Expedition Week on National Geographic Channel

I’m a little behind on posting this (technical difficulties), but tonight premiers Expedition Week on National Geographic Channel! Over the next seven nights, you can join in on 13 expeditions ranging from archeology to wildlife research. Thanks to National Geographic Channel, I had the opportunity to preview three of the programs including:

• Eating with Cannibals (Sun 9/8c p.m.): Expedition week kicks off with Piers Gibbon traveling to Papua New Guinea in search of people who may have practiced cannibalism. Interesting program and I thought it was pretty well done.
• Man vs. Volcano (Thu 10/9c p.m.): Journey to the mouth of Nyiragongo, Africa’s most active volcano which holds the world largest lake of lava. Amazing journey and even the dynamics between the photographer and research team was intriguing to watch.
• Tiger Man of Africa (Fri 10/9c p.m.): Visit Tiger Canyons, the place where John Varty is working to make his dream of creating a new population of “wild” tigers outside their natural habitat a reality. I’m afraid I was not a fan of this one. I can’t deny that the program has some cool footage, but then again these are tame not wild tigers. Wild tigers don’t let people use them as pillows. I also find the idea behind Varty’s project, to establish a wild population of tigers in Africa because their recovery is doomed in Asia, absurd. The program’s focus on getting these tigers to mate and birth also seemed more “zoo-like” than “expedition-like” to me.

However, I am really excited to watch Lost Land of the Tiger (Friday 9/8c p.m.), which I have not seen yet.

Go in search of an undiscovered tiger population rumored to be hidden in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.  This pristine country of lush forests, clear rivers and icy mountains could hold the key to safeguarding the future for these big cats.  But first, the team must trek across Bhutan’s wildest terrain and face its extreme weather — pushing the expedition to its very brink.  With cameras strategically placed, the team is closing in on capturing key evidence of the tigers said to be living here.

Now this sounds like a tiger expedition! Tiger field research is near and dear to my heart and I even have a little first hand experience. I’m also excited for this program because it includes Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, tiger expert, wildlife author, and President & CEO of the wild cat conservation organization Panthera.  I am super excited to watch this one even just from the clips.

Check out the Expedition Week website for even more fascinating premiers. Online, you can participate in a photo safari in search of hidden miniature artifacts through Mission Expedition. Also be sure to check out Expedition Granted. Two explorers, Only one expedition granted: Save endangered seals through research in Hawaii or help park rangers stop poaching in Indonesia. You decide.

Updated 4/4/11: Bad link