WILDEST INDOCHINA: RAGING RIVERS, FLOODING LAKES AND HOME TO SOME OF THE MOST RARE AND ELUSIVE CREATURES

In the south Asian peninsula known as Indochina, amongst the political tensions, burgeoning new wealth and developing nations, lies some of the world’s most breathtaking natural marvels. In the latest Animal Planet series, the spectacular WILDEST INDOCHINA – which premieres Tuesday, July 15 at 9:00 p.m. – sweeps across the globe’s most diverse peninsula to unearth all the makes it the organic wonder it is. The four-part series traverses from Cambodia to Vietnam, southwest China and Thailand – historically-rich cities whose vast area are homes to outstanding landscapes, tropical jungles and armies of animals, some of which are the most rare and secretive.

 

Photo courtesy of Animal Planet

The Indochina is bounded on the north by India and China, on the east and south by the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand, and on the west by the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal. Much of the area is mountainous and the rivers are largely unnavigable. Being a tropical climate with heavy seasonal rainfall, the WILDEST INDOCHINA journey begins in the water kingdom of Cambodia, which is considered to be one of the most biologically-rich countries in Southeast Asia. A place where wildlife and climate are ruled by turbulent monsoon cycles, the wild land of changing seasons pose significant challenges for its numerous inhabitants – like Asian elephants and Burmese pythons, amongst others – who face daily intense battles to adapt in order to survive.

Over at the eastern most part of Indochina, see how life has fought back in war-ravaged Vietnam whose tropical jungles are bursting with 10% of the world’s species so much so that new breeds and types are being discovered at incredible rates. The WILDEST INDOCHINA journey extends to a south eastern Himalayan enclave where China’s secret garden lies tucked away with approximately half of all Chinese birds and mammals; many found nowhere else on Earth. 

WILDEST INDOCHINA caps off in the heart of the peninsula where one of its wildest countries lays – Thailand. From ancient rainforests – that are believed to be older than the Amazon – to hostile coastlines, Thailand has some of the most prolific environments on the planet. It is a melting pot of varied habitats and territories where an assortment of creatures such as reptiles, birds, amphibians and nearly 300 mammal species – such as endangered hog deer and clouded leopards which are vulnerable to extinction – roam and have evolved to cope with its ever-changing landscape. Where the natural world is left to forge its survival, extraordinary adaptations, behaviour and evolutionary tricks occur. Witness the magnificence of WILDEST INDOCHINA which encores every Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., Saturday at 10:00 p.m. and Sunday at 7:00 p.m.