| Alt Name: | Wild Australasia |
| Genre: | Nature documentary |
| Narrated: | Matt Day |
| Composer: | Adrian Johnston |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Num Episodes: | 6 |
| Executive Producer: | Neil Nightingale (BBC) Dione Gilmour (ABC) |
| Runtime: | 50 minutes |
| Company: | BBC Natural History Unit Animal Planet ABC |
| Channel: | BBC Two |
Wild Down Under is a BBC nature documentary series exploring the natural history of the Australasian continent, first transmitted in the UK on BBC Two in September 2003. It was broadcast in Australia under the title Wild Australasia in February 2004.
Each of the six episodes features a particular environment and, using a combination of aerial photography and traditional wildlife footage, reveals how physical forces and human activity have transformed Australasia from a lush green wilderness into an increasingly dry and harsh continent, troubled by unpredictable weather but still home to a huge array of creatures found nowhere else on Earth..
Wild Down Under was co-produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Animal Planet. The series was produced for the BBC by Neil Nightingale and executive-produced for ABC by Dione Gilmour. The music was composed by Adrian Johnston and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra. The series was narrated by Australian actor Matt Day.
The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's Continents strand. It was preceded by Wild New World in 2002 and followed by in 2005.
Wild Down Under is one of the most comprehensive surveys of Australasia's natural history ever filmed, with production of the series taking three years.[1] The aerial photography used extensively in the series was shot by Damon Smith.
As well as mainland Australia, the production team visited other locations across the continent for the fifth episode, "Island Arks", including New Guinea, New Caledonia, Lord Howe Island and New Zealand.
Broadcast dates refer to the original UK transmission.
A DVD and book were released to accompany the TV series: