OHMYGOSSIP — Chris Packham has unveiled a pop-up habitat featuring an animatronic leopard in Central London.
The 60-year-old presenter has teamed up with National Geographic WILD on the live installation to mark the start of the network’s Big Cat Week and raise awareness of the threat to the species.
He said: “If we are to protect majestic creatures like leopards, we must stop the destruction of their natural habitat which is occurring at an alarming rate, with the latest research from the Big Cats Initiative showing leopards have lost over 75% of their natural habitat due to urban expansion, resulting in loss of food source and the ongoing threat to poachers and farmers.
“This spectacular installation marking the beginning of Big Cat Week on National Geographic WILD brings to life this natural habitat and asks passersby to consider how we can protect it.”
Meanwhile, Chris – who has narrated ‘Russia’s Wild Tiger’ and ‘Thailand’s Wild Cats’ for the network – hopes the pop-up habitat can inspire people.
He added: “Big Cat Week is such a special event to be a part of, so it was a joy to narrate the programming this year.
“With nature and big cats being a huge passion of mine, I hope this visual representation of a leopard’s beautiful home will allow the public to see just how important it is to save their habitats.”
He also hopes people can learn lessons about how to treat animals much closer to home.
He said: “In our country, if a fox kills chickens or a companion animal such as a rabbit, everyone jumps up and down saying they want to kill it. We want to protect our pets, but we have to look after the predators too.
“We have to learn to live with the predators – and the fox is quite a lot smaller and a lot less dangerous than a tiger.”
The four-dimensional installation – which has been unveiled at Observation Point in Southbank – puts leopards’ breathtaking wild habitat on display.
Lily was created by animatronic expert John Nolan – who has also worked on ‘Mary Poppins Returns’ – and the 1.3 metre long model has over 40 moving parts and a loud roar to surprise bystanders.
‘Big Cat Week’ will be broadcast on National Geographic WILD all this week.

Source: VacationHunter.Online