Image by mer de glace.
It’s easy to get discouraged by the rampant destruction of rainforest occurring in the Amazon and Borneo. Daily there are sad stories of indigenous people being massacred, animals and trees being removed to make way for palm oil plantations and mining. Fortunately all is not lost to corporate greed. Enter the amazing story from the BBC of the discovery of a real lost world that has been hidden in an extinct volcano in remote Papua New Guinea. It contains amazing undiscovered animals, including a giant rat that is larger than a domestic cat.
The volcano, Mount Bosavi, is very remote, and located in the Southern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The volcano consists of a 4km wide area with 1km high crater walls. No one lives in the crater and very few people have ever made it to the region so the habitat is completely pristine. The local Kasua tribe rarely venture into the crater due to the difficulty in climbing the steep crater walls.
The “lost world” will feature in forthcoming BBC documentary called “Lost Land of the Volcano”. It’s being produced by the BBC natural history unit. The team also included a team of biologists who where the first biologists ever to set foot in the crater.
A lot of strange animal species were found by the team – over 40 in total, including new species of fogs, geckos, fish, and insects.
Giant Rats
The most amazing discovery made by the expedition team are giant rats larger than domestic cats. The rats are covered in thick long fur. The thick fur is believed to help them survive in the cold conditions . (The volcano is quite high at elevation of over 1000m. The summit is a chilly 2,800m in height).
The rats have no fear of humans since these animals have been cut off from human contact due to the geology. A true garden of Eden. No scientific name has been assigned yet to the giant rats so they have been provisionally called “The Bosavi Wooly Rats”
“The Lost Land Of The Volcano” series will certainly be a must see series. It scheduled to be broadcast on BBC one on Tuesday 9 September at 9PM BST. Lets pray that the palm oil plantation owners don’t ever ever destroy this newly discovered pristine paradise.
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About Danny Sheehan
Danny lives in Hong Kong but is originally from Australia. He is Married to Maggie and together they have two children with whom they enjoy sharing and enjoying an exciting life with daily. Danny's passions are freedom, adventure and discovery, mainly in nature and science but also spiritually. He is a great believer in living in the NOW.
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Amazing Discoveries