Over the past few weeks, we've witnessed snakes chasing baby iguanas, penguins leaping into crashing waves, and giraffes roundhouse-kicking lions. It's almost more than our slightly hungover, vulnerable Sunday evening emotions can take. More young people are watching Planet Earth II this year than The X Factor, but this week's episode might be even more heart-wrenching than ever before. If you're not into spoilers, look away now.
Members of the TV crew filming this week's 'Grasslands' episode have revealed they were left 'heartbroken' after witnessing the deaths of over 150,000 Saiga antelope over a period of three days.
The crew were filming in the calving grounds of Saiga in Central Asia, witnessing the births of hundreds of thousands of antelope, when an extremely contagious disease spread through the pack and wiped out almost all of the group they were filming. So much so that producer Chadden Hunter worried they were witnessing the extinction of the species.
'When we were out there in the calving grounds, with hundreds of thousands of females all giving birth at the same time, a very virulent disease swept through the population and killed around 150,000 of them in a matter of three days,' Hunter said.
'At the time we didn’t know if it was the final extinction of the species, which was devastating, emotionally, for the crew.' he added.
'We’ve since heard that the last few mothers and babies we filmed have survived. It was a potent reminder of how fragile yet resilient nature can be.' - you're right Chad, about as fragile as us when we watch it this weekend.
Planet Earth II airs this Sunday at 8pm.
**Like this? You might be interested in...
This Beaver Browsing Christmas Decorations Is The Perfect Start To December
Follow Polly on Twitter: @PollyVBartlett
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.