
The BBC has confirmed the first three episodes of Planet Earth II brought in more UK viewers aged 16 to 34 than The X Factor.
The series, of which four episodes have been shown so far out of a total of six, gained 12.26 million viewers in the first episode.
Youngsters are being drawn in by the highest-definition shots yet of animals in their natural habitats.
‘I’m told that we are attracting a larger than normal number of younger viewers and apparently the music of Hans Zimmer in particular is striking a chord,’ Sir Attenborough told the Radio Times.
Planet Earth II’s best ratings so far were for the ‘Mountains’ second episode.
This episode brought in 1.8 million young viewers compared to The X Factor’s 1.4 million in the same week.
Sir David Attenborough credited improvements in technology with the show’s increased success in its second season.
The episodes have brought animals closer to viewers than ever through remote cameras, making the environments look almost real in high definition.
The stunning series has captured the emotions of people around the country in its four episodes so far.
The first episode looked at the remote islands that offer sanctuary for some of the planet’s strangest and rarest creatures.
BBC viewers were scared stiff by dramatic footage that showed dozens of snakes chasing baby iguanas.
The astonishing television which showed marine iguanas attempting to outrun a knot of racer snakes on Fernandina Island was labelled ‘the stuff of nightmares’.
Hatchlings could be seen emerging from the sand of the Galápagos island in the Pacific Ocean in June for what is the snakes’ best feeding opportunity of the year.
The footage showed some iguanas outrun the snakes to safety by the sea while others were caught before the snakes wrapped themselves around them.
When the crew saw the snakes for the first time, they were too shocked to film – and host Sir David Attenborough had never seen anything like it either, it was claimed.
They may be one of nature’s most regal creatures but the sight of a flock of pink flamingos struggling to stay upright on a just-frozen lake left viewers of the second episode in fits of laughter
The pink-hued birds, filmed in the Andes for the hit BBC nature series, looked surprisingly slapstick as they tried to negotiate their way across very thin ice.
Armchair naturalists couldn’t hide their mirth at the hilarious – and relentless – footage of the hapless birds crashing into the water, or skidding at high speed.
After the third episode, which focused on different species living in jungles, viewers of the BBC wildlife documentary took to Twitter to say they had been left ‘in tears’ by a bird’s plight.
The amorous bird of paradise melted viewers’ hearts on Planet Earth last night after his advances were spurned by a female.
Rachael wrote: ‘The bird at the end of planet earth two had me in literal tears… he just wanted a lady friend.’
After the fourth episode, focussed on deserts, animal lovers were left open-mouthed as a giraffe dealt out a savage kicking to a desert lion.
The series’ fourth episode focused on the deserts of Africa, the American west and South America, and viewers were made to wait less than five minutes before they were taken on a brutal hunt.
However, an unexpected hero was to emerge from the battle for life and death.
A pride were seen stalking across a dry driver bed in the NamibRand desert in Namibia, with a lone grazing giraffe in their sights.
The lionesses had spent three days on a hunt that had taken them across 300miles of barren desert and were desperate for a kill.
The demise of the giraffe looked inevitable, but much to the shock of viewers – an unexpected twist was to be thrown into the mix.
Suspense grew as the lionesses sprang into action and sprinted across the river bed, closing in on the giraffe.
As it was chased towards open ground it ran into the leader of the pride, who had been waiting patiently to strike.
The big cat leapt ferociously onto its prey and it looked like dinner was about to be served. But surprisingly, this was not to be the case.