‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’ Recap: ‘Europe’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

​Over the course of the past few weeks, the BBC America documentary, Seven Worlds, One Planet, has done a phenomenal job of showing us sides of our world we never quite knew existed. For we have enjoyed unique insight as to how wildlife is thriving on the various continents of this world, all while coming to understand that these wonderful creatures are struggling since our biosphere is changing like never before. But what’s truly impressive about this documentary, is the sheer fact that it is challenging its audience week in and week out. For now, we are forced to ponder upon new ideas that will help mankind and wildlife coexist peacefully alongside one another and of course what we can do to help the environment, in order to alter our carbon footprint and preserve the beauty of this world.
 
Yet what’s truly fascinating about this documentary, is that its next chapter actually takes the time address some of these ideas. For Europe is a continent where mankind and nature are in tight quarters to begin with, providing us with perhaps a potential blueprint of a future where mankind and nature can live side by side in relative harmony. But before the show dug deep into that, it did take the time to show us some of the untouched parts of this continent where wildlife goes about its day without a care in the world. For the brown bears of Finland still roam the forests there with complete and utter freedom and wolves in the Alps still hunt freely despite the fact that our world is slowly encroaching on their own. Plus, there’s the limestone caves in Slovenia, where the Olm resides, a unique blind salamander that can go ten years without food.
 
But while it was incredible to see nature going about its business, it wasn’t long before this episode shifted gears to discuss how exactly wildlife is functioning alongside the rest of us in Europe. And for the most part that’s simply happening because we let them be and they are able to adapt to the new world that new surrounds them and that appears to be letting a fairly normal life occur for these animals. After all, the Barbary Macaque monkeys in Gibraltar have created their own caste system in a world they no longer recognize and they had quite the powerful segment in this tale since we were able to see how their system works and how the monkeys on the lower rungs of the caste suffer, since one saw her baby briefly kidnapped by an upper echelon monkey that wanted a young one of her own. Yet while it was incredible to see these monkeys’ function and thrive in mankind’s domain, they weren’t the only ones who are able to get by.
 
For the wild European hamster is doing just fine living in our world, since they can easily find food in places where we don’t often tread, and their segment was hands down the cutest of the night since these little critters showed off how hard they will battle for a meal. However, while all of this is lovely to know in its own right, it doesn’t directly answer the burning question on all of our minds; as to how exactly mankind and nature can coexist in harmony. But showing us these little vignettes and also letting us see how the Iberian Lynx is starting to thrive in their respective preserve in Spain, does inspire a solution when all is said and done. Because there will come a day when the rest of the world becomes as cramped as Europe as humanity continues to expand that means, one big key to preserving the beauty of our world is to offer nature a safe space to grow and thrive.  
 
Which means we need to rethink how our cities and our infrastructure expand, so we can set aside land for the beautiful creatures that live alongside us. And we also need to do everything within our power to try and help the wildlife that is threatened by years of change and while that seems like too simple a direction to follow, the simple path is often the best one. The bigger conundrum of course is whether or not we can pull together to respect our world in that manner and that sadly, is a discussion for another time. But in the here and the now, the overall structure of Europe shows us that balance is possible and that made this particular chapter in this beautiful documentary a fascinating one for certain. One that took us off guard when humanity popped into the mix and one that showed us how resilient nature really is and it is an episode that imagined some incredible possibilities for the future. And you simply cannot go wrong with a documentary that offers a shred of hope that maybe, we can do right by nature after all. Until next time.

---