Wild Burma: Nature's Lost Kingdom

2013
Wild Burma: Nature's Lost Kingdom

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1

EP1 Episode 1 Nov 29, 2013

On the first leg of their journey, wildlife film-makers Gordon Buchanan and Justine Evans set out to discover whether the mountains of western Burma are home to a population of Asian elephants that could prove critical to the survival of the species. Finding elephants in a dense bamboo forest is a challenge. Notoriously grumpy, Asian elephants are likely to charge if caught unaware. It is a race against time as the world eyes up Burma's natural riches - what the team finds could change the future of Burma's wilds forever.

EP2 Episode 2 Dec 06, 2013

On the second leg of their journey, wildlife film-makers Gordon Buchanan and Justine Evans, along with a team of scientists, head deep into the mountains of western Burma. This is where they hope to find the shy sun bear and two of the world's rarest and most beautiful cats: the Asian golden cat and the clouded leopard.

EP3 Episode 3 Dec 13, 2013

For the last leg of their journey, the team search for the most iconic animal of them all, the tiger. To find it, they must split up. Wildlife camerawoman Justine Evans and the science team head to the tangled jungles of northern Burma, one of the largest swathes of unbroken forest in Southeast Asia. Wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan heads to the only other place in Burma where tigers may still exist, the far south. The forests of Karen State were once home to a thriving population of tigers, but this region has been isolated by war for over 60 years and little is known about the fate of the animals.
7.3| 0h30m| en| More Info
Released: 29 November 2013 Ended
Producted By: BBC
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01hsbr2
Synopsis

For the first time in over 50 years, a team of wildlife film-makers and scientists has been granted access to venture deep into Burma's impenetrable jungles. Their mission is to discover whether these forests are home to iconic animals, rapidly disappearing from the rest of the world - this expedition has come not a moment too soon.

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Tweekums This three part documentary follows a group of scientists as they try to discover what animals are to be found in Burma's vast forests. As the country had been virtually closed to outsiders since independence fifty years previously they are uncertain what they will find but hope to discover previously unknown species. That isn't their priority though; what they really want to do is prove the presence of certain high profile endangered species that might help persuade the Burmese government that these forests need protecting. Each episode concentrates on searches for specific species; in the first they are looking for Asian Elephants, in the second they are looking for Sun Bears, Clouded Leopards and Asian Golden Cats and in the final instalment they are looking for Tigers. In each case finding individuals isn't enough; they are determined to prove that the creatures are breeding.There are plenty of documentaries that give us stunning pictures of creatures that most of us could only dream of seeing in the wild but this isn't one of them... deliberately so. Instead we see the various scientists' efforts to find there creatures; this means spending hours in remote hides, sometimes up trees; placing numerous camera traps and trudging through miles of jungle. We do see a side variety of species in what appears to be unspoilt forest; there are also signs of threats to the forests with loggers and illegal hunters operating in the area.I really enjoyed this series; it shone a light on nature in an area not previously shown but more importantly showed just how hard it is to find many animals even in areas they should be doing well. Watching most nature programmes one might be forgiven for thinking you just have to turn up and see them! The scientists may not have been trained TV presenters but they were engaging and their passion for the work was infectious. As well as animals we are shown some stunning scenery and the importance of the forests to the local populations. The only slightly disappointing fact was that when the series was aired again there was no update to say whether or not the discoveries had affected Burmese government policy towards the protection of the forests... even an added voice-over would have sufficed. Overall though this was a very interesting nature documentary with a difference.