We are closing in on the final days of production here in Nepal. It’s been a roller coaster ride- the latest exploits involve chasing dangerous wild elephants through the forests and grasslands. They’re elusive, quiet, smart and basically- the largest of their kind in the world.  We love this story because Asian elephants are endangered worldwide and we’re out to find the biggest and rarest ones in this remote part of Nepal…pointing to the need for preservation of animals we barely know anything about. With shrinking habitat, lately they’ve been attacking villages in search of grain;   and occasionally us! We go out tomorrow for more  signs of the giants! Niall McCann, the star of Biggest and Baddest has been doing an incredible job and is using his amazing athletic ability and knowledge as  biologist- to get close and stay out of harms way…

Hunt for big tigers and wild elephants in Nepal is just an amazing experience – riding elephants though the jungle with tigers underfoot is a tense and sometimes scary experience. Beyond the challenges of filming off elephant  back- bathroom breaks take on a whole new urgency when you have to dismount in tiger country and use a nearby bush. These animals are powerful and can emerge just about anywhere – we have multiple cameras going to capture the whole experience. Then there’s the amazing adventure of finding the worlds largest and most ancient looking Asian elephant. Giant rhinos are aggressive and may emerge out of the bush anywhere – they will triple and bite you badly – we must  ever under estimate the 5000 to 7000 lb Asian rhinos- while  walking on narrow jungle trails enclosed in bushes.

Surprisingly cold at night – we are amazed these big exotic animals can function at 4 degrees c. Big pythons are also here and our star- explorer biologist Niall McCann will investigate up close !
That’s all for now!

- Peter

We’ve spent a week crossing Nepal and now filming in Bardia National Park where every sort of Big and Bad animal lurk…several on the brink of extinction unfortunately. We’ve had some close and visceral encounters with the wildlife- gets your heart pounding! Extreme temperatures here, from 3 degrees C at night to 20′s in the daytime. We are riding elephants every day and sighting animals- some of the largest and most dangerous in the world. The Tiger definitely has our attention. Here for another 3 wks or so! Biggest and Baddest series is well underway! More from the jungle soon…

Gryphon Productions crew is packed and ready to leave on another grand adventure- perhaps the grandest of all- beginning in Nepal. We’re beginning production on a six-part series for Discovery Channel International and Animal Planet Canada called Biggest and Baddest. It stars biologist-explorer Niall McCann who was the star of our Lost in the Amazon show. Niall will travel the world- from Nepal to Guyana, Australia and USA searching for legendary giant animals- from the biggest wild elephants to the longest anacondas. We’ll be blogging in from time to time, so stay tuned.