Laos Wonderland (full documentary) - Go Wild

laos

a land governed by the mekong one of the largest rivers in the world the mekong is fed by tributaries hidden deep in roadless canyons it is a quirk of history that centuries have passed without barely a human foot crossing this desert and today Today Laos can still boast a wealth of natural wonders Unexplored rivers Unclimbed mountains Virgin forests inhabited by mysterious creatures Laos is the last hideout for some of Asia's great

wild

animals, home to dozens of indigenous tribes and cultures and guardian of a Buddhist tradition long lost elsewhere, so in the very heart of teeming and bustling Indochina there is a

wonderland

still on the verge of its first discovery in the northern province of Huafan A Zoologist Heads to the Jungle Arlene johnson is a tiger specialist windong is the strategic point of their expedition a village in the fringe of the nam atfu protected area louis, arlene and her team are on a mission for the

wild

life conservation society or wcs and the national forest department of Laos When we started doing our fieldwork in 2003, the goal of the project was to better understand the distribution and abundance of tigers and their prey in the name of the Pulu protected area in the north. 50 automatic cameras will be installed in the mountain forests and will record everything. what moves only during the dry season.

Can you travel here without sinking in deep mud? A camera team will accompany the group and try to install a video camera along with the still cameras, the first camera trap will be placed at a distance of two days' walk. Laos has no access to the sea, but is a land of water dominated by the mighty Mekong that begins at one point. Where three countries meet, Laos, Thailand and China, the Mekong runs south, forming a long border with Thailand and leaving Laos in the south, thundering over the Kong Peng waterfalls, towards neighboring Cambodia, it is a spectacular exit and noisy, mother of all waters, is what the people of

laos

call their river in the south the mekong is as wide as a lake this waterscape is called sifandong the four thousand islands when the rainy season begins most disappears overnight over a distance of 1,900 kilometers the mekong transports goods and people irrigate the rice fields and fill the fishermen's nets this river produces more fish than the entire mediterranean sea (2 million tons per year) Mekong has one of the highest degrees of biodiversity in the world.

Scientists know many of its species only by hearsay. These murky floods are home to a legendary monster, the giant Catfish, which weighs 300 kilos and is the largest freshwater fish in the world. world. Only a few people have seen a giant catfish, but fishermen in the northwest, near the Thai border, have hunted the giant for generations, but even in the height of catfish season, all we can find. is a thai fishing boat in laos that recently banned the catching of catfish because the species is threatened with extinction for hours the moorings sail up and down the river only to return home with empty nets what has happened to the giant catfish if there an answer?

It is located on the Thai side of the river such as the Mekong. The northern mountains are also

full

of secrets. The Aka people live along the Chinese border. Many of their villages can only be reached on foot. Trips that often last several days. through thick mountain forests hunters like soweno are familiar with plants and animals no white man has ever seen still uses the traditional Chinese crossbow firearms are prohibited hunters go out into the forest to try their luck unlike many lotions the akka They are not Buddhists. For them, a hunt is also a visit to the spirit realms where rocks and plants are animate beings.

Every Akar village has a spiritual swing. It is the door to a mystical cosmos. It is built in honor of the dead and should never be being touched the aka came here from southern china in contrast to the land of its origin its villages in laos still have a traditional look no tin roofs no electricity no plumbing the women's decorative headdress is a very visible symbol of the culture Akka Akka women are experts in sewing and weaving, they even dye the fabric of their clothing with indigo. Although the men are hunters and trappers, the Alias ​​are mainly farmers, clearing the steep forest slopes with fire and planting dried rice and vegetables.

The hunters have long since disappeared into the jungle when the women set out for the market selling some vegetables. It is the only source of income for the Akha. The main market in the north is right on the Chinese border in Muan Singh. The market marks the cultural complexity of the region in terms of nationalities, tribes and languages. The south is populated by Thais and Khmer. north by peoples of tibet burma and china laos has more than 60 officially recognized ethnic minorities the north is a dangerous territory the golden triangle is nearby the clandestine cultivation of poppies drug trafficking and smuggling of goods of all kinds are challenges for The government even nature is plagued with serious problems such as poaching and illegal trade with exotic animals are a threat to the population of tigers and other rare jungle species.

That is why the government supports the work of Arlene Johnson and her team. Nature research in Laos is a tedious adventure. We have a cursory list of animals that exist here and what they are. That's probably pretty accurate since you know of a few other species that can be added to that list, but as far as the ecology and distribution of most of these species, I'd say we're in the early stages of understanding that none of the researchers. They may have seen a tiger face to face, but they have no doubt that the big cats are nearby in an abandoned banana lot.

They camped for the night. Hot water with forest herbs and rice is the usual dinner. Most of the expedition team. They are Larsens The assistants and porters are excellent jungle explorers who can read animal tracks at night The temperature drops to 5 degrees Celsius The declared light The porters tremble while playing cards The area to be investigated is arranged in squares The positions of The cameras are care

full

y defined but the The Louis Protected Area stretches across three thousand five hundred square kilometers in search of tigers in this rugged mountain landscape seems desperate, protected by mountain ranges and forgotten by the world.

Laos has preserved wild landscapes that are hardly found elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Traditional culture 2 has miraculously survived the violence of the region. history despite its ethnic diversity laos has been a predominantly buddhist country for over seven centuries on the mekong there is a city that appears to consist of nothing but temples luang prabang once the capital and royal residence is now a world cultural heritage site and the religious center of the country colonial architecture the only remaining heritage of 60 years of French rule inhabited, living and crumbling architecture is everywhere the orange used by Buddhist monks sets the visual tone of this city every day just before dawn the monks go out to receive weapons rice vegetables and sweets monks are prohibited from worldly work they take their weapons without any expression of gratitude and return to their temples even the oldest temples are completely open to city life they serve as meeting places corridors and playgrounds water snakes the so-called naga guards the ceilings everywhere there are images of animals symbolic protectors and sources of strength in Laos one animal is worshiped above all others the elephant in the era of its glory Laos was called lansang kingdom of a million elephants a three-headed elephant was the royal coat of arms Today, the number of elephants in Laos is not close to a million.

Today, even working elephants are only found in remote provinces. They are still used on terrain not suitable for tractors and trucks. There is a Laotian specialty in dealing with elephants, while the rest of Asia has elephants. The guides use a sharp metal hook that inflicts pain. The Laotians direct their animals only with a soft voice. Nothing is more endearing than a well-trained working elephant, but their wild cousins ​​are very different in contrast to their African relatives. Asian elephants generally do not live in open spaces. grasslands but in the dense jungle we did not even notice what the local scout immediately saw a young male elephant in the vicinity the elephant is only 20 meters away the males will not tolerate strangers near our scouts they opt for a quick retreat and It is soon obvious that this was the right decision aah there are few places here that offer a wider view this forest clearing is a meeting place for elephants who are attracted to a natural salt deposit the animals dig the ground for supplies vital minerals the number of wild elephants in laos is 500 according to some estimates others believe there are 800 in any case, laos has the largest national elephant population in Indochina.

How come hundreds of elephants, each the size of a bus, remain undiscovered and uncounted for decades? One reason is that systematic field research has just begun and that forest elephants in Asia are more difficult to observe than elephants on the African savanna. If Akka hunters had ever wanted to know the exact number of elephants in these forests, they would certainly have been more successful in counting them than Western researchers. but for them statistics are a typically Western whim while we with our heavy backpacks stumble clumsily through the undergrowth the Aka seemed to slide along the jungle paths with little noise and effort under the canopy of these giant trees the outsiders are easily disoriented they can be heard birdsong but I can't tell from where you think you are walking in a straight line but you discover that you are moving in circles we need supermarkets aka we need the forest here they find food plants medicinal herbs firewood building materials honey and animal protein the other hunters have followed Go ahead, but just like that, Enjo has caught a rustle in the foliage, alert but calm, the also known as the hunter uses his crossbow.

The bird is not dead, just wounded, almost as quickly as his arrow. Serene, he has reached his prey in seconds. It is saved. It is a delicacy. a pheasant The Akka are allowed to hunt pheasants, but not protected animals such as the tiger. One would easily vouch for the innocence of these gentle people; However, tigers are captured and killed in Laos, but the poachers are shrouded in as much secrecy as the tigers themselves several hundred kilometers away. the akka hunting grounds our expedition has reached the first camera position first, wcs scientists want some basic questions answered how many tigers are left in this area what is their prey how big are their individual territories where do the tigers collide tigers and humans, you see there are four connectors the service team is being informed our camera must work for six months the video cassettes and the batteries must be changed weekly for the bathroom project the young people have to place 50 cameras spread over 100 kilometers square in nature in comparison, working with two video cameras is easy.

Both the video and photo cameras are activated by an infrared beam. Unlike video cameras, older cameras do not require any servicing. They have been operating in their isolated positions in the forest for more than a month in recent years. These camera traps have allowed scientists to capture some spectacular photographs in 1999. One of the rarest animals in the world was caught on camera in Laos Asala. This species is most closely related to wild buffalo only a few years earlier. The Saul had been discovered in Vietnam as a new species. Thanks to a pair of horns that a biologist found in a hunter's house in a remote village in Laos, any type of animal can end up in a frying pan, although the trade in wild animals is now prohibited, no one seems to care about the law, That's why markets are obvious hot spots for field research, just as biologist Rob Timmins of Arlene WCS was wandering through a market in central Laos in 1996 when he noticed an animal for sale that he couldn't identify: a striped rabbit. with short ears, a species hitherto unknown to science.

The list of newly discovered species also includes two types of small, rare deer, a bushy-tailed rat and a yellow pig. They were all found among fruits and vegetables or in the village cabins. Arlene smoked or dried and Vinnie Vongpat seem to be out of luck, but then find next to rats and mushrooms a giant sliding squirrel, a rare species that they don't see regularly, it really is beautiful, uh, very nice, oh man, oh, this is big, right?Animals like porcupines have become rare. Hunting pressure is increasing and forests near densely populated areas have been depleted. The illegal trade in exotic animals is another problem for a rare turtle species.

Collectors will pay almost any price. Yes, it is definitely a softshell turtle. but now arlene's team has some experience with rare animals one of their cameras captured an austin civet an extremely rare species one night a hog badger released the trigger a little known species in laos it is the first photograph in this country taken in nature the common name is red-cheeked squirrel despite new discoveries what scientists find in the markets is worrying it is a confusing picture on the one hand animals are hunted recklessly on the other researchers discover new wonders colleagues are convinced that despite the growing problems laos is the last natural paradise of Indochina, nowhere else is there so much terror in cognito lands and wildlife little known to science, the limestone labyrinth of the pujin boon national park, the mountains Annamite on the Vietnamese border, primeval forests, steep canyons and unexplored rivers are the most famous places in this country. precious treasures for many adventurers and scientists when they think of Laos, this is the place of their dreams, however, their enthusiasm for this nature has nothing to do with dreaming, they simply know that many species could not survive anywhere else, the Hornbills, for example, need an abundance of wildlife. fruits and ancient trees to nest in, which is why they are only found in primeval forests.

The same goes for the tiger, the elephant and the Asian black bear. These strange limestone formations are an ideal barrier against invaders of all kinds, although they are covered in lush vegetation. The rocks here are sharp and brittle. There is no road over the mountains, but there is one that goes through them. The Namhin Boom River. in central Laos has undermined porous rock and created a seven-kilometre-long cave. Better yet, the cave is actually a tunnel suitable for ships. This natural tunnel is up to 100 meters wide in some places its roof rises to form underground cathedrals, one can only guess. to what hides up there in the darkness for brief moments stalactites and shoals of snow-white sand stranded giants of the jungle shine in the gloom during the monsoon the water level almost reaches the ceiling in the dry season it drops to a minimum of just a few centimeters In this labyrinth of cliffs and jungle, natural climbers, such as white-handed gibbons, have made it necessary for clumsy humans scrambling among rocks and undergrowth to cover a distance a gibbon can travel. in a matter of minutes.

Gibbon pairs stay together for life. Juveniles can be recognized by their light coat, a young one will accompany its parents for two years and will be tenderly cared for. This small family alone needs a territory of 20 hectares. White-handed gibbons depend on an exclusively fruit diet; only large forests can satisfy such needs. Handed gibbons completely avoid contact with the ground, only swinging from branch to branch at impressive speed if necessary, apart from birds they are the fastest moving species in the canopy. Climbing this way seems to defy gravity, but requires training. The aspiring junior has not yet reached the elegance of his father.

In mid-April, Luang Prapang is beginning to celebrate the Buddhist new year. The new year is a time of symbolic and physical cleansing of family homes or temples throughout the country. People are now busy cleaning, washing the statues with holy water is a good deed and a sign of renewal the spirits of the old year are expelled new spirits will come with the arrival of monsoon days before the real festival begins all the people is outside and around the secular festivals they take turns with traditional customs and religious rituals to avoid evil surprises when reborn it is necessary to accumulate good deeds by selling songbirds in tiny cages now there are big businessmen people buy the birds to release them as the climax of the festivities the small fish serve the same purpose the markets are busy and noisy but there is a place of sacred silence down the mekong, two hours by boat upriver are the paku rock temples.

Many legends are told about this sanctuary which has been visited by pilgrims from all over Asia for decades. Believers have left thousands of bronze or clay wooden Buddha figures and these figures have become paku. at a world renowned religious site april is not only the new year month but also the season of the giant catfish now we are on the thai side of the mekong but there is no trace of catfish reminding the biologists in laos we decided to do something market research and this method is successful. Unfortunately, our first catfish is dead. It's a pretty small specimen, but it's definitely the species we've been looking for.

This fish comes from a fish farm. Catfish are raised from the eggs of animals caught in the wild. There is no way this fish was caught in the Mekong. Larvae or eggs of juvenile fish have never been found along the four thousand kilometers of the river. The only encounters have been with adult animals in the delta and right here before the monsoon and still there. There is not a single fishing boat out there, why if anyone can give an answer, it is that all his life the fisherman has been after the catfish, the largest he has ever caught, he says it weighed 280 kilos, so every year his crew usually caught two or three. giant catfish in a good year up to several men is also banned by the government every time we catch a catfish we can only keep it long enough to weigh it and then we have to release it, who goes fishing to be able to release a fish when it was Younger there were up to 60 fishing boats on the Mekong and at the beginning of the season, both Tai and Lao people used to have a big party.

The largest freshwater fish in the world is in danger of extinction; already in the 1980s, about 60 giant catfish were caught in nets each year. now there are a total of two or three the reason is the reckless exploitation of the catfish population Thailand two is now considering radical protection otherwise the Mekong giant will soon be history hopefully the mountain forests will give better news for six months the video The camera and the 50 photographic traps have been in the forest. The video camera has taken many photographs during the day, but no animals are seen. Possibly large insects have crossed the photoelectric beam during the night.

The camera records infrared images. A whole week passed before The first photograph was taken stealthily, as if he had found out about the camera. A red maniac. A small species of deer that slinks alongside giant bats that chase it through the night air. Many nights later a sambar deer appears. This species is about the same size as a European red deer. another samba always alert ready to take flight it is obvious that this area offers prey for a big cat one day, when changing the batteries, the service team discovered tiger tracks near the camera, so there is at least one tiger gliding through the jungle at night, right? pass or is this their territory maybe one of the photographic traps can tell us more arlene and her team would be more than happy with just a shot of a tiger as proof of its presence a month later they dismantle the cameras, little do they know that they already have a feeling in their hands during the dry season the cameras are distributed over several hundred square kilometers of the protected area recovering them is a tedious job the team is nervous whether the cameras worked whether they were placed correctly what will appear in the films once Some were revealed weeks later at the WCS office in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

More than two thousand photographs of dry season decorations are placed on the table. We were very excited with the results. In fact, we found a really high diversity. of carnivores, large and small carnivores at the site where we have been working, which has been exceptional in Indochina, okay, and then here again, like this site, look, we had this is uh namaplui six, this is and then in the protected area there are at least six species of felines, as well as 14 other carnivores, some of them never photographed in the wild in laos, many predators on the red list of this region walked next to a camera at least once and here are the stars a clouded leopard as rare as the Mauritius blue a very active Asian golden cat rarely seen by humans a leopard number two in the ranking of big cats a pair of marbled cats a practically unknown species but the biggest surprise of all so Not far away in the study area five different tigers have been captured in photographs, so by moving almost across the entire block one could project that at least seven, perhaps up to 20 tigers inhabit this part of the park.

The most important outcome of the wcs project is the understanding that despite poaching and wildlife trade this area remains a tiger refuge one of the last in asia it is not too late to take protective measures from the perspective akkas the nervous counting of threatened species is a Western obsession men will hunt as long as there is something to hunt and if one The day the animals disappear it is not the fault of crossbows and rifles. The most serious threat to Laos and its natural wealth is the clearing of forests and the resulting loss of soil compared to the rest of Asia.

Lassie's human population, at 5.5 million, is small, and yet it is growing. dramatically illegal logging of wood here a controversial dam on the river there progress knocks loud and loud at the girl's door the celebration of the new year revolves around water other ingredients are flour and a deafening noise like an explosion of life the celebration annual parade through the streets of the consecrated city Luang Prapang and its quiet inhabitants have changed beyond recognition the official climax is the grand parade in a palaquin Prabang the country's most important Buddha statue is carried through the streets the parade is said to continue a precise choreography if so, it is impossible to recognize as a stranger all ethnic groups are represented there are dancers beauty queens and dignitaries and after a while the parade dissolves into a wild party the masses flow towards the Mekong island a large bank of sand that only appears during the dry season the rest is calm the mekong becomes a chaotic canal the source of joy is not only brandy and beer but the joyful expectation of the monsoon the air is warm and the earth dries up the rains soon they will bring relief as a greeting to buddha families build carefully decorated temples and sand stupas now it is time for good deeds finally the poor songbirds can escape and the fish those who have survived the journey in their plastic bags will now be able to return to the river Soon the Mekong will wash away the footprints, the spit, paper plates, bottles and cabins.

For three months, water will be the dominant element. Waterfalls will rush from all the mountain slopes where the young fisherman is. There will now be deep water in some places. The Mekong rises 15 meters. It will flood the plains. It will feed the irrigation canals and make The rice cultivation in southern Laos is the extensive temple of Vat Poo erected by the Khmer people in the 11th century. Its weathered stones speak of the decline and fall of the Khmer kingdom and all the previous rulers of this region over the centuries of Burmese, Siamese and French occupation. The land of Laos was devastated by American bombs and communist experiments, but the vicissitudes of history have come and gone like the change of seasons.

In the end, Laos has emerged as what it has always been a charming but stubborn wilderness and a land of farmers, a land ruled not by kings, but by the monsoon and the Mekong, a natural

wonderland

.