Behind the Scenes of the BBC's A Perfect Planet

When the Tapiche Reserve was first established in 2010, pockets of the land had been frenetically logged, commercial poaching was rampant, and the future of this forest was obscured by the shadows of seemingly insurmountable challenges and uncertainty. We dreamed of revitalizing the damaged areas, protecting the remaining swaths of primary forest, and creating a haven where wildlife could roam freely in their natural habitat. We fantasized about being featured in an awe-inspiring nature documentary so that the rest of the world could appreciate the beauty of the flooded forest, and wouldn't it just be the pinnacle of honor if the iconic David Attenborough would narrate?

Well, friends, the BBC's new documentary series A Perfect Planet made its world premiere this past January 2021, narrated by none other than Sir David Attenborough, and Tapiche is in it! We couldn't be more thrilled to be a part of this stunning production.

Our eternal thanks and profound appreciation go to Toby Nowlan of Silverback Films for seeing the potential in our little grassroots project when he came to Tapiche on his personal vacation time in Jan 2015. After years of pitching ideas and discussing filmable jungle phenomena, our opportunity came, and Toby found a place for us in A Perfect Planet. Thank you, Toby, for believing in us and for trusting us with such an important project.

It was an absolute pleasure to work with Toby and the film crew, which included the masterful cameramen John Brown and Alex Vail as well as Sean O'Donnell, expert ant wrangler and walking encyclopedia of all things biology and nature. Originally set for 2018 but delayed due to scheduling issues, filming at Tapiche finally took place in April 2019 during the flood season. The stars of the segment were our fire ants, identified as Solenopsis geminata.

Thank you to the film crew and everyone else behind the scenes at Silverback. We cannot express enough appreciation for the wonderful experience and sincere connections that resulted from this project.

Tapiche's fire ants are featured in Episode 3: “Weather” of the BBC's A Perfect Planet.

Requena during the 2019 flood

This is Requena, the halfway point between Iquitos and Tapiche, at the time we went to pick up the film crew in 2019. The flood was fairly high that year, which was good for filming rafting fire ants, but local communities struggled with infrastructure.

Requena during the 2019 flood

This is Requena, the halfway point between Iquitos and Tapiche, at the time we went to pick up the film crew in 2019. The flood was fairly high that year, which was good for filming rafting fire ants, but local communities struggled with infrastructure.

Requena during the 2019 flood

This is Requena, the halfway point between Iquitos and Tapiche, at the time we went to pick up the film crew in 2019. The flood was fairly high that year, which was good for filming rafting fire ants, but local communities struggled with infrastructure.

Cameraman Alex Vail films the scenery of the flooded forest

Cameraman Alex Vail prepares the underwater housing for the camera while Tapiche guide Jose Murayari assists.

Cameraman Alex Vail, Tapiche guide Jose Murayari, and assistant producer Toby Nowlan prepare the underwater camera rig.

Alex Vail, Toby Nowlan and Tapiche guide Jose Murayari set up an inflatable stand-up paddleboard to navigate tight turns in the flooded forest

Cameraman Alex Vail operates the underwater camera rig while assistant producer Toby Nowlan powers the paddleboard

Cameraman John Brown is down to his knees in the mud while filming the fire ants rafting to open waters

Sunset view from the Tapiche dock

Sunset view from the Tapiche dock

After each long day of filming, the crew would gather at the dock to watch the sun set over the Tapiche River