Revealing New Guinea's forest secrets
Programme
Expedition Date
30 January 2009 - 4 March 2009
The Mission
An international team of scientists, filmmakers and cavers has been exploring the jungles of Papua New Guinea. Their aim? To find the rare and endangered creatures that hide in these forests and to search for species totally new to science.
Latest Stories
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Spawning gloryFor some New Guinea frog spawn, early life is spent hanging around in mid air.
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Death adderSteve Backshall meets a death adder. One of the most feared snakes in New Guinea
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Biting bush cricket A bush cricket bites off more than it can chew when it meets insect expert George McGavin.
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Eaten aliveWhat at first looks like a strange creature turns out to be a caterpillar playing host to some unwelcome guests.
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Parasite plantGeorge McGavin spots one of the tiniest flowers in the world.
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A python plays up to the cameraSnake expert Steve Backshall meets an amethystine python with an interest in cameras.
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A helicopter scared my cockatooGordon Buchanan tries to film birds in the forest canopy, but he can't escape modern life even in this remote spot.
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George's marvellous jumping spiderInvertebrate expert George McGavin gets up close to one of the world's strangest spiders.
Meet the explorers
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George McGavinGeorge, an expert on tropical insects, is an Honorary Research Associate at Oxford University Museum of Natural History.
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Gordon BuchananGordon is a naturalist and cameraman. He's worked on programmes such as Big Cat Diary and Springwatch.
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Steve Backshall Steve is a naturalist and climber with a particular fascination with reptiles.
Where on Earth?
The expedition visited the islands of Papua New Guinea. A main base camp was established in the forests of the Southern Highlands of New Guinea just east of Mount Bosavi, an extinct volcano. Another team, an Anglo-French group of cavers on a separate trip as part of the series, visited the island of New Britain, to explore a river system deep underground.
© Microsoft Virtual Earth, image courtesy of Navteq
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