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Over 7,000 incredible islands, bursting with unique natural wonders. Liz Bonnin shares the sights that ignited her passion for nature and discovers the Caribbean's untamed heart.
Liz Bonnin
Presenter
Streaming availability information not available
2023
The peculiar geology of the Greater Antilles has created a stretch of islands with hidden natural treasures – from salt lakes, to deserts and forested peaks – where people are learning to forge a new relationship with the animals that inhabit this wild terrain. Liz Bonnin heads to the Dominican Republic, where she scales a 60-foot palm tree to retrieve a Ridgeway's hawk chick, searches for a solenodon, joins local scientists in the driest and lowest place in the Caribbean, and helps a heroic team liberate flamingos after over 20 years of captivity.
In Central America, the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean Sea meet jungle landscapes that support an extraordinary array of wildlife. It’s a perfect habitat that houses the highest density of some of the world’s most endangered animals. In Belize, Liz goes on the trail of a jaguar that's suspected of stealing local pigs, joins local scientists in a high-adrenaline expedition to tag Antillean manatees, and meets the inspirational women who have increased the population of Yucatan black howler monkeys by ten times. Travelling on to Costa Rica, Liz meets a man who took an enormous risk by turning his father’s farm into a haven for frogs, encounters a remarkable woman ensuring that the local wildlife thrives as her hometown grows, and discovers how to rehabilitate sloths, helping two of them to return to the wild.
The volcanic islands of the Lesser Antilles, built by eruptions and shaped by the ocean surrounding them, are some of the most biodiverse landscapes of the Caribbean, where humans have developed a special relationship with their wild surroundings. On Mayreau, Liz joins a team of residents repairing their vibrant coral, which has been damaged by disease. On neighbouring Union Island, she goes on patrol with a local environmental army to help protect the Union Island gecko, one of the smallest reptiles in the world. In St Vincent, Liz hikes one of the most active volcanoes in the region – La Soufriere – to find the brightly coloured St Vincent parrot. And in her ancestral home of Trinidad, she relives one of her most magnificent wildlife encounters: the flight of the scarlet ibis.
The South American coastline is one of the most populated regions of the Caribbean, yet just beyond the large cities lies untouched wilderness. And where the two meet, Liz discovers the unique relationships between people and nature – starting with her ancestral home, Trinidad, and it’s world-renowned Carnival.