Magical Moors: A Hidden Kingdom of Predators

Eerie and menacing, yet hauntingly beautiful. The rugged Moor landscape has long fuelled our imagination and inspired ingenuity with its terrifying and deeply romantic images. Wide open heaths, windswept and barren in winter, are transformed into wonderful carpets of white, fluffy cotton grass in summer. Large bears and wolves roam alongside delicately fluttering butterflies, the bubbling calls of black grouse and the enchanting trills of the great snipe. Moors, bogs and wetlands can be found all over in Europe. Everyone has at least heard about this habitat but most know little about it. It is an ancient yet largely unknown set of landscapes that is full of enchanting surprises. On a warm spring day, poisonous adders emerge from hiding to perform their impressive mating dance. As dusk falls, snipe gather on traditional leks, leaping and singing to impress the opposite sex. And deep down in the boggy marshes, glittering emeralds of sticky dew lure insects into the deadly arms of meat-eating plants. As the early mist of spring gives way to lush green colours of summer and golden reds of autumn, slow-motion and time-lapse photography reveal a secret and little-known world. Stunning aerial footage uncovers a rich mosaic of structure within a unique landscape, while underwater and macro-filming shed light on some the secret treasures hidden deep within its waters. Magical Moors captures the quiet beauty of a spectacular landscape, and its often elusive wildlife, in stunning detail. Directed by Jan Haft