- EXCLUSIVE: Behind the scenes, a fish shot water into a cameraman’s eye
- Archerfish use jets of water as arrows to shoot insects out of trees
This is the hilarious behind-the-scenes moment when an archer shot water into a cameraman’s eye during the filming of the BBC’s Planet Earth III in Indonesia.
Mitch Buckley, slow motion cameraman for the show, shared what the experience was like filming the cheeky fish when someone decided to target him and go for his eye.
The unique fish use jets of water as arrows to shoot insects from trees high above them.
In tropical Raja Ampat, the coral reef is sheltered by a forest of mangrove trees, which are salt-tolerant and rooted in the seabed, providing opportunities for the fish.
Mitch explained, “The first few days we were looking for Archer fish it was really hard to find them and now you can see I’m actually surrounded by Archer fish.
Mitch Buckley, slow-motion cameraman for the show, talked about what the experience was like filming Archerfish when someone decided to target him.
In less than a second, the water quickly shoots up and hits him, causing the cameraman to rub his eye and laugh, saying it “really hurts”
‘Where before they wouldn’t come within three meters of us, they now feel very comfortable with us.’
The person behind the camera asked him what camera he was using when the Archerfish took the opportunity to attack.
In less than a second, the water quickly shoots up and hits him, causing the cameraman to rub his eye and laugh, saying it “really hurts.”
He continued, “Sorry, what exactly happens with Archerfish is they see something that looks a little different, like a bracelet or a red thing on a camera or the white of your eye, and then they get to work.
“They’re seeing if they can shoot it and eat it, so I just got nailed in the eye by an archerfish.”
After the funny moment unfolded, he revealed that it wasn’t actually the first time this had happened.
He said: ‘Going out and filming archerfish hunting in the wild seemed like an impossible task.
‘Once we found a location and a helpful school of fish, the next challenge was to see who would spit next, and in what direction.
Critics and viewers praised the show’s ‘utterly mind-boggling’ first episode, as stunning photos from the show revealed nature in all its glory
‘I actually felt like a young archerfish learning the tricks of the trade. But the most unexpected challenge was that archerfish induced happy habits.
‘A hopeful archerfish will shoot at anything that looks out of place just to see if they can take it down… the red button on a camera, a cameraman’s shiny bracelet, in my ear and on more than one occasion , right in my eye’.
You can find out more about the funny Archer fish in the third installment of the beloved franchise, with commentary from Sir David Attenborough.
The first episode of the new series aired on October 22 and you can watch the latest episode on BBC One this Sunday.
Critics and viewers were delighted that the show had an ‘utterly mind-boggling’ first episode, with stunning photos from the show revealing nature in all its glory.
It comes after the BBC crew working on the series broke the golden rule of wildlife filmmakers to ‘never intervene’ as they saved wildlife from plastic litter and fishing nets.
The new attitude to helping wildlife reflects one of the key themes of this season, which will focus on how animals cope with changes in their environment due to global warming.