Dynasties director reveals the moment that made him vomit

'It becomes an emotional experience when you see one of the characters having a bad time'

While each episode of Dynasties – the latest David Attenborough documentary – has been a gripping watch, none have been as the brutal as the one focussing on painted wolves.

One particularly hard-to-watch moment came as a cub, innocently drinking water, was snatched and eaten by a crocodile. So horrifying was the moment that director Nick Lyon vomited as he witnessed the event unfold.

“When you follow animals for as long as we did, you get to know them and care what happens to them,” Lyon said, according to The Telegraph.

“It becomes an emotional experience when you see one of the characters having a bad time, or having real success. I loved the puppies. I remember when they were out of the den for the first time at just three weeks old. They were so tiny, with oversized heads, that would overbalance on their front legs.”

The cub was the child of Blacktip, the painted wolf who attempted to steal take control of her mother Tait’s territory. Lyon called their battle “Shakespearian in its scale and in the intensity of the rivalry” and revealed that, to capture their conflict on camera, the crew had to travel of 82,000km by car.

“The painted wolves got to recognise us too and were completely relaxed having us around,” he added. ”It was like they totally accepted us being there with them. Such a privilege and it allowed us to get some extraordinary insights into their lives.”

Read The Independent‘s review of the episode here.