Do you have any idea how much work it takes to film a challenging subject like wild orangutans for a high-end natural history project like Seven Worlds? In 2017, BBC decided to take on the big challenge of telling the story of wild orangutans in the wilderness of Gunung Palung National Park, and our Save Wild Orangutans team was a big part of it. The effort has now come to fruition in the Asia episode of Seven Worlds One Planet. Here are a few glimpses behind the scenes.
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Checking in with 24 bags to fly from Jakarta to Borneo. Jessica Laman helps wrangle the carts in Jakarta airport. ![]()
Hiking in to Gunung Palung with many porters carrying gear. It’s a 13 km hike to our base camp deep in the forest.
Drone filming of the canopy level views added a lot to the final sequence, but there was a lot of waiting for the right moments to launch. Pilot, Russell Laman, catches a few winks on a log. A month of early morning starts catches up with you after a while!
The thing about filming wild orangutans is that you can’t really predict ahead of time which individual orangutans might be in the area, or who the team will find. Early during the month we spent in the field in Gunung Palung, we found a mother – baby pair called Bibi and Bayas by the researchers. They were very used to the research team, and were not at all bothered by us following them on the ground with our cameras. They were also perfect for telling the story of all that a baby orangutan needs to learn from their mother as they grow up. So they became our main focus for about three weeks. Here are a couple shots of our star orangutans.
The Seven Worlds One Planet – Asia episode is now streaming at www.BBCAmerica.com.
In a special Behind the Scenes segment at the end of the film, Sir David Attenborough talks about how the landscape has changed in Borneo over that last 60 years, with increasing threats to orangutans. He also emphasizes the importance of refuges like Gunung Palung, and shows our team in action the field. You can check it out here:
It has been an honor and a thrill to be a part of this major production, and we really hope that it can help raise global awareness about the importance of Gunung Palung as one of the key remaining refuges for orangutans in Borneo.
Thanks for your interest and support. Please help us spread the word. Together lets help protect Gunung Palung and all its biodiversity for the long term!
Tim Laman