Consider for a moment a small creature hunting for its food, the health of our planet, and what we all share on this mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam. What does celebrated naturalist and BBC icon Sir David Attenborough think about these things?

This animation by Joe Donaldson for The New Yorker explores mortality, nature’s resilience, and the individual personalities of bolas spiders through a story and some thoughts on optimism.

And what of the bolas spider who performed so well? This just maybe her in this clip from the BBC’s Life in the Undergrowth.

Watch this next: Sir David Attenborough at 90, an interview.

Plus: How to Save Our Planet and more from Sir David Attenborough.