Sir David Attenborough 'quits' Instagram after just two months

Sir David Attenborough has quit Instagram just two months after joining the social media platform.

The 94-year-old broadcaster and naturalist has 6.2 million followers on Instagram since launching his account on 24 September this year to help spread climate change awareness.

But Sir David’s Instagram account now reads: “Account no longer active.”

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A spokesperson for the producers of Sir David’s Netflix film A Life On Our Planet said: “Sir David and the filmmakers of A Life On Our Planet had always intended for the account to be a series of special messages over a limited period of time. Primarily, they wanted to use the platform to explain the current problems facing our natural world and the solutions to help us deal with them.

“While there won’t be any new posts going live, the account will remain open for people to watch Sir David’s videos and read the posts that have been shared since the account was created. Sir David and the filmmakers hope that their messages will inspire others to speak up for nature and take positive action towards creating a sustainable future.”

In his last message, posted on 31 October, the A Life On Our Planet presenter said in a video: “And that’s it. I’ve passed on the things I wanted to share. There are others on social media who can pick up the threads from here.”

He added: “We know what to do. By making the right choices in the next 10 years we can begin to rewild the world and create a rich, thriving sustainable future for ourselves on Earth.

“We can yet become the heroes of our own story. Disaster or triumph - what happens next is up to us.”

When Sir David launched his account his debut post: “I’m making this move and exploring this new way of exploring communication to me, because as well know the world is in trouble.

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“Continents are on fire, glaciers are melting, coral reefs are dying, fish are disappearing from our oceans, the list goes on and on.

“But we know what to do about it - and that’s why I’m tackling this new way, for me, of communication.”

Within an hour of his first post, Sir David had already gained more than 200,000 followers and he reached 1 million followers in four hours and 44 minutes.

But his record was recently broken by Harry Potter star Rupert Grint who reached the milestone in just four hours and one minute when he signed up to the platform on 10 November.

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