Photo: National Geographic/Jon Kroll
After being falsely accused of threatening a woman in Central Park two years ago, avid birdwatcher Christian Cooper is finally seeing the fallout from the controversy come full circle. When the unfortunate incident dragged his name into the public eye, Cooper had no idea it would eventually lead to him headlining his own TV show. But the popular National Geographic TV channel recently released the incredible news that Cooper will be the host of a new series on the network called Extraordinary Birder.
“Life-long birder Christian Cooper takes us into the wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds,” National Geographic said in a statement. “Whether braving stormy seas in Alaska for puffins, trekking into rainforests in Puerto Rico for parrots, or scaling a bridge in Manhattan for a peregrine falcon, he does whatever it takes to learn about these extraordinary feathered creatures and show us the remarkable world in the sky above.”
Although the network has yet to announce a premiere date for the show, the opportunity is well-deserved and must be incredibly exciting for Cooper. The dedicated Black birder says he fell in love with birdwatching from the time he was 10 years old. And when National Geographic originally approached him about the TV show around a year and a half ago, Cooper admits that he “was all in.”
“I love spreading the gospel of birding,” shares Cooper, adding that he hopes the show will encourage people to “stop and watch and listen and really start appreciating the absolutely spectacular creatures we have among us.”
Follow National Geographic TV on Twitter to stay up to date on when Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper will officially be released.
After being wrongfully accused of threatening a woman in Central Park, Black birder Christian Cooper will now have his own National Geographic TV show.
Lifelong birder Christian Cooper (@blackburniannyc) will take us into the wild, wonderful and unpredictable world of birds in his new show, The Extraordinary Birder. pic.twitter.com/2ZwTlZ3JmN
— National Geographic TV (@NatGeoTV) May 16, 2022
h/t: [NPR]
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