A Google Doodle pays tribute to the renowned biologist and filmmaker Heinz Sielmann, on what would have been his 101st birthday.
Despite creating a wide range of wildlife documentaries over his life, Sielmann gained the nickname “Mr Woodpecker” after the release of one of his most best-loved films, Carpenters of the Forest, in 1954.
Detailing the life of the bird, it featured then-groundbreaking footage from inside its nests and became hugely popular in Britain after it was broadcast on the BBC.
That the film, known as The Woodpecker on UK broadcasts, remains his most famous work among a career littered with award-winning movies pays testament to its ability to capture the imaginations of audiences at the time.
Born in in Rheydt, Germany, in 1917, Sielmann moved to East Prussia at an early age where his father opened a business selling electrical and building supplies.
His fascination with wildlife began as a child, often waking up early in order to watch birds before school.
At the age of 17, he received his first camera and made his first steps into the world of wildlife photography.
East Prussia became the setting for his first nature film in 1938, a silent movie on birdlife in the province.
However, the young Sielmann’s career was interrupted the following year by the outbreak of the Second World War.
He was initially stationed in occupied Poland as an instructor at a radio communications training unit for the Luftwaffe, spending time as a prisoner of war in Cairo and London.
After the war, he began his critically-acclaimed work for the Educational Film Institute of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It was during this time he started filming Carpenters of the Forest, capturing the elusive woodpecker in a degree of depth that had not been seen before.
Sielmann placed cameras inside woodpecker nests and in doing so was able to film intimate moments between parents and offspring, a move that helped the documentary become a global hit.
“Of all the animals that I have worked with, the woodpeckers are my favourites,” Sielmann would later write, “because I was able to find out many new facts about the biology of these birds.”
In the late 1950s, he released his first feature film, Les Seigneurs de la Forêt, or Lords of the Forest, which was commissioned by the King of Belgium and filmed in the then-Belgian Congo.
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The film was notable for being one of the first to capture the social nature of gorillas in their natural habitat. It won first place at the Moscow Film Festival and quickly became one of his most revered works, being translated into 26 languages including an English version narrated by Orson Welles.
In 1971 he photographed for the Academy Award winning film The Hellstrom Chronicle, along with Walon Green, about the threat that insects collectively pose to humans and the struggle between the two.
In 1994, he founded the Heinz Sielmann Stiftung, a foundation that has successfully reintroduced otters and beavers into the wild in Germany.
He died surrounded by his family in Munich in 2006.
HEINZ Sielmann would have turned 101 today and so Google has paid tribute to the renowned filmmaker, photographer and biologist with one of its Google Doodles.
Here's Sielmann's story and why the search engine is celebrating him.
Getty - Contributor Sielmann was one of the most acclaimed wildlife filmmakers of the 20th century
Who was Heinz Sielmann?
Born on June 2, 1917, in Mönchengladbach, a city in western Germany, Sielmann became one of the most revered and respected wildlife photographers and documentary filmmakers of the 20th century.
His first film was released in 1938 - a silent movie on the birds of East Prussia before further work was disrupted and halted due to the outbreak of the Second World War.
Sielmann was stationed in occupied Poland during WW2 as an instructor at a radio-communications unit for the Luftwaffe - the German airforce.
In 1940 he went to study at a university in Poland, gaining a degree in biology and specialising in zoology.
He was later sent to Crete as well as serving time as a prisoner of war in Cairo and London.
Following the end of the war he became to receive acclaim for his work, particularly a feature film about woodpeckers titled Carpenters of the Forest.
Sir David Attenborough lobbied the BBC on his behalf for the film to be aired in the UK.
Later works including Lords of the Forest, Galapagos - Dream Island in the Pacific and The Mystery of Animal Behaviour also won the admiration of fellow wildlife enthusiasts and experts.
Such was the fame of Sielmann that he was even referenced in an episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
At the age of 89 in 2006, he passed away surrounded by his family and was buried in the German town of Duderstadt. He is survived by his wife Inge.
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GOOGLE A Google Doodle honours Heinz Sielmann
What is a Google Doodle?
In 1998, the search engine founders Larry and Sergey drew a stick figure behind the second 'o' of Google as a message to that they were out of office at the Burning Man festival and with that, Google Doodles were born.
The company decided that they should decorate the logo to mark cultural moments and it soon became clear that users really enjoyed the change to the Google homepage.
In that same year, a turkey was added to Thanksgiving and two pumpkins appeared as the 'o's for Halloween the following year.
Now, there is a full team of doodlers, illustrators, graphic designers, animators and classically trained artists who help create what you see on those days.
Among the Doodles published recently were ones commemorating German scientist Robert Koch, Jan Ingenhousz (who discovered photosynthesis) and the 50th anniversary of kids coding languages being introduced.
To celebrate St Patrick's Day 2018, Google created a special design using stones to spell out the search engine's name.
Google Doodle has chosen to celebrate the birthday of Heinz Sielmann as their Google logo. The famous German naturalist was well known for his ability to capture the rarest animals in the world on film. Google has changed their logo to a cartoonish drawing of Mr Sielmann behind the camera capturing colourful owls and woodpeckers in a woodland setting. Nicknamed “Mr Woodpecker”, Mr Sielmann would have turned 101 years-old today, if he was still alive. Google has changed the Google logo today across nine countries to celebrate the date.
Who is Heinz Sielmann? The famous German film-maker was born in Rheidt in 1017. Starting from humble beginnings, Heinz Sielmann’s father owned an electrical materials shop in East Prussia during the First World War. Mr Sielmann became a student of nature throughout his life, becoming one of the most famous nature cinematographers in the world, becoming the first person to film the social nature of gorillas in the wild. His work has inspired countless other documentary work across the ages, each attempting to achieve his knack of capturing wildlife in his own unique way. Likely his most famous work, Carpenters of the Forest, gave Sielmann his nickname “Mr Woodpecker”, showcasing one of Europe’s most elusive birds on film in a way that had not been seen before.
Google Google doodle: Who is Heinz Sielmann? German film-maker honoured today
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Sielmann placed cameras inside Woodpecker nests high up in the trees, filming intimate moments between parent birds and their offspring. Sielmann had said of his work: “Of all the animals that I have worked with, the woodpeckers are my favourites… because I was able to find out many new facts about the biology of these birds.” Carpenters of the Forest was broadcast across the nation on BBC, with thousands of viewers in the UK requesting for it to be broadcast again. The programme's appreciation index matched that of a football final, according to British newspaper The Guardian.
GETTY Heinz Sielmann was a well known nature documentarian
GETTY Heinz Sielmann dies in 2006, but would be 101 today
