We got to chat with biologist and TV personality Patrick Aryee of the the Smithsonian Channel miniseries Amazing Dogs.
Earlier this week Dog O’Day got to do an email interview with Patrick Aryee, a British biologist who is the host of the Smithsonian Channel miniseries Amazing Dogs, the first episode of three, “Man’s Best Friend,” aired last Sunday (July 26).
Aryee graduated with a degree in cancer biology from the University of Bristol, and then got a master’s in science communications from the University of the West of England.
He then worked for the BBC, working his way up from a runner to an associate producer, and has since hosted and narrated programs for the BBC, Sky One and National Geographic for most of the past decade.
Dog O’Day – What should our readers (mostly American) know about you and your background?
Patrick Aryee – I’ve been in the wildlife filmmaking industry for over 10-years, and I love it. One thing people don’t know about me is how much I like to push my boundaries; I love extreme sports and use it as a way of, from a sensory point of view, experiencing and tasting the world around me. Everything from mountain biking to SCUBA, if it gets my heart racing, you can count me in. I’m also learning how to skydive!
I really enjoy travelling the world, especially to the States, there are so many beautiful locations, landscape and ecosystems, from the giant sequoias of Kings Canyon National Park in California, to the rocky Grand Teton mountains of Wyoming, I absolutely love it! For anyone that lives in the city, please, make some time every few weeks to go and experience what wild America has to offer, you won’t be disappointed!
Dog O’Day – Why is the medium of television a good method for introducing viewers to unfamiliar concepts or creatures?
Patrick Aryee – When it comes to our trusty pet dogs, many of us, have a pretty good idea of what to expect. A four-legged mammal covered in fur, with a long snout …a loyal animal with a fantastic sense of smell, prominent canine teeth, and of course a wagging tail that tells us a lot about its mood and how it’s feeling. But when we start looking at the wider family of canids, it quickly becomes apparent that there are so many other nuanced features and behaviours, that make each member, truly unique.
That’s where the art of cinematography, really takes these stories to another level. It allows us to describe some technical bits of biology, in a way that’s much easier easy to understand. Take the cute and utterly adorable arctic fox for example, thanks to a special network of veins and arteries its legs and feet, it’s able to withstand freezing temperature as low as -50°C (-58°F). This is a mind-blowing ability that only gets more impressive when you see me stood next to one, all wrapped up, barely able to speak because my lips were so numb from the cold howling wind.
Thinking about it, that’s another equally important part of filming wildlife, capturing the soundscape; from animal calls, to the surrounding environment, down to the musical score and narration, they all come together to make the story of dogs even more powerful.
Dog O’Day – As a biologist, do you have a particular canid that is most fascinating to study, and if so, why?
Patrick Aryee – I think wolves are amazing! They’re tough as nails! They’re fast, agile, strong, and that’s just as individuals. Together, hunting in a pack, wolves can take down prey as big as bison. They are truly formidable creatures. Sadly, they’ve had a bit of a tough ride over the years and by the end of the 1920s they’d been hunted to extinction in the US.
What many didn’t realise at the time was the key role they played when it came to keeping the ecosystem in check. Without the wolves, elk numbers increased, leading to the over-browsing of vegetation like willow, the same vegetation that beavers rely on for survival. With fewer beavers making dams, the vast network of wetlands they create, which supports SO much wildlife, slowly deteriorated.
Thankfully, wolves came to the rescue; after their reintroduction to Yellowstone in 1995, the landscape slowly began to recover, and it was all thanks to those amazing dogs!
Dog O’Day – Do you have any pets at home, or a favourite dog breed?
Patrick Aryee – I travel too much to have any pets at home, but if I had one and it was a dog, it’d probably a cute little Dachshund!
Dog O’Day – If a student was curious about working in one of the sciences, or in the realm of television, do you have any advice for how they might proceed?
Patrick Aryee – For anyone that’s curious about working in the sciences, or in the TV industry, or both, first things first: ask yourself, is it your passion? Ever since I was a little rugrat, I’ve loved learning about new facts and ideas, not just about biology but about chemistry, geography, space travel too.
I also loved performing on stage and watching TV, a lot of TV, I mean, what kid wouldn’t. Once you figure out your passion, the next step is to find a community of like-minded people and get creative. Whether it’s science, TV, music, art, food, we’re so fortunate to live in an era where the internet and social media platforms allow you express your passion in a way that’s fun, engaging and exciting. My advice is to use those platforms like an experimental portfolio, and as your proving ground.
Dog O’Day – While filming Amazing Dogs, were there any moments in particular that stood out about the process?
Patrick Aryee – One moment that stood out was the challenge of filming not the smallest, but one of the biggest species of dog out there. The Maned Wolf is the tallest of the wild dogs so of course the crew and I, had to find one. I’d made my way to Serra da Canastra National Park, in Brazil.
Whilst I helped a team of biologists with their research tagging, the film crew would follow closely behind with the hopes of capturing one on camera. But considering it’s the tallest species out there, it was much harder to find than expected, and that’s all thanks to the high grasslands, that offer them cover and protection. With only 20,000 left of them in the wild – that’s less than a quarter the number of people it would take to fill the University of Michigan football stadium – this tropical savannah is crucial to their survival.
When we finally laid eyes on one we couldn’t believe what we were looking at. Imagine a fox, with the legs of a deer, that gallops like a horse. Truly unbelievable. Now I understand why the maned wolf is also known as a fox-on-stilts!
Dog O’Day – What are you hoping viewers take away from this series?
Patrick Aryee – As with all my shows, I hope this series can transport viewers from the comfort of their homes, to the far reaches of the globe. Ultimately, I’d love for viewers to be left with a sense wonder, excitement and curiosity to find more about mother natures wild treasures.
Amazing Dogs episode 2, “America,” will air on Sunday, August 4 on the Smithsonian Channel, while episode 3, ‘Africa,” will air on Sunday, August 11. Both episodes will air at 8 p.m. across all time zones.