Environment

The baby orangutan grabs his mother’s limp body, shaking it with both hands, before taking off. We follow at full speed, aware of the need to catch him by hand – darting an animal this young could kill it. Just as he dashes up a nearby tree, Dr Laura Benedict grabs him by the legs. The orangutan – eyes bulging in terror, mouth stretched to capacity – begins to scream; terrible, brain-piercing shrieks.

In China’s mountainous Maoxian region in Sichuan Province, there are almost 6,500 hectares of pear and apple orchards. Every year, villagers descend on the farmlands to begin the monumental task of pollinating every single fruit blossom – by hand.

One of the largest ethnic groups in Cambodia, the Kuy community lives in harmony with the forest. For them, life follows the organic rhythm of Nature, rooted in the essence of community life. “We call this place our home. This is where we feel protected,” they explain. A community strongly tied to their animist beliefs, the Kuy people says that the Neaktah – or ancestral spirits – have blessed their presence in the forest. The Neaktah watch over people and places, as long as they are paid respect through prayers and offerings.

Gold mining has sparked a clash between illegal diggers, artisanal mining associations and large multinationals

The ancient Yakusugi trees of Yakushima are amongst the very oldest and largest of Asia’s living things. These evergreen cedars can be found on the circular island of Yakushima, lying near the southern tip of the Japanese archipelago with a mountainous interior that is mostly forested wilderness. These World Heritage-listed groves, called Cryptomeria japonica, are the national tree of Japan and are nestled within the valleys of these hills.

Ivan Carter calls himself a wildlife detective, which means he investigates the root problems of animal poaching and hunting today. From saving elephants from ivory poachers in South Africa’s Kruger National Park to investigating a tragic crocodile attack along the Zambezi River, Ivan work rides the cutting edge of conservation in Africa.

‘Hic sunt dracones’ (Thar be dragons) – that’s the terrifying inscription left by map-makers more than 500 years ago to warn medieval explorers of the mythical creatures lurking beyond the bounds of the known world. According to these legends, man-eating dragons inhabited the far-flung islands of East Asia, surrounded by treacherous waters teeming with sea serpents. At the time, few dared to venture ‘off the map’.

This is a story about our little branch on the tree of life. Let us journey out on a figurative limb, balancing our way along the branch we share with the primates, and then onto the smaller branch we call Homo. Thanks to advances in genetic technology, working in tandem with fragments of fossil evidence, we are starting to get a sense of where, geographically, this strand began.