Through evolution animal life has become diverse and a magnificent wonder of the world; the many millions of different species startle and amaze me. On this series so far I have been fondled by baboons in the African scrub, stroked a leopard, been scared witless by a hyena, and witnessed a leatherback turtle nesting in the middle of the night. And today we filmed painted storks nesting and feeding in a small Indian village, which was wonderful to behold. They are marvelous birds; so silky smooth in their flying style. Watching them soar high above I was also reminded of the theory of how birds have evolved from dinosaurs and how wonderful the whole process of life is.

However, then we went back to the clinic and I’m not going to dwell on the euthanasia issue as I’ve spoken of this at great length already, but another problem with the place became only too obvious: it’s full of dirty, disgusting, faeces loving flies. I hate the creatures. They’re horrid little things that buzz around polluting their soiled bodies on anything they touch. Just the thought of them makes me feel ill.

Oh and on another note Luke thinks that the painted storks are actually ducks. I think the word “stork” makes it pretty obvious that they’re not, but then I’m not a vet…