Nature films explore the lives of rare species

Sino-Thai project involved 7 years of tracking and filming whale and hornbill

A Bryde's whale feeds in the Beibu Gulf in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. CHEN MO/FOR CHINA DAILY

For seven years, a dedicated team embarked on a remarkable journey of tracking and filming, resulting in two groundbreaking collaborative nature documentaries between China and Thailand.

The two films, The Legend of Oriental Pied Hornbill and Ark of Bryde's Whale, had their global premieres on June 30 and July 1, respectively. They were simulcast by Guangxi Radio and TV and a TV channel of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand. They mark a special tribute to the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Thailand, which fell on Tuesday.

Ding Quan, director of the two documentaries, told China Daily that Ark of Bryde's Whale delves into the world of the eponymous creature, a rare and endangered species, which is under the State's first level protection in China.

With exclusive footage never seen before, he said that the documentary unveils the untold life stories of the only known nearshore large whale population in China, shedding light on the joint efforts of Chinese and Thai scientists in creating a "life ark" for the Bryde's whales and promoting the idea of a "global life community".

"The film presents four 'firsts' to the world," Ding said. "The first-ever documentary on the Bryde's whales in China, the first records on mysterious courtship behavior of the Bryde's whales, the first records on their nocturnal feeding habits, and the first underwater recordings of the communication between mother and calf."

Through aerial, surface, and underwater perspectives, the documentary vividly portrays the magical life stories of the Bryde's whales in the waters off Weizhou Island in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and the conservation efforts by Chinese and Thai scientists.