David Attenborough celebrates his 100th birthday

Sir David Attenborough at the Beijing Museum of Natural History with fossil of Juramaia , as featured in the Smithsonian Channel series Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates. Courtesy Smithsonian Channel hide caption toggle caption Courtesy Smithsonian Channel Sir David Attenborough at the Beijing Museum of Natural History with fossil of Juramaia , as featured in the Smithsonian Channel series Rise of Animals: Triumph of the Vertebrates. Courtesy Smithsonian Channel LONDON — He was born before the Great Depression, came of age in World War II, and is still making wildlife documentaries. On Friday, one of the world's most famous wildlife experts and climate campaigners, David Attenborough, turns 100. His films have brought intimate scenes of nature to hundreds of millions of viewers. Brits call him a national hero. "He can inform you, or make you cry at some iguanas being chased by snakes!" says Chris Dametto, commuting in central London. "He's a great storyteller, he's a great communicator, and I think the world is better place because of him." Fans dressed in animal costumes — lions, tigers and bumble bees — gathered around a life-sized cardboard cutout of Attenborough late Thursday on London's Trafalgar Square, singing wildlife ballads — Toto's Africa , The Lion Sleeps Tonight by the Tokens — and of course, Happy Birthday . A few aspiring Attenborough lookalikes roamed the crowd. …