Lost Land of the Tiger
 In September 2010, Richard Armitage narrated a three part series of documentaries about the search for tigers in the Himalyas.
Shown over three consecutive evenings in peak time on BBC One, the programmes followed the efforts of a team of wildlife experts to find tigers living high in the mountains of Bhutan. Described by The Observer's TV critic Phil Hogan as "admirable", the series attracted audiences of up to 5 million viewers.
It's thought there are as few as three thousand tigers left in the world, and Bhutan, where interference from humans in their habitat has been minimal, provides the best opportunity for saving the species. It was not known if tigers could live at high altitudes, but if they could be found, the hope was that a corridor across the Himalayas could be established that would link up the fragmented populations that remain in Asia. Creating a sanctuary in which the tigers could live and breed, it could be their best chance of survival.
But first, the team needed to establish whether, and where, tigers are living in Bhutan. A BBC News report describes what they found - the first evidence that tigers are indeed living higher than scientists had previously thought possible.
Lost Land of the Tiger was nominated for a Royal Television Society award in the Science and Natural History category, but it lost out to Professor Brian Cox's series Wonders of the Solar System.
The series is available on Region 2 DVD as part of a boxset called The Lost Land Collection. The set contains not only The Lost Land of the Tiger, but also The Lost Land of the Jaguar and The Lost Land of the Volcano. It can be ordered at Amazon.co.uk.
Video clip from Lost Land of the Tiger
This excerpt is taken from the beginning of the second programme in the series. In the first phase of the expedition, the team's remote cameras captured some images of tigers. Now they want to extend their search, to get more detail about where tigers are living and how many there are.
Further information
Lost Land of the Tiger page at the BBC website
Blog post at the BBC website by cameraman Gordon Buchanan about the filming of the series
BBC News report about the expedition
Daily Telegraph report about the expedition
Review of episode 1 in The Guardian, 22nd September 2010
Review of the series in The Observer, 26th September 2010
Back to top |
