We knew “Koh-Lanta”, where strangers survive each other on a desert island, “La Ferme Celebrities”, where stars experience life on the farm, “Rendez-vous en terre historique”, where personalities go to meet isolated tribes… Here is “Animal instinct”, on France 2, where a star will live several days in direct contact with wild animals to reconnect with his share of animality. The actress Julie De Bona is the first to rub shoulders with the exercise.
“By observing the animals, we realize that the balance is fragile”, assures 20 minutes Nicolas Daniel, magazine director for France Télévisions. “The big question of the moment is to ask whether our behavior is appropriate, especially when we know that we have a way of life that is not ecologically sustainable. » This is why this new program with the air of Meeting in unknown land animal version “projects a personality in the middle of nature and surrounded by wild animals” and observes him adapting, being surprised and moved by the life that is playing out around him or her. “It passes above all through emotion and the senses”, indicates the specialist in full nature immersions Perrine Crosmary. Because unlike a meeting between humans there is no way to communicate directly with these species.
With “Animal Instinct”, the public service is betting on combining people and ecology, in a film where the meeting is carried by the emotion of the various stakeholders. “When you are in the savannah without a vehicle, you quickly realize that you are neither very strong nor very competent”, confirms the host Diego Buñuel.
Become an “animal among animals”
Perrine Crosmary, co-host of the show, is delighted to have been able to live the experience for the first time in Africa without an armed guard. A way for the trio to be confronted with a nature “which we are taught to be wary of”, denounces this lover of wildlife who has been a safari guide for seven years. “We consider nature either as a resource or as a place to recharge our batteries,” she points out. We forgot that it is also the place where live between 8 and 20 million cohabitants…”
No wonder Julie De Bona was initially frightened to find herself facing a group of lions circling zebras, in the first minutes of the program. “When she arrived, everything scared her,” laughs Diego Buñuel.
But the two weeks of filming changed the actress, who in turn became “an animal among animals”. The emotions that Julie De Bona goes through follow one another in contact with elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes… “In the end, it was Rambo”, still laughs the one who will be the face of a new formula of “Thalassa » in 2023.
Humans and animals, not so different
In the making for nearly two years, “Animal Instinct” is designed as a hybrid between animal documentary and immersion program. “We are always looking for new ways to tell things and involve people in our stories”, insists Nicolas Daniel.
Closer to wildlife, the show repeatedly builds bridges with humans. Gender construction, community life or relations between parents and children are all themes approached through the prism of animals. “When we wrote the program, the main idea was to see how animals could teach us things about ourselves,” says Diego Buñuel.
In a particularly astonishing sequence, Perrine Crosmary recounts being inspired for a long time by the hyena, an animal that does not yet enjoy a very good reputation in the human mind. A bad image boosted by the group of hyenas of the Lion King. “However, she is the incarnation of the perfect female,” laments the specialist. “They organize themselves into matriarchal societies, with females at the head of the clans. Their genitalia are unique and they must consent to reproduce. She says that at a time in her life when she felt bad about herself, this animal was a great source of inspiration for her, embodying “a relaxed femininity-masculinity”.
“We can be natural disruptors”
With animal instinct, France Télévisions hopes to set up a new appointment. The various speakers also ensure that beyond Tanzania, many experiments are possible to further explore the animal world. “Already for this first shoot, I was like an animal on a leash, there are so many possibilities to discover and experience things in nature”, rejoices Perrine Crosmary. For his part, Diego Buñuel is already talking about Asia or Australia as potential destinations.
But beyond the objective in terms of audience, they hope to initiate a reflection in the minds of viewers. “It’s a new program that offers a different view of animality and humanity. And these two worlds that we wanted to separate, we have to reconcile them, ”he adds.
More radical, Perrine Crosmary hopes that “Animal instinct” will break down barriers: “Already between humans but also with other species…” In this way, this nature lover thinks that it is our relationship to biodiversity that can be permanently modified. “You have to get rid of the guilt of being a human being who destroys. We can be natural troublemakers, which is not negative, by trying to become aware of the good we can do by producing something positive. »