Movie stars
Tree kangaroos get their own film
The survival of Papua New Guinea’s tenkile tree kangaroo has become a pet project for Australian filmmakers Jim and Jean Thomas.
Native to the Torricelli Mountains in PNG’s north west, the brown and charcoal-coloured tree kangaroo has become gravely endangered due to logging and hunting for its meat and fur.
The filmmakers always knew their mission to save the animal was going to be difficult, considering the tree kangaroos has been part of the PNG diet for centuries.
But with its numbers estimated at a mere 100 in the wild a decade ago, this mission has been of the utmost importance and urgency.
Through the work of the filmmakers so far, it’s estimated that numbers have tripled.
With the Tenkile Conservation Alliance – Jim is CEO and Jean is COO – the couple called on years of experience they gained working as zoologists at some of the world’s best wildlife parks.
Between them, they have worked in the conservation efforts of other endangered animals such as the brush-tailed rock wallaby, the orange-bellied parrot, the eastern barred bandicoot and the helmeted honeyeater.
The Thomas family’s efforts to bring awareness to and save this precious PNG native is featured in a new documentary feature, Into the Jungle, playing at film festivals and special charity engagements.
Featuring pre-eminent nature documentarian Richard Attenborough, and researchers Jane Goodall and Tim Flannery, the film charts the Thomas’ efforts including the introduction of alternative, sustainable food options to the region’s natural inhabitants, most of who still live traditionally, the way their ancestors did hundreds of years ago.
The film features stunning picturesque photography of the kangaroo’s natural habitat: mistcovered mountains, rainforest terrain where the sun streams down through the canopy, and untouched rivers.
The existence of Into the Jungle is almost as much of a miracle as the saving of the tenkile. Films are rarely made in PNG, especially in areas as remote as the Torricelli Mountains, although this latest entry follows in the very small tradition of titles like Black Harvest (1992), Cannibal Tour (1988), and the Academy Award-nominated First Contact (1982).
Jim and Jean Thomas hope Into the Jungle proves their tireless efforts trekking across the hostile countryside were not in vain and that the tree kangaroo will remain a part of the world for a lifetime to come.
The film features preeminent nature documentarian Richard Attenborough, and researchers Jane Goodall and Tim Flannery.