When I say, Wild, I really don’t mean wild as in wild behaviour that we humans indulge in. The revengeful vile that our wild side exposes, at slightest given pretext. If you were looking for a review on Wild parties at your nearest night club, dear reader, you are in for despair here.
On the contrary, what I am reviewing here might not even be of remotest interest to many of you, but I still request you to have strength to read some bit here, if not all.
Call it Wild Discovery or give it any other name you like, title is of little consequence here, although I do feel title does justice to the contents in this case. It’s all about watching in 1 hr, with interspersed ads of course, an entire team of dedicated folks and their enormous effort to study, preserve, spread awareness about the beautiful mother nature that nurtures all it’s species, small or large on this wonderfully green planet of ours. It’s all about understanding and appreciating the richness, the diversity, the uniqueness and the extraordinary marvels of nature. How many of us have ever had a chance to see a pic, leave aside real "ant eater" or "Birds of Paradise" or a Lynx?
If it wasn’t for channels like Discovery or National Geographic, that enjoy patronage by many of the reputed scientific establishments, I would have never known, for example, how beautiful the Birds of Paradise and their courtship behaviour are, and sadly, how threatened they are now. I wouldn’t have ever known the leaping cat on my Puma T-Shirt actually lives in deserts and is truly a survivor in it’s tough habitat, though now endangered.
I will mention some of the most memorable episodes that I have seen and continue watching, whenever they are re-telecast, at the end of this review.
First about the making of each episode: Each episode, squeezes in, the efforts of an entire crew for days, months and sometimes years and decades. Remarkably dedicated individuals committed to studying and thereby increasing our understanding of various animals and birds and fishes and reptiles, nature’s wonders in a nutshell. Their natural habitat, some of their endearing habits and behaviours and finally - The threat that they face now. 80% of them face a threat due to natural habitat loss and we humans are responsible for this loss( Can’t always blame elephant for uprooting an entire forest area). In the name of modernization, man has gone berserk, ignoring every other thing that came in it’s way. Trees, rivers, streams anything. Afterall, we are supreme, aren’t we?
Coverage: includes all of Animal kingdom. Major focus being on Animals, some exclusively devoted to avian fauna as well. Animals include, commonly and uncommonly known ones, ranging from Wilde beasts, Tigers, Lions to Platypus, Sea Otters, Blue Whales, Moose, Reindeer, Penguins, Bear, Iguana, Chimps etc. Sometimes devoting an entire episode to one species while at other times, to a theme which involves various species and various habitats connected by a single thread throughout the episode.
Photography and narration: Is impeccable, to say the least. These guys are some of the best in their business. They are led by a passion and zeal unparalleled.
Effect on me: At the end of each episode, I always feel mixed reactions. While external sensory organs feel calm and relaxed what with the chirping sounds, the silence of forests, the rains lashing in Amazon Forest, somewhere deep within I feel connected. The trajectory that each episode takes you on, starting from gentle views rising to a crescendo towards the end, moves you.
Makes you wonder, how could we, humans ignore these amazing creations and let them perish and not feel guilty about it? Do we have the right to every resource on this earth before any other species? As supremely intelligent beings on this planet, do we not have responsibility to NOT disturb the delicately balanced ecosystems that we have inherited from our ancestors? Don’t we want to pass on this to our children?
If you have managed to read on till here, I won’t deprive you of the list of some of the best episodes I have seen.
Pardon me, for the exact title of each episode. My memory eludes me for specific episode titles, but I hope the description against it will more than make up for it.
Survival: This is a tribute to the accomplishments of Team Survival over decades. See, some of the largest conservation efforts ever undertaken on this planet, not just by one but sometimes multiple countries.
Great Migration at Serengeti: To quote from Serengeti National park in Kenya’s official site, " I have lived in the Serengeti for more than 20 years, but flying over the long lines of migrating wildebeest or watching them gather before a river crossing, still takes my breath away and makes my heart pound. Nowhere in the world can we watch such a spectacular scene, nowhere do we have such a large number and diversity of large mammals."
Dr. Markus Borner, Representative of the Frankfurt Zoological Society"
Night Life at Masai Mara Game reserve: See the myths about Jackals and Hyenas being the cunning and sly ones, shatter at night. See, how ferociously they attack and how a defense of the daylight turns into an all out offense in the darkness of nights.
Emperor Penguins: Their courtship behaviour, the egg laying and transferring act in harsh blizzards of antarctic(Let me know if your heart doesn’t miss a beat at this one), the long migration of the partner and reunion back home. Spectacularly shot episode.
Birds of Paradise: You must have guessed by now, I am a fan of avian Life. But even if you can’t differentiate crow from raven, watch this one for brilliant plumage(on Live birds) and elaborate mating rituals of these birds.
Episode on Lemurs: Takes you on a journey along with a Lemur family who has a small unusually colored baby lemur. Your heart will warm up to them.
As for it’s suitability to watch, some of the episodes might require parental guidance. Suitable for all ages.
These are some of my own favorites. Let me know if you have any favorites and I can include it here for everyone’s benefit.
Brickbats/comments/suggestions/congratulatory words are welcome from everyone.