of that.
“It took me about 10 minutes to convince Adrian that, yes, actually this is a reaL problem, and would he please, please help.
“He went reluctantly to my room and started to open the door. The door creaked open and he turned the lights on — and then he suddenly came flying out, running past me, yelling, ‘Bertie, there's a crocodile in your bed!’ ‘I know,’ I told him. ‘That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.’
“We went back to the room and at this point, the crocodile started death-rolling, which is how they kill their prey. They grab their prey and start rolling violently in the water, and kill their prey by drowning it.
“In this case, it managed to death-roll itself into the mosquito netting hanging over my bed and got seriously tangled up. It was a hot mess.”
Gregory pauses, whether for dramatic effect or to catch his breath, it’s hard to say.
“Fortunately, we work with amazing specialists and scientists on this series, real professionals. Adrian's really good at dealing with difficult situations.
“He managed to get a towel over this crocodile's head, and together we grabbed it. Adrian then walked it back down to the river. And as he was walking out the door, crocodile in hand, it started making this high-pitched, chirping sound, like a squeal.”
Gregory imitates the chirping sound the crocodile was making.
“‘Adrian, what does that mean?’ I asked him.
“‘Oh, this is actually a juvenile,’ he said. ‘That's its distress call. He's just calling out for mom.’
“So now I’m thinking, ‘Oh, great. Brilliant. Mom's going to visit my room now.’
“I tried to go back to sleep. I can't say I slept a huge amount that night.”
Drone technology, digital cameras, and sound recorders have advanced to the point where Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory could not have been possible just 10 years ago.
“As a wildlife cinematographer, you can be a specialist or a generalist. I like doing many different things. With this series, that has allowed us to go after different subjects in different environments and habitats, whether underwater or in a jungle, or the Antarctic.
“In some of these episodes, we looked for things that have never been filmed before. In other episodes, we revisited things I think people are familiar with, but we filmed them in a new way. …
“With the lion episode in Zambia, for example — many people have seen lion films before — we filmed it in a way no one has seen before. I hope, when they see it, that viewers will agree that it’s a new and exciting way to see lions doing what they do best.”
Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory debuts September 8th on Disney+ Day, on Disney+ and on National Geographic’s platform of channels and websites.
©National Geographic/Sam Stewart for Disney+
