Andreas Moser turned animals into television stars
Sunday 1st November 2026 on 18:01 in
Switzerland
Biologist Andreas Moser made bringing nature closer to people his lifelong mission, presenting and later leading SRF’s television programme Netz Natur, SRF reports.
His fascination with animals began in childhood. Growing up in Basel, he often walked around Basel Zoo with his grandfather, watching the animals. Moser says his grandfather also taught him to draw them, a memory that stayed with him.
By the age of eight, Moser was spending his free time at the zoo and helping its keepers. Although safety rules meant children were not allowed to do this until they were 15, he was permitted to work with most of the animals. He stayed away from the great apes, big cats, bears and buffalo, which could be dangerous.
The close contact left a lasting impression, including the strong smells that followed him home and sometimes caused arguments with his mother. At the zoo, he also helped prepare fish for the sea lions and saw their pool drained regularly for treatment against algae.
Studying biology taught Moser to observe closely. Drawing insects under a binocular microscope opened up a new world for him, he says, and gave him a sense of admiration for the details of their structures.
Moser, now 70, holds a doctorate in biology and specialised in reptiles. As a teenager, he studied snakes and lizards; later, he wrote scientific papers on asp vipers and adders and led the venomous-animal laboratory at the Swiss Tropical Institute.
When he took over the presenting role on Netz Natur and later led the programme, Moser wanted to show the world from animals’ perspective rather than offer simple animal folklore. Inspired by a BBC production, his team experimented with model helicopters to simulate a bird flying through an orchard, before commercial camera drones existed. Early attempts failed because of strong vibrations, but Moser also undertook daring camera work at the edge of real helicopters.
Moser says he tries to avoid the word “animal” because he believes it suggests a hierarchy between humans and other species. He prefers to speak of species instead.