Does the prohibition of depicting animate beings include educational documentaries about animals?

Contemporary scholars have differed on the ruling regarding television and video recording. Some have forbidden it based on the generality of the evidence, such as Sheikh Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Al ash-Sheikh, Sheikh Al-Albani, and the Permanent Committee for Issuing Fatwas. Others have permitted it, considering it different from manual drawing or sculpting, such as Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen, who held that video is not considered a true image. Some, like Ibn Baz, refrained from issuing a definitive ruling due to fear of falling under the severe warning mentioned in the hadiths about image-making. The preponderant view is that video recording, which has become widespread, does not fall under the ruling of manual image-making because it does not appear except under specific conditions, such as the availability of power, making it more akin to a mirror image. Nevertheless, it is safer to avoid it except out of necessity or for an overriding benefit.