Preserving Burma's Forests

While much of the natural world is compromised by the rapid spread of industrialization, there remains at least one largely unaffected region the destructive hands of the new age have not touched. Burma, also known as Myanmar, is a country teeming with undiscovered wildlife and species not seen anywhere else in the world.

For the last fifty years Burma has been under rigid military rule with extremely strict regulations prohibiting almost all foreigners from visiting the country. Recently, however, the country has gradually shifted towards democracy and the government has loosened the statutes on foreigners entering the country. Taking this opportunity of increasingly lax regulations, BBC recently sent a group of scientists and anthropologists to journey deep into the vast Burmese forests as a part of the fantastic new documentary series Wild Burma: Nature's Lost Kingdom. We are thrilled at the chance to view the amazing landscape and wildlife for the first time.

The expedition has unearthed a multitude of rare and undiscovered animals. Asian elephants, clouded leopards, Malayan tapirs, sun bears and various unknown insects are among the species found.

    Unknown Tortoise Leaf Beetle

    Clouded Leopard

   Sun Bear

    Malayan Tapir

    Asian Elephants

As Burma becomes more accessible to the outside world, it is imperative that the natural order of the massive forests and jungles are intact. The overarching goal of the BBC crew is to present their research to the Burmese government in order to gain the area well-funded protection. Burma has a choice, as it embarks into a new era of openness, of whether it wants to embrace the destructive practices of the contemporary world or help preserve one of Earth's one last remnants of what use to be.

Watch the first episode of Wild Burma: Nature's Lost Kingdom here.