Watch these films on Discovery channel on 20th July 2007
Wildlife crime- UK Environment Film Fellowships 2006
Once there was a purple butterfly-Sonya V. Kapoor
Sonya says that of the 1,500 species of butterflies in India, 400 are on the verge of extinction; this was reason enough to track down butterfly poachers—entire villages
in Kerala—where they catch and supply rare species to traders from south-east Asia.
Leopards in the Lurch— Gurmeet Sapal
The film shows that most of the leopards/cheetahs that are killed in the Himachal are not just by poachers but by locals - on the pretext that they are man-eaters.
However, Sapal says, forensic evidence shows that several of those killed in the Garhwal forests were innocent.
The Hunted - Jay Mazoomdar
“If the extinction of tigers is be tackled effectively, the traditional hunter is to be shown an alternative livelihood.”
Jay’s film shows the Moghiya hunters of MP and Rajasthan who hunt tigers for larger traders for measly sums. “It would be difficult for this trade to flourish in the absence
of skilled hunters,” he adds.
Vanishing Seas-Himanshu Malhotra
For husband-wife duo, Himanshu Malhotra and Sabina Kidwai, the endangered marine coral reefs in Lakshwadeep and Andaman spell the death of an entire eco-system.
Turtles in a Soup-Kalpana Subramanian
Freshwater turtles in the Gangetic river systems and their systematic poaching led Kalpana Subramanian to make her film Turtles in a Soup. The trade, she says, has moved
on from simply shipping turtle meat to actually processing the more easily transportable ‘plastron’ (turtle cartilage) into chips thus making it more “invisible and difficult to nab”.
The Last Dance- Ashima Narain
Under the law, the Indian sloth bear is entitled to the same protection as the tiger.
Yet crimes against it are committed openly across India as bears are made to dance for our entertainment.
By venturing on an undercover anti-poaching operation and witnessing the surrender of a dancing bear, the film shows how this crime can be brought to an end.
The Silenced Witness-P.Balan and R.Radha
“The Silenced Witness” analyses why despite having about 60 per cent of the world population of Asiatic and despite the animal being revered
for centuries, the magnificent mammal is fighting for survival.
The story centres around crimes committed on Elephants in Kerala - both domesticated and wild.