|
The
Animal
Planet
series,
Lyndal’s
Lifeline,
begins
with
these
words
uttered
by
its
presenter,
Lyndal
Davies:
“The
world’s
animals
are
in
big
trouble.
Many
may
become
extinct
in
the
next
20
years.
We’re
throwing
out
a
lifeline
to
help
them.”
Lyndal’s
Lifeline
is a
first
of
sorts
for
Animal
Planet
as
well
as
for
natural
history
programmes
in
general.
It
is
the
first
series
to
go
interactive
and
also
the
first
to
be
directly
involved
in
the
wildlife
causes
it
depicts.
In
the
series,
Animal
Planet
donates
US$10,000
(RM38,000)
to
each
of
six
grassroots
rehabilitation
centres
around
the
world,
namely
in
Brazil,
England,
Thailand,
Australia,
Sierra
Leone
and
Sri
Lanka.
The
teams
there
decide
how
best
to
use
the
funds.
But
that
is
not
all.
For
the
first
time
in
wildlife
television
programming,
viewers
can
get
involved
in
the
saving
of a
species
by
voting
online.
Animal
Planet
has
also
put
up
an
additional
US$10,000
and
leaves
it
in
the
hands
of
its
viewers
to
decide
to
which
species
they
want
to
give
that
“lifeline”.
|
|
Lyndal Davies observing a sun bear that had just had its bath. Lyndal and her Lifeline team had rescued two bears from cramped cages behind a fish market in Thailand. Said Davies of one of the bears: ‘The bear had been living indoors. He’s a sun bear but he’d never had the sun on his body. He had never walked on ground. He had never done things a sun bear should be doing.’
|
Viewers
will
be
taken
to
the
world’s
biggest
wildlife
hospital
in
London,
to a
transit
home
for
rescued
wildlife
in
Brazil,
to
the
Wildlife
Rescue
Centre
in
Thailand,
to
the
koala
hospital
in
Brisbane,
to a
chimpanzee
sanctuary
in
Sierra
Leone,
and
to
the
Elephant
Transit
Home
in
Sri
Lanka.
A
place
in
the
sun
Last
month
Animal
Planet
took
a
group
of
journalists
from
around
the
world
to
one
of
the
six
animal
sanctuaries
featured
in
Lyndal’s
Lifeline
–
the
Wildlife
Friends
of
Thailand
(WFFT)’s
Wildlife
Rescue
Centre
in
Petchburi
province,
approximately
160km
south
of
Bangkok.
The
episode
in
Thailand,
Battling
for
the
Bears,
tells
how
the
US$10,000
is
used
to
rescue
two
sun
bears
living
in
tiny
cages
at
the
back
of a
fish
market.
One
of
the
bears,
named
Ompoon,
had
grown
overweight
and
was
in
danger
of
suffering
a
heart
attack
because
of a
lack
of
exercise
and
an
unhealthy
diet.
Davies’
team
worked
with
WFFT
founder
and
director
Edwin
J.
Wiek
to
convince
the
bears’
owner
to
part
with
her
pets
and
give
them
a
new
lease
of
life
at
the
Rescue
Centre’s
brand
new
enclosure
built
using
the
Animal
Planet
fund.
|
|
Edwin Wiek, founder and director of Wildlife Friends of Thailand.
|
Said
Davies
of
Ompoon:
“The
bear
had
been
living
indoors.
He
had
never
seen
the
light
of
day.
He’s
a
sun
bear
but
he’d
never
had
the
sun
on
his
body.
He
had
never
walked
on
ground.
He
had
never
done
things
a
sun
bear
should
be
doing.”
When
we
were
taken
to
see
the
large
enclosure
into
which
Ompoon
and
a
few
other
bears
were
released
for
their
afternoon
meal,
which
consisted
of a
variety
of
fruits,
we
could
see
that
Ompoon
was
no
longer
the
roly-poly
sun
bear
that
could
hardly
move
around.
He
looked
healthy
and
was
more
than
happy
with
the
attention
given
by
his
visitors.
The
fruits
were
placed
up
on
tree
branches
and
various
places,
which
would
force
the
bears
to
climb
and
get
their
exercise
as
well
as
their
meal.
The
Wildlife
Rescue
Centre
also
houses
a
variety
of
other
animals,
including
gibbons,
macaques,
elephants,
and
a
tiger
named
Meow,
who
was
rescued
from
the
back
of a
garage
where
he
was
tied
up.
Due
to
malnutrition,
Meow
suffered
motor-neuron
disorder
and
could
not
walk
properly.
When
we
arrived
at
his
cage,
the
tiger
sauntered
unsteadily
towards
us,
purred
lazily
and
rubbed
his
furry
neck
against
the
fence
like
a
big
pussycat.
The
centre
is
located
behind
Kao
Look
Chang
Temple
and
the
land
was
donated
to
Wiek
by
its
abbot,
who
also
came
by
that
afternoon
to
greet
the
journalists.
On
the
wild
side
As
we
walked
through
the
centre,
in
between
huge
cages
and
enclosures,
we
saw
a
couple
of
volunteers
giving
two
elephants
a
bath
while
one
of
the
elephants
playfully
tried
to
give
several
of
the
photographers
a
shower
with
its
trunk.
The
sight
of
visitors
also
excited
the
monkeys
and
gibbons
and
a
couple
of
them
started
hooting
and
whooping
loudly,
while
one
shook
the
door
of
its
cage
violently
and
another
extended
its
arm
to
touch
us.
The
night
before
the
visit,
we
had
been
forewarned
that
the
centre
was
not
a
zoo
and
we
were
not
to
get
too
close
to
the
animals
as
they
are
still
wild.
In
fact,
Mark
Strickson,
director
of
Lyndal’s
Lifeline,
had
warned
a
cameraman
on a
previous
visit
who
wanted
to
get
into
the
cage
with
the
bears:
“If
you
go
in
there
with
those
sun
bears,
you
would
be
dead
in
less
than
two
minutes.”
Wiek,
a
Dutchman
who
gave
up
his
private
business
and
founded
the
centre
five
years
ago,
has
no
intention
to
tame
these
animals
and
wishes
them
to
remain
in
their
wild
state
as
much
as
possible.
The
centre
has
also
built
seven
gibbon
islands
where
the
gibbons
can
live
freely
and
as
close
as
possible
to a
life
in
the
wild.
Many
of
the
animals
at
the
sanctuary
had
suffered
from
abuse,
neglect
or
improper
care
before
Wiek
and
his
team
rescued
them.
This
is
the
common
story
in
Thailand
where
illegal
wildlife
trade
is
rampant.
People
would
buy
animals
such
as
gibbons
and
bears
because
they
look
cute
and
cuddly
when
young.
But
once
these
animals
outgrow
their
cages
and
begin
to
develop
fangs
and
claws,
they
are
usually
neglected
and
left
in
sorry
conditions.
Said
Davies:
“Someone
might
think
of
having
a
gibbon
or a
sun
bear
as a
pet,
but
you
look
at
those
fangs
on
the
gibbon
and
you’ll
think
that
maybe
it’s
not
going
to
be a
good
pet.
(We
hope
this
programme)
will
have
an
influence
on
people’s
decision
on
whether
or
not
to
buy
that
animal
at
the
market.
That
will
stop
the
demand
which
will
in
turn
stop
the
supply.”
The
first
episode
of
Lyndal’s
Lifeline
was
aired
last
Sunday.
There
will
be
five
more
episodes
every
Sunday,
from
8pm
to
9pm
on
Astro’s
Animal
Planet.
To
vote,
viewers
can
go
to
www.animalplanetasia.com.
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