Filming the Wild

With bated breath, Philip Kepler Jones captured a showdown between rivals on video in the Shennongjia National Park. The young and somewhat inexperienced alpha of a small family of snub-nosed monkeys was putting on a show of bravado to defend pine nuts, a seasonal feast that helps the primates fatten up for the upcoming harsh winter.

“It looks as if the monkeys had come straight out of a science fiction film, with their adorable squeaks and unusual faces in the fight,” beamed the British producer and director of China: Nature’s Ancient Kingdom (2021). “They would be at home in a Star Wars film, as well as a nature documentary.”

The nature documentary series aims to explore how China’s 10 pilot national parks protect rare species and delicate ecosystems. It features three episodes split broadly across the regions of China: West: A Fragile Paradise, Central: A Balancing Act, and East: The Last Refuge, co-produced by Chinese and British staff.

Camera man Li Chen films in the Giant Panda National Park. (Photo courtesy of Li Chen)

Animating Biological Treasures

Drones, 4K and 8K cameras, gyro stabilized gimbals, Canon CN20 lens with a focal length from 50mm to 1,000mm... The crew harnessed a variety of special equipment to capture images of wildlife from a distance without disturbing their natural behavior. Just as important as technology are the knowledge of the animals, field craft, and great patience, according to Jones.

The research process began around April 2019 and the crew set out to film in the wild only a few weeks later, armed with advice from global biologists on how to find the most unique and unusual actions of their subjects.

They found a one-year-old giant panda cub busy figuring out how to climb trees in the Giant Panda National Park. That skill would be used to escape potential predators like leopards, but she was not taking the practice seriously. Her antics were making her mother anxious, and she clearly preferred her daughter return to solid ground. Survival-focused stories have penetrated the documentary series since it is often the best way to understand animals, as well as the environment they inhabit, as per Jones.

“What you can find in wildlife filmmaking is actually animals struggling to survive, whether it’s against the elements, to find food, or between each other,” said Jones.

“The snub-nosed monkeys battle the elements during the harsh winters and compete for the scarce resources,” he added. “However, it is the females who are actually in charge of survival, making the decisions and pushing the males to defend them.”

Iconic animals aside, China boasts a fantastic diversity of wildlife, with many species only found within its borders. The crew was excited for the chance to share many hardly known and unusual subjects with a global audience. For example, the documentary series features a male Cabot’s tragopan from the Wuyi Mountain National Park. The male prepared for his big peacock procedure to mate. He finally unleashed his secret weapon, a brightly colored inflatable skin wattle. In the murky forest, his vivid wattle dazzled in reflected light. Brighter coloring signals better health and fitness. He put everything he had into the flamboyant mating show.

Scientific knowledge also provides essential enrichment to the documentary series. In Chinese, the word “xiongmao” (giant panda) literally means “bear-cat” while the characters for “red panda” are not related to those words at all. The species is in a family of its own, with no living relatives: the nearest fossil ancestors of the red panda existed around four million years ago. What connects both panda species is an almost exclusively bamboo diet. Using specially evolved movable wrist bones to grip stalks tightly like a high-wire acrobat, the red panda spends 80 percent of its life in the canopy and eats bamboo leaves equal to a quarter of its body weight every day.

A still from China: Nature’s Ancient Kingdom (2021), featuring a baby snub-nosed monkey in the Shennongjia National Park. (Photo courtesy of Philip Kepler Jones)

Uniting Man and Nature

A Tibetan antelope had just given birth. And she wasn’t alone. Over 10,000 females gave birth within a few days in the Sanjiangyuan National Park. But there wasn’t time to waste. Predators were gathering, so the newborns had to stand up and be able to run within 15 minutes after birth. Soon, the tiny calves would begin an epic migration—a 400-kilometer-long trek west to their wintering grounds. It’s a dangerous journey but they had some dedicated guardians.

A group of local herders recorded in the documentary series first protected them as volunteers before receiving payment from national park authorities. Ransa is one of them, who has been guarding Tibetan antelopes since he was just 12 years old, escorting the mothers and calves to purpose-built safe crossing points during their migration. He also tears down any livestock fencing found blocking their routes. His love for the beautiful and vulnerable animals runs deep. “As long as I live, I will continue to protect the Tibetan antelope and other animals,” Ransa said.

One theme of the documentary series is depictions of people rising to the challenge of caring for the natural world, drawing on ancient wisdom to create a lasting harmony between man and nature.

“Across the world, wildlife and their unique habitats are under threat,” said Jones on why so many of the stories are relatable to a global audience. “Like in China, almost everywhere many animals are on the brink of extinction, and inspirational people and communities are striving to protect them.”

Philip Kepler Jones wears protective gear while filming bees in the Giant Panda National Park. (Photo courtesy of Li Chen)

But how does the balance work in China, when cities are near and people can easily head out into a natural world? This particular question was addressed in the finale of the documentary series.

Contrasting the western and central parts of China, marked by fragile ecosystems, rugged mountains and deep valleys, eastern China is a hugely diverse region, ranging from low-lying fertile land to vast mega cities, which over half a billion people call home. Yet despite the penetrating human and economic pressures, nature has still been given space to breathe in four critically important national parks there. A roadmap for sustainability has been exemplified by an ambitious tiger corridor, a bridge in the trees built for the Hainan gibbon, and tea plantations largely left to grow naturally.

The documentary series debuted in North America in May 2021 and had been released to 107 countries and regions as of August 1 this year. John Edward Betancourt, editor-in-chief of Nerds That Geek, an American pop-culture website, wrote in his recap of the documentary series: “China is a nation that is trying to put together a blueprint for what proper protection and peaceful coexistence might look like.”

Jones gave credit to his Chinese partners, who had helped complete the project with filming and logistic support. They shared memorable moments together during this labor of love.

“When in the Giant Panda National Park, we wanted to film the local beekeepers harvesting the honey from their hives,” laughed Jones. “And by the end of filming, we all looked rather funny, swelling from stings despite the protective gear. We left with a healthier respect for bees!”