How that Crazy Iguana Snake Chase Scene from Planet Earth II was Shot

Unless you’ve been on an Internet fast for the past week, you’ve probably seen this incredible clip from the upcoming BBC nature documentary Planet Earth II. The harrowing ‘chase scene’ has gone viral online, and now the BBC are giving us a peek at how their crew captured this spectacular footage.

The 360° video above reveals the gear the crew is using: namely, a camera with a wide lens attached to a DJI Ronin stabilizing gimbal, and another with a longer lens on a tripod for the tight shots.

Here’s the original, viral clip in case you missed it:

On this sandy beach of Fernandina Island in the Galapagos, the crew are living a wildlife photographer’s dream. The island is uninhabited, and so the animals have no reason to fear humans. As such, the crew doesn’t need to hide or shoot from a great distance—they just have to wait for the action to happen.

That’s how the crew captured the viral phenomenon that was that iguana vs snake video—by simply standing around and waiting on this secluded beach. Each marine iguana hatchling has to scurry desperately towards the safety of the rocks when it emerges from the sand, and dash towards safety offers another chance to capture something amazing.

Check out the BTS video at the top for an intro to the gear and location, and then give the video below a watch if you’ve got the stomach to see what happens when the freshly hatched iguanas aren’t fast or shifty enough to avoid the horde of racer snakes.

Planet Earth II is already airing in the UK. But if you’re in the United States, you’ll have to survive on tidbits like this amazing clip until the series arrives stateside on January 28.