Turkmenistan wildlife film is go

Simon will begin his recce in Turkmenistan next week for the production of the country’s first wildlife documentary in association with the BBC World Service Trust. The trip will begin in the capital Ashgabat and after meeting with a Russian cameraman and a translator, Simon will continue to the Badkhyz Nature Reserve. The party will also include the Turkmen Minister of Culture, The Minister for the protection of the Environment and two Turkmen television producers.

Khulan, or Mongolian wild Ass is a subspecies of the Onager found in the Badkhyz Nature Reserve.

The reserve was put aside in 1941 and covers 877 km² of the Bathyz Plateau ecosystem which meets the mountains which border Afganistn. The name of the reserve means “the place where wind begins”, which reflects the climatic conditions of the area. The wildlife of the reserve includes wild horses, antelope, horned sheep, wolves, hyenas, Persian Leopards as well as reptile and bird species.

In an excerpt from Simon’s blog, he talks of his hopes for the trip: “We are camping for four days – I have a romantic notion that this will be in a yurt decked out with fancy carpets where we will sit around in colourful gowns (with the hat I will have bought in Ashgabat), drinking tea and laughing heartily around the fire while beautiful serving maids bring us all manner of exotic foods. However I’ve also had romantic notions in the past that filming trips don’t involve rats chewing their way into my mosquito net or me falling into piles of stinking bat guano so I’m keeping an open mind.”

Simon will be capturing some of the wildlife of the reserve on film and gaining a better understanding of how the wildlife documentary will come together as he discovers the country, climate, wildlife and politics of Turkmenistan.

We are already looking forward to the stories from the trip and hope Simon can find an internet connection to send us some updates throughout his trip. We will post any news as we get it, watch this space…