Seven wonders
cold snaps. Here is a remarkable pioneering spirit.”
HOW TO DO IT:
Viator offers a Crystal River full-day tour with a boat ride through the Everglades and a chance to see manatees in one of Florida’s natural manatee habitats. From £110 a head. Visit viator.com
LISTENING TO SUMATRAN RHINOS SING IN INDONESIA
GAINING access to a secret location in the Sumatran rainforest, the team was able to capture footage of one of the world’s rarest species: the Sumatran rhino.
“I wanted to tell a story about Asia’s forests and how dense they are,” explains Asia episode producer Emma Napper. “It’s hard for male and female rhinos to find each other, so they have this incredible song, which sounds a bit like a humpback whale.”
Although Emma describes the experience as magical, she was also saddened by what she found.
“I realised how threatened they are, and how much habitat is being lost,” she says. “I’ve been doing this job long enough to see changes even in the last 10 years. The loss of rainforest is shocking.”
Reef & Rainforest offers an 18-day Indonesia and Papua New Guinea Country Combo tour, which includes a visit to Way Kambas National Park, home to a Sumatran rhino sanctuary. From £6,196 each, based on two sharing, including flights. Visit reefandrainforest.co.uk
HOW TO DO IT: WITNESSING ACROBATIC ELEPHANTS IN ZIMBABWE
DEEP in the fairy tale forests of Zimbabwe’s Mana Pools National Park, elephants have found a novel way to feed.
“People expect to see elephants and cats in a programme about Africa, so the challenge was finding new behaviour,” says episode producer Giles Badger.
“In the peak of the dry season – and during droughts, if they are strong enough – the elephant bulls of Mana Pools stand on two legs and reach up to six metres into the trees to pull down apple-ring acacia pods. They are highly nutritious and full of protein.
“For an animal that needs to eat 90kg of food per day, it’s an amazing feat. It shows their intelligence and how they’ve adapted over millennia in a dry and hostile climate.”
Steppes
Travel offers a 13-day Zimbabwe Highlights Holiday from £3,895 per person, excluding flights. Visit steppestravel.com
HOW TO DO IT:
HEARING WOLVES HOWL IN ITALY
OFTEN painted as the villain, wolves are celebrated as heroes in the Europe episode. A sub-species of the grey wolf, the Apennine wolf was almost shot to extinction until it was declared a protected species in 1971. Now numbers are bouncing back, but the animal is still tricky to track down.
“You can lie in bed in a tiny little Italian village and, at night, you hear the wolves howling around you – it’s a real privilege,” explains episode producer Giles. “But it’s one thing hearing the wolves and another thing seeing them.
“We went into the wilderness