Firstly to start this post I would like to pass my sincere condolences to those affected by the typhoon that has swept thru Philippines. I know many people have had their homes and livelihoods obliterated overnight. A stark reminder to all of us here in Phuket to be grateful that we are not living in a Typhoon area.
In my first post two posts here in this community I focused on my underwater filming - as that's mostly what I am doing when I have a camera in my hand, but for this today I'd like to show you this video I made for Earth Touch News Network several years ago about the plight of the Slow Loris here in Thailand, and I guess other parts of S.E. Asia where tourism and wildlife exploitation go hand in hand - though I believe Thailand to be the worst offender.
We call it the photo prop. Where you can have your photo taken with some kind of wild animal that you would otherwise never get to see, let alone hold, touch, cuddle or even ride. In Thailand these extends from the smallest cutest little guy (for example the Slow Loris) right up to the indisputable apex predator - the tiger, and everything in between that can be separated from it's mother at an early age.
For this video I travelled to different locations around Thailand. I filmed the Slow Loris being used as a photo prop for unsuspecting tourists (you cant blame people for ignorance right), I visited a Slow Loris sanctuary where rescued Lorises are rehabilitated and hopefully released back in to their natural habitat, and I met and interviewed the enigmatic Edwin Weik of the WFFT.
If you have any questions for me about the film please leave in the comment section.