Lost Land of the Volcano
Encyclopedia
Lost Land of the Volcano is a three-part nature documentary
series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit
which follows a scientific expedition to the island of New Guinea
. The expedition team, which includes specialist zoologists, explorers and the BBC
crew, travels to the extinct volcano of Mount Bosavi
in central Papua New Guinea
to document the biodiversity of this little-visited area and search for new species. At the time of filming, logging
was taking place about 20 miles (32.2 km) south from the volcano, and one of expedition's aims was to find evidence to support the case to protect the area. Some members of the expedition team travelled to the island of New Britain
several hundred kilometres to the east to chart an unexplored cave system and observe an active volcano
.
The series was broadcast in September 2009 on BBC One
in the United Kingdom
in a three-part run. In the United States
, it was broadcast the same month in seven parts on consecutive nights.
Lost Land of the Volcano was the third of the BBC Natural History Unit's "Expedition" series, following Expedition Borneo (2006) and Lost Land of the Jaguar (2008).
, is among the biggest species of rat in the world measuring 82 centimetres (32.3 in) in length and weighing 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb). Papua New Guinea's rainforest is currently being destroyed at the rate of 3.5% per year, and the practice of logging about 20 miles (32.2 km) south from the volcano presents a potential threat to the ecosystem. One of the expedition's aims was to find evidence to support the case to protect the area.
in advance of the arrival by helicopter
of film-makers and a team of experts from all over the world, including scientists from New Guinea. Dr George McGavin
explains the importance of the local biodiversity
and the destruction that logging
is doing to local forests and wildlife, while a lorry loaded with logs is shown filmed from above. The narrator explains the geography and the isolation of the forests on the inner slops of the huge extinct volcano
. McGavin finds interesting insects including beetles, ants, and millipedes. Buchanan finds a pygmy parrot nest in a termite mound, and after a long wait in a bird hide
he films a pair of Buff-faced Pygmy Parrots by their nest. Buchanan helps to place remote camera
s at suitable sites throughout the forest, and later using a laptop
computer at the base-camp, he shows a cuscus
recorded on a memory card
from one of the remote cameras. A Striped Possum
is found in one of the animal traps, which is released after being studied and filmed. Buchanan films a cuscus in a tree and bats eating figs at night using infrared
illumination. Backshall goes to the island of New Britain
to join a group of cavers.
, a small team of British and French cavers led by Dave Nixon are joined by Backshall, the only naturalist in the caving team. They map a Mageni river cave and hope to discover new caves. Backshall becomes weakened by a fever, the team recover at the base-camp, and on their return to the caves they find and chart an undiscovered cave river. On New Guinea
Buchanan films a fruit-dove
on a nest, Dumbacher takes blood from a King Bird of Paradise
for research and reports that they have netted many more species, Allison finds more frogs, and McGavin follows a caterpillar changing into a large colourful moth using time-lapse photography. A team disturb large fruit bat
s from trees while boating upriver to a village of about 500 poor New Guinean natives. The medic Jane Stevenson attends to villagers including children very ill with malaria
and McGavin negotiates with the village leaders. Around a night-fire the tribe show Buchanan feather headdresses and demonstrate a tribal dance wearing feather decorations from birds of paradise
. With guides from the village Buchanan traces King Birds of Paradise and Raggiana Birds of Paradise
in the forest from their calls, and films their courtship behaviours.
. The extinct volcano is filmed from the air as the helicopter takes an advance team onto its rim, where they have arranged to meet local Kosua people who will be their guides. They climb down into the volcano crater and prepare a base-camp for the rest of the team. Buchanan films a tree kangaroo, and Helgen helps to identify a wallaby
, a Painted Ringtail Possum
, a new cuscus
subspecies (similar to the Silky Cuscus
), and a large new rat species provisionally named the Bosavi Woolly Rat
.
McGavin heads the other team and goes to an active volcano on New Britain
. He sees a Brahminy Kite
hunting over the grey ash-covered landscape, and finds an adult rhinoceros beetle
and one of the larva in a tree stump. He sees megapode birds digging in the warm ash to bury eggs, and when they have finished he uncovers and reburies a large oval egg. He finds scavenger crabs before spectacular volcanic activity forces the team to evacuate the area. After this, McGavin goes to New Guinea and a helicopter takes him to the rim of Mount Bosavi. He reports on the dangers of climate warming and of humans to the wildlife as he watches an Ornate Fruit-dove
. He sets up a night-light which attracts hundreds of moths, and he suspects many are not known to science. As the helicopter arrives to collect him from the summit, he wonders if the rainforest and its biodiversity will be destroyed.
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit
BBC Natural History Unit
The BBC Natural History Unit is a department of the BBC dedicated to making television and radio programmes with a natural history or wildlife theme, especially nature documentaries...
which follows a scientific expedition to the island of New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. The expedition team, which includes specialist zoologists, explorers and the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
crew, travels to the extinct volcano of Mount Bosavi
Mount Bosavi
Mount Bosavi is a mountain in the Southern Highlands province, Papua New Guinea. It is the collapsed cone of an extinct volcano on the Great Papuan Plateau, part of the Kikori River basin. The crater is approximately 4 km wide and 1 km deep; it is home to a number of unique species.Part...
in central Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
to document the biodiversity of this little-visited area and search for new species. At the time of filming, logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
was taking place about 20 miles (32.2 km) south from the volcano, and one of expedition's aims was to find evidence to support the case to protect the area. Some members of the expedition team travelled to the island of New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
several hundred kilometres to the east to chart an unexplored cave system and observe an active volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
.
The series was broadcast in September 2009 on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in a three-part run. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it was broadcast the same month in seven parts on consecutive nights.
Lost Land of the Volcano was the third of the BBC Natural History Unit's "Expedition" series, following Expedition Borneo (2006) and Lost Land of the Jaguar (2008).
Discoveries
Hundreds of species were catalogued, and over 40 species or subspecies discovered during the nine-month expedition, including 16 frogs, 3 fish, a tube-nosed bat, a tree kangaroo, and a giant woolly rat. The rat, provisionally called the Bosavi Woolly RatBosavi Woolly Rat
The Bosavi Woolly Rat is a species of rodent that was discovered deep in the jungle of Papua New Guinea in 2009. It is believed to belong to the genus Mallomys, within the family Muridae, according to initial investigation, although this has yet to be published...
, is among the biggest species of rat in the world measuring 82 centimetres (32.3 in) in length and weighing 1.5 kilograms (3.3 lb). Papua New Guinea's rainforest is currently being destroyed at the rate of 3.5% per year, and the practice of logging about 20 miles (32.2 km) south from the volcano presents a potential threat to the ecosystem. One of the expedition's aims was to find evidence to support the case to protect the area.
One
Natives of the tribe who own the forests help to make a base-camp on the outer slops of Mount BosaviMount Bosavi
Mount Bosavi is a mountain in the Southern Highlands province, Papua New Guinea. It is the collapsed cone of an extinct volcano on the Great Papuan Plateau, part of the Kikori River basin. The crater is approximately 4 km wide and 1 km deep; it is home to a number of unique species.Part...
in advance of the arrival by helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
of film-makers and a team of experts from all over the world, including scientists from New Guinea. Dr George McGavin
George McGavin
George C. McGavin FLS FRGS is an entomologist, author, academic, television presenter and explorer.He is Honorary Research Associate at Oxford University Museum of Natural History and The Department of Zoology of Oxford University, where he lists his interests as "Terrestrial arthropods especially...
explains the importance of the local biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
and the destruction that logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
is doing to local forests and wildlife, while a lorry loaded with logs is shown filmed from above. The narrator explains the geography and the isolation of the forests on the inner slops of the huge extinct volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
. McGavin finds interesting insects including beetles, ants, and millipedes. Buchanan finds a pygmy parrot nest in a termite mound, and after a long wait in a bird hide
Bird hide
A bird hide is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commonly found in parks and wetlands for the use of bird watchers, ornithologists and other observers who do not...
he films a pair of Buff-faced Pygmy Parrots by their nest. Buchanan helps to place remote camera
Remote camera
A remote camera is a camera placed by a photographer in areas where the photographer generally cannot be. This includes areas with limited access, tight spaces where a person is not allowed, or just another angle so that the photographer can simultaneously take pictures of the same moment from...
s at suitable sites throughout the forest, and later using a laptop
Laptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
computer at the base-camp, he shows a cuscus
Cuscus
Cuscus is the common name generally given to the species within the four genera of Australasian possum:* Ailurops* Phalanger* Spilocuscus* Strigocuscus...
recorded on a memory card
Memory card
A memory card or flash card is an electronic flash memory data storage device used for storing digital information. They are commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players, and video game consoles...
from one of the remote cameras. A Striped Possum
Striped Possum
The Striped Possum is a member of the Petauridae family, one of the marsupial families. The species is black with three white stripes running head to tail, and its head has white stripes that form a 'Y' shape...
is found in one of the animal traps, which is released after being studied and filmed. Buchanan films a cuscus in a tree and bats eating figs at night using infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
illumination. Backshall goes to the island of New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
to join a group of cavers.
Two
On New BritainNew Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
, a small team of British and French cavers led by Dave Nixon are joined by Backshall, the only naturalist in the caving team. They map a Mageni river cave and hope to discover new caves. Backshall becomes weakened by a fever, the team recover at the base-camp, and on their return to the caves they find and chart an undiscovered cave river. On New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
Buchanan films a fruit-dove
Fruit-dove
The fruit doves are a genus in the pigeon and dove family . These colourful, frugivorous doves are found in forests and woodlands in Southeast Asia and Oceania...
on a nest, Dumbacher takes blood from a King Bird of Paradise
King Bird of Paradise
The King Bird-of-paradise, Cicinnurus regius is a small, approximately 16 cm long, passerine bird of the Paradisaeidae family. The male is a crimson and white with bright blue feet and green-tipped fan-like plumes on its shoulder. The two elongated tail wires are decorated with emerald green...
for research and reports that they have netted many more species, Allison finds more frogs, and McGavin follows a caterpillar changing into a large colourful moth using time-lapse photography. A team disturb large fruit bat
Fruit Bat
Fruit Bat can refer to:* Megabats, a species of bat which eats fruit* Les "Fruitbat" Carter, guitarist of Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine* Fruit Bats , an American band...
s from trees while boating upriver to a village of about 500 poor New Guinean natives. The medic Jane Stevenson attends to villagers including children very ill with malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and McGavin negotiates with the village leaders. Around a night-fire the tribe show Buchanan feather headdresses and demonstrate a tribal dance wearing feather decorations from birds of paradise
Bird of paradise
The birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species in this family are found on the island of New Guinea and its satellites, with a few species occurring in the Moluccas and eastern Australia. The family has forty species in 14 genera...
. With guides from the village Buchanan traces King Birds of Paradise and Raggiana Birds of Paradise
Raggiana Bird of Paradise
The Raggiana Bird-of-paradise, also known as Count Raggi's Bird-of-paradise, is a large bird in the bird-of-paradise family Paradisaeidae....
in the forest from their calls, and films their courtship behaviours.
Three
On New Guinea, two teams are formed, one of which goes into the Mount Bosavi calderaCaldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
. The extinct volcano is filmed from the air as the helicopter takes an advance team onto its rim, where they have arranged to meet local Kosua people who will be their guides. They climb down into the volcano crater and prepare a base-camp for the rest of the team. Buchanan films a tree kangaroo, and Helgen helps to identify a wallaby
Wallaby
A wallaby is any of about thirty species of macropod . It is an informal designation generally used for any macropod that is smaller than a kangaroo or wallaroo that has not been given some other name.-Overview:...
, a Painted Ringtail Possum
Painted Ringtail Possum
The Painted Ringtail Possum or Moss-forest Ringtail Possum is a species of marsupial in the Pseudocheiridae family. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
, a new cuscus
Cuscus
Cuscus is the common name generally given to the species within the four genera of Australasian possum:* Ailurops* Phalanger* Spilocuscus* Strigocuscus...
subspecies (similar to the Silky Cuscus
Silky Cuscus
The Silky Cuscus is a species of marsupial in the Phalangeridae family. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea....
), and a large new rat species provisionally named the Bosavi Woolly Rat
Bosavi Woolly Rat
The Bosavi Woolly Rat is a species of rodent that was discovered deep in the jungle of Papua New Guinea in 2009. It is believed to belong to the genus Mallomys, within the family Muridae, according to initial investigation, although this has yet to be published...
.
McGavin heads the other team and goes to an active volcano on New Britain
New Britain
New Britain, or Niu Briten, is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel...
. He sees a Brahminy Kite
Brahminy Kite
The Brahminy Kite , also known as the Red-backed Sea-eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. They are found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia...
hunting over the grey ash-covered landscape, and finds an adult rhinoceros beetle
Rhinoceros beetle
The Rhinoceros Beetles or Rhino Beetles are a subfamily of the scarab beetle family . Other common names – some for particular groups of rhino beetles – are for example Hercules beetles, unicorn beetles or horn beetles...
and one of the larva in a tree stump. He sees megapode birds digging in the warm ash to bury eggs, and when they have finished he uncovers and reburies a large oval egg. He finds scavenger crabs before spectacular volcanic activity forces the team to evacuate the area. After this, McGavin goes to New Guinea and a helicopter takes him to the rim of Mount Bosavi. He reports on the dangers of climate warming and of humans to the wildlife as he watches an Ornate Fruit-dove
Ornate Fruit-dove
The Ornate Fruit Dove is a species of bird in the Columbidae family.It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montanes....
. He sets up a night-light which attracts hundreds of moths, and he suspects many are not known to science. As the helicopter arrives to collect him from the summit, he wonders if the rainforest and its biodiversity will be destroyed.