Dr Sasha Norris talks

Which of the problems in the Wild Thing series did you find the most disturbing?

All of the stories have an element of frustration for the purist. Why should we build a housing development where a badger lives? Why can't we allow the pine martens to eat the huge amount of human waste we put in our bins?

Stopping all development and human endeavour would be impossible and foolish; we must compromise, even if it's painful. But intelligent, respectful development which accounts for the creatures which share our space is the way forward.

The deer being run over in the New Forest was the most confusing problem. Deer are overpopulating Britain. Because they browse and graze, they can quickly damage forests and woodlands, destroying their very home. This is because humans have already upset the balance. Early Britons hunted to extinction all of the natural predators which used to roam our land and keep the deer under control – wolves, bears and lynx. Some people believe we should bring them back.

There are so many deer that most conservationists believe they need to be culled, that is, humanely killed to keep their numbers down. So, with too many deer anyway, we come along and focus on keeping the alive! But dying on the road is a horrible way to go, and the collisions can seriously harm people too. As our series producer David Johnson put it, wildthingers are all about solving conflicts between humans and animals which are not always pure conservation.

What was your favourite solution in the whole Wild Thing series?

The dormice bridge was highly innovative and achieved a great deal. It was pioneering in the sense of creating something essential for wildlife at a low price. More and more roads separate animal populations all over the world. Previous attempts to make bridges like this have been much bigger feats of architecture and therefore more expensive.

Sadly, wildlife tends to not be a major priority for developers. The best way to make people include animal-friendly measures is to make them affordable and easy. The bridge was both of those things. It was also hilarious and challenging to put together and looked like a postmodern sculpture. For that incursion of art, I am grateful to Jem!

What is your favourite animal?

Answer 1. Bill Bailey

Answer 2. The human being. Well, I am being slightly tongue-in-cheek, but it's worth remembering that despite the terrible damage we are doing to the planet, we are an incredible, creative, fascinating and often very kind animal, and that all animals are our first cousins, sisters and ancestors. We have 63% of our DNA in common with a lettuce!

Answer 3. No favourite. I remember telling my dad, when we were walking the Cornish coastal path for Greenpeace in the 1980s, that all animals are beautiful, there is not a single one I do not like. He spent the rest of the trip saying what about maribou storks, what about whip-tailed scorpions? I guess the cliché is true that each life has a place, even the most bizarre, dangerous or hideous.

Answer 4. If you pushed me secretly, but don't tell anyone, because they are so friendly, so cooperative, such good family-makers, symbols of wilderness and so beautiful, my first love is wolves.

What is the most exciting wild experience you have ever had?

I've had lots. Waiting in pitch black for bears to break into our cars in Yosemite. Hearing wolves howl at dawn in Yellowstone. Sitting in darkness surrounded by radio-collared lions less than five meters away in Hwange, Zimbabwe. Swimming with whale sharks in Mozambique.

Or maybe discovering an oyster catcher chick hiding with gangly legs and brave heart in the long grass of Stirling University campus and being dive bombed by the parents. Watching river-feeding terns on a frosty Sunday in Oxford. Marking snails in my garden with nail varnish and watching them over a number of nights and discovering that they seem to have friend snails that they prefer to hang out with. All of these experiences are so exciting when you connect with nature.

If you could change the world in one way, what would that be?

I would make all people into conservationists of course. And if not, I would make conservation as exciting to the public as World Cup football. Conservation has to come from people's hearts and minds first.

What in your view is the biggest challenge facing wildlife today?

People's lethargy. Even with population growth rocketing and all of the world's problems seeming overwhelming, I believe that we can save most of the major wildlife sites, species and phenomenon. The problem is always people's inertia – our unwillingness to innovate and change the boundaries and compensate and shell out cash. I do not believe that we have to stop doing what we want to do. I just think people need to do it with wildlife in mind.

I run a small charity called Siren. Our priority is conservation education. What intrigues me is how we can get people to engage with wildlife; to experience the ecstasy of spending time in wild places and feeling at one with our 4.5-billion-year-old heritage. It's time to get the kids out of computer games and into the forest.

What advice could you offer anyone wanting to work with wildlife?

The world needs you. And the more the merrier. If there is no job, create one. If there is no funding, push for some. The more that people get involved, the more Earth will remain beautiful.

Before Wild Thing, I worked on local telly as a general reporter. I asked my boss if I could do a wildlife show. Yes‚ she said, but only if we could fit it in our existing schedule. With Scot Openshaw, my cameraman and editor, I worked till four in the morning, at weekends and after-hours, to make the first 20 or so programmes. After that, the show was so successful and the viewers so responsive that I was allowed to (thankfully) stop my general presenting and just do the wildlife show, Wild.

Previously, there was no wildlife on the channel. Now it is the favourite programme. Two years on, the repeats are still being shown, every day. Change the world before the world changes you!

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