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BBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Parenthood - Everything you need to know about the new wildlife series
Sir David Attenborough returns to narrate Parenthood - A groundbreaking wildlife series on nature's ultimate challenge. From the world-class natural history storytelling company Silverback Films comes Parenthood, a breathtaking new series exploring the universal struggle to raise the next generation. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough and lyrics co-written and performed by Sam Ryder, this six-part series captures the extraordinary lengths animals go to ensure the survival of their young. Filmed over three years across six continents and 23 countries, Parenthood showcases astonishing, never-before-seen animal behaviours in stunning 6K ultra high definition. From the remote jungles of Bhutan to the grasslands of Botswana, each episode reveals the unique - and often surprisingly familiar - challenges faced by animal parents around the world. The stakes couldn't be higher - success for all parents ensures the future of life on our planet. Packed with never seen before behaviours filmed in 6k ultra high definition with music scored by Tom Howe (Ted Lasso, Mulan), Parenthood is the definitive wildlife series on life's greatest challenge. Watch Parenthood from Sunday 3 August on BBC One. All episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer AJ2 The series in numbers Total number of countries filmed in: 23 Total number of filming days: 1,427 Total number of shoots: 58 Rarest animals filmed: Iberian Lynx, Spain Interview with Series Producer and Director Jeff Wilson What sets this series apart from other natural history programmes? Parenthood tells the previously untold stories behind the struggles and triumphs that animal parents have to endure in order to sustain life on Earth. There have been countless programmes on the animal babies, and whilst full of adorable animals, they have missed the fact that the majority of the narrative in raising young lies with the parents - the choices they make around the environment they bring their young into, the home they create, the relentless need to provide food, the constant protection from threats, the life experiences that their offspring need to be exposed to before they can become truly independent - all of these are mini-dramas in their own right. Why is it important to showcase these behaviours? Many of these very intimate behaviours are very difficult to film. When you see the behaviours come to life on screen, I think it gives you a new appreciation of the investment and commitment of many parents, and my hope is, it gives our audience common ground with some of these extraordinary animals. Do you think there's lessons we can learn from the animal world? Absolutely - the level of commitment required to raise young, that no individual's needs are the same, that the benefit of a good home, food and teaching are all part of raising successful offspring. In a world that is changing all around us in ways that none of us can predict, we can learn how to deal with uncertainty - because in the natural world, nothing is certain, and animal parents are still incredibly successful. How do you maintain a balance between concern for the natural world and wide-eyed wonder? As documentary film makers, we are emotionally involved in our subjects - who wouldn't be given the extraordinary amounts of time we spend documenting their world? The dramas we observe happen whether we are there or not, and they are not ours to affect or influence. The animals are far more interesting, beautiful and wonder filled than anything our imaginations could come up with. I hope that we bring that wonder to our audiences too! Do you have any favourite moments in the series or unique wildlife encounters in the series? For sheer parental commitment, and for the fact that the full story has never been filmed for a documentary before, my personal favourite must be the story of the African social spider - a mother spider who not only raises 50 offspring alongside her sisters but eventually sacrifices her own body to feed her growing young in an act called matriphagy. Less gruesome, yet equally fascinating, is the eight-year commitment to child rearing that a mother orangutan undergoes, along the way showing her young the huge range of foods on offer, as well as how to make his own bed. New technologies allowed us to follow the nightly battle mother hippos endure to keep their young alive as they search for fresh grass in the Tanzanian bush, only to be stalked by prides of lions. What do you personally hope viewers will take away from this series? Aside from the marvel at seeing new behaviours and engaging dramas, as a parent myself, I hope our audience recognise the universal story of parenthood, and that wild animals and humans, have more in common than you might think. By recognising our similarities, we can find an empathy and perhaps even a solution to creating a better world for all of our young. Episode One – The Greatest Adventure Parenthood is a journey like no other - full of risk and reward. Every habitat has a unique set of challenges and every parent has a unique strategy to overcome them. The stakes, however, couldn't be higher. Success, for all parents, ensures the future of life on our planet. Finding a suitable home is the first challenge. In the Kalahari, lion mothers survive by raising one another's cubs in times of need - only these mothers have the added risk of having to teach their cubs to also become giant hunters. Elsewhere, in Texas, a pair of burrowing owls provide an underground nest for their chicks, giving their chicks protection whilst they work around the clock to supply food. Food is vital to all parents' success - but a mother hippo in Tanzania has to leave the safety of her pool every night to find grass for her and her calf, running a gauntlet of hungry lions hidden in the dark with her newborn calf. Some parents take providing to extremes. In a sequence never seen in a documentary before, an African social spider regurgitates a 'milk' made from dissolved body parts to feed her young. Once her spiderlings need something more substantial, however, she offers herself - and her spiderlings eat her alive. It is the ultimate parental sacrifice. Animal parents are having to adapt to a world that is changing rapidly, and the recovery of the Iberian Lynx in southern Spain is a remarkable success story - showing how humans can help animal parents thrive in the face of enormous challenges. Filming locations and species: Lions: Kalahari Desert, Botswana Burrowing owls: Phoenix, Arizona, USA Hippos: Ruaha National Park, Tanzania The African social spider: Tsumeb, Namibia Iberian Lynx: Andalusia, Southern Spain Boxer Crabs: Indonesia and specialist filming tank Filming feats: The African social spider: The first time the full story of Matriphagy in African Social Spiders (where offspring consume their mother - these female spiders are known to vibrate their nests to trigger this process) has been captured in high resolution for a documentary. Burrowing owls: The intimate vocalisations between chicks and their parents inside the den was uniquely recorded by our cameras and supplied to scientists for further research. Hippos: We designed new ways of using Infra-Red technology inside gyro stabilised housing to allow to drive alongside the mother hippos as they journeyed with their calves through the dark. This technological breakthrough gave us unique behavioural footage. Episode Two - Oceans Parenting in the oceans is extremely rare. Most marine animals avoid it altogether, leaving their young to survive on their own. However, those animals that do take on the challenge have some of the most remarkable parenting strategies on Earth. In coral reefs, where space is limited, creatures must be creative to find homes for their young. In Indonesia, a dedicated banggai cardinalfish father overcomes this problem by raising his young inside his mouth, while remarkable dolphin mothers in the Red Sea use the reef to teach their calves games, and then, as they grow, to use the reef to self-medicate. In colder oceans, seaweed serves as the perfect nurseries. The masterful camouflage of the weedy sea dragon in Australia helps a father keep his eggs safe, while the extraordinary skeleton shrimp has to piggyback her young amongst the currents whilst searching for food. A resourceful otter mother in Scotland must find enough fish amongst the seaweed to keep her three kits safe but to do so she leaves them alone for hours at a time, with near- disastrous consequences. Some marine parents use intelligence to adapt. Killer whale mothers in Australia teach their pod to hunt blue whales, a cultural lesson passed down through the generations and key to their future success. Nearby an octopus mother transforms a discarded plastic pipe into a home for her eggs, which she guards relentlessly until they are independent. In South Africa, Cape gannet parents fly hundreds of miles to find food for their growing chick. Yet despite this remarkable parental dedication, their fledglings face great challenges. Their first flight involves dodging hungry fur seals, which now prey on gannet chicks due to depleted fish stocks. Across our planet, humans must play a vital role if ocean parents are to continue to thrive. Filming locations and species: Banggai cardinalfish: Bone Baru, Banggai Indonesia and specialist filming tank Dolphins: The Red Sea, Egypt Common Seadragon or Weedy Seadragon: Melbourne, Australia Skeleton shrimp: Melbourne, Australia and specialist filming tank Killer whales: Bremer, West Australia Octopus: Melbourne, Australia Cape Gannets: Cape Town, South Africa Fur Seals: Cape Town, South Africa Filming feats: Killer whales: The 'practice hunting' behaviour appears to show members of an orca family submerging the head of one individual to prevent it from breathing - the technique used by killer whales to hunt large whales. This practice hunting behaviour has never been filmed before. Episode Three – Grasslands In the open grasslands of our planet, parents must constantly balance risk and reward when raising the next generation. While abundant grass promises plentiful food and places for a family to call home, the exposed landscape brings competition and predators. In England, an ingenious potter wasp takes full advantage of the grassland's bounty; expertly building a clay cradle and stuffing it full of caterpillars for offspring she will never meet. In Kenya's Masai Mara, a cheetah mother uses the open stage to show her cubs the hunting skills they will need as adults. Essential when she needs help tackling a wildebeest calf. But for others, the balance is harder to achieve. In the open plains of the Lower Zambezi, a thirty-strong wild dog pack has all the odds in their favour. But the parents must instil discipline in their inexperienced pups or risk them ruining the hunt. In India, langur mothers must learn to first be good babysitters before taking on the parental role - and for some it doesn't come easy! A changing planet is continually shifting the balance between risk and reward, forcing parents across grasslands to make new and difficult choices. In the Kalahari, sociable weaver birds make the largest nests in the world, shielding their colony from the sun's heat. But an unbearable heatwave causes social order to break down as disgruntled neighbours begin to evict chicks. In Patagonia, a guanaco mother must join thousands of others in trying to reach winter feeding grounds, only to be faced by mile upon mile of fencing. The challenges for animal parents are becoming more intense, but simple solutions from humans can ultimately determine the future and stability of life on our grasslands. Filming locations and species: Potter wasp: Devon, UK Cheetah: Masai Mara, Kenya African wild dogs: Lower Zambezi, Zambia Langur monkey: Jodphur, India Sociable weaver: Benfontein, South Africa San Joaquin Kit foxes: Panoche Valley, California Demoiselle Cranes: Tingtibi, Bhutan Guanaco: Patagonia Santa Cruz, Argentina Filming feats: San Joaquin Kit foxes: The first time San Joaquin Kit foxes have been filmed being predated by Coyotes before - this was done using specialised military Infra-Red technology that allowed the crew to see the drama unfold in the pitch black. Demoiselle Cranes: The first filming of Demoiselle Cranes defending their chicks from livestock encroachment - a consequence of human-wildlife conflict and resource sharing. Sociable weavers: The first time Sociable weavers have been filmed exhibiting infanticide. Episode Four – Freshwater All life needs water to live. Yet water itself is not constantly available, and animal parents must relentlessly adapt to this challenge. Dedication, perseverance and sheer bravery are key to success in the Freshwater world. In the Brazilian Amazon, thousands of turtle parents must predict the timings of the seasonal rains before laying their eggs. If they get it wrong, their hatchlings will drown underground, but if they get it right, it is the beginning of one of Earth's greatest spectacles as thousands of baby turtles follow their mothers calls into the water. In Namibia, waterholes provide a reliable resource for a desert-dwelling Namaqua sandgrouse father. But he must pick his moment wisely when collecting water for his chicks. One second out, and he will end up in the claws of a raptor. Some animal parents try to use the power of water to their advantage. In a Caribbean river, a tri tri goby harnesses the currents to oxygenate his eggs. But before they can even be laid, a once-in-a-lifetime storm sweeps him and everything he's built downstream. He must climb one thousand feet of waterfalls to get another chance at parenthood. In the swamplands of Florida, a clever swamp canary parent uses the power of snacks to entice its young hatchlings from the jaws of danger, with only moments to spare. For some, the search for water can feel never ending. In drought-ridden Kenya, an elephant matriarch and her family must share the remaining water with humans until finally the rains come. When they do, the power of water threatens to turn deadly. As the climate shifts, freshwater is becoming harder to predict. Humans and wildlife are adapting to changing freshwater patterns, but we can choose to give the next generation a future with more reliable freshwater. Filming locations and species: Turtles: Guapore, Brazil Namaqua sandgrouse: Damaraland, Namibia Tri Tri Goby fish: Trafalgar, Dominica Swamp canary: Lake Marion, South Carolina Pheasant-Tailed Jacana: Khon Kaen, Thailand Elephants: Samburu, Kenya Filming feats: Tri Tri Goby fish: First time a Tri Tri Goby fish has been filmed transferring rocks to build a nest tunnel for his young. Swamp canary: This species has never been filmed for broadcast and the first-time chicks fledging into water and being coaxed up the tree trunk by it's parent has been filmed for a documentary. Pheasant-Tailed Jacana: This species has not been filmed before, and its egg rolling and the consequences of caterpillar infestation on its breeding sites has not been documented before. Episode Five – Jungles Raising young in the complex world of jungles takes ingenuity. Parents must become masters of their environment, learning to exploit all opportunities if they are to secure the future of the next generation. In remote Bhutan a pair of rufous necked hornbills have a lifelong partnership built on trust and dedication - the mother is imprisoned for a hundred days inside a tree, relying on her male to support his family. Meanwhile, in Sri Lanka, a plucky pug-nosed frog shares his home with a huge venomous tarantula. This unlikely duo makes a great team - the tarantula acts as a live in bodyguard, and the diminutive frog stays home to keep their shared home clean. In Jamaica, an ingenious crab mother works tirelessly to raise her brood of minuscule crablets. With scientific precision, she uses what is available in the forest to create the perfect conditions for her nursery pool. Elsewhere some jungle parents need space to roam - and some are forced to adapt when their habitat changes around them. 'Crinkle', a cassowary father in Australia, navigates his chicks through new dangers in the oldest rainforest in the world. In the Amazon, forest fires force a tapir mother to seek a new territory where she can find vital life-giving minerals, and in China white-headed langurs cling on at the edge of existence. Their limestone pinnacles are surrounded by farmland, and they need to fight for what's left to ensure a safe place for their young. Remarkably, in all of our jungles, new science shows ancient 'mother trees' providing not only for their own offspring, but also for countless other rainforest families, from the tops of the canopy right down into the leaf litter. Their influence may be the key to all of our survival. Filming locations and species: Rufous necked hornbill: Zhemgang region, Bhutan Pug-nosed frog: Kitulgala, Sri Lanka Fringed ornamental Tiger Spider: Kitulgala Sri Lanka Bromeliad Crab: Montego Bay, Jamaica Cassowary: Daintree, Queensland, Australia Tapir: Cristalino, Brazil White-headed langur: Guangxi Province, China Orangutan: Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia Filming feats: Rufous necked hornbill: The first time a Rufous necked hornbill chick rearing in a nest has been filmed for a documentary. Tapir: This is the first time the nighttime behaviours around clay licks have been filmed using thermal imaging. New Technology For the Hippos in episode one, the team incorporated a military grade Infra-Red camera into gyro-stabilised housing to allow to drive alongside the mother hippos as they took their calves on a nightly journey though the dark, dense bush to find fresh grass. Trailing them were lion prides who preyed on the fact the mothers and their young were away from water. This was a big breakthrough as the team would never have captured this without the ability to see in the dark and move the camera at the same time. Specialised underwater gimbals and tow cameras were used to bring cameras alongside hunting orcas underwater - this technology allowed the crew to travel at the same speed as the Orca hunting pack and provided new insights into their behaviour. Specialised IR cameras were used in Arizona to capture new behaviours with the endangered San Joaquin Kit Fox as well as in the remote Brazilian Amazon to capture feeding behaviours of Tapir's at secret clay licks in the forest. A specialised camera buggy was used to enter into a secret barn in Spain where multiple generations of endangered Iberian Lynx were known to breed and raise their young. This non-intrusive way of filming gave the team unique insights into their family behaviours that would otherwise have been impossible. Series Credits Parenthood (5x60) for BBC One and iPlayer was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual and it is being produced by multiple BAFTA and Emmy Award winning Silverback Films. The Series Producer and Director is Jeff Wilson, the Executive Producer is Keith Scholey and the Line Producer is Tara Knowles. The BBC Commissioning Editor is Sreya Biswas, Head of Natural History. Music Information The score is composed by Tom Howe (Ted Lasso, Mulan) with 'Go Steady' song co-written with Sam Ryder and Max Wolfgang and performed by Sam Ryder. Follow for more
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The extreme lengths parents go to in the natural world, according to Sir David Attenborough
The parents' story in the natural world has often been overshadowed by the cute and adorable offspring they produce. Yet, if you look a little deeper, the true revelations, drama and intriguing science lies with those with the ultimate responsibility – the parents. Over the course of three years, our teams found a deep well of fascinating new stories to be told about animal parenting. It took us to 23 countries across six continents, from the remote forests of Bhutan, to the gorgeous heathlands of Devon, to the wide open grasslands of Botswana. It is a subject matter that requires the very highest standards of wildlife filmmaking – rigorous science, meticulous planning, ingenious cinematography, and experienced field craft – as we set out to capture the extremely sensitive and private relationships between parents and offspring. And, of course, when all of that is in place, a passion for the serendipitous magic that the natural world can throw up at any moment. The resulting footage was astounding, both in the dramatic stakes of the parenting journey, but also the new insights into behaviour that our teams across the world captured. Most surprising of all, though, was recognising many of the same dilemmas that we, as parents ourselves, have to deal with on a daily basis. Are we providing enough food? Is the home environment we build good enough? How can so much excrement come out of such a small body? (Amazingly, Swamp Canary chicks pre-package their poo into bags for their parents to remove from the nest.) And how do we prepare our offspring for an unpredictable future? As ever, there are important lessons to be found in the world around us, if you look hard enough. When we asked Sir David Attenborough to lend his expertise and guiding voice to our series, he was delighted to be involved, having worked closely with us at Silverback Films on previous series for the BBC, The Hunt and The Mating Game. As always, his storytelling guidance, his knowledge of the natural world and his unique turn of phrase brought our footage to life, and his delivery of our revelatory story on spider matriphagy – in which a spider mother makes the ultimate commitment by sacrificing herself to her hungry spiderlings – is perhaps the best I've heard in the 25 years I've been working with him. And we didn't need to scrimp on the cute and adorable offspring after all. They just became supporting characters to the real masters of life's destiny: the parents. The animal kingdom guide to parenting San Joaquin kit fox A mother San Joaquin kit fox has an incredibly tough job – in the grasslands of California, she has to be both a tireless provider of food and a vigilant protector of her boisterous and growing kits. Her highly developed sense of hearing and smell help keep her aware of her environment, but in the year we filmed there, unusually heavy rains made her desert home into a sea of grass – and for an animal the size of a house cat, that makes parenting especially difficult. As soon as darkness fell, predatory coyotes were drawn in by the sound of her young, and the mother was left with a dilemma – continue to hunt kangaroo rats to keep her babies well fed, or stand guard by their den and keep them all safe. We were able to capture the unfolding drama using highly specialised military-grade heat-sensitive cameras. Western lowland gorilla The team were reliant on the expertise of Gabonese trackers working as part of a long-term study for the Max Planck Institute to get up close and personal with these incredibly special apes. We wanted to tell the story behind the choices a mother gorilla makes once she has raised her offspring to the point where they can survive on their own – in that two to three years, her situation may well have changed. The current dominant silverback of the group may well not be the best choice as a father for her future offspring and to assess this, she scrutinises his health, his territory, and his ability to provide protection. If he doesn't meet the criteria, she may well ditch him for a better option. It is an oft overlooked part of the parenthood story in the natural world, and our expert team worked hard to gain the gorillas ' confidence to illustrate their lives. African elephant Elephant matriarchs are well known for their incredible parenting knowledge, developed over many years – there isn't much a mature elephant female hasn't seen or known how to solve. However, during our filming time in Samburu, Kenya, an extended drought was forcing the elephants there to share the limited water with the people living nearby, who were also under pressure from the drought. As if that resource sharing wasn't stressful enough, these droughts have often been followed by unpredictably heavy rainfalls resulting in flash floods. It leaves even the most experienced elephant mothers with some tough choices – how do you provide your family with enough water, and how do you know when to treat that same water with caution, as it has the power to sweep a young elephant calf away? Amazonian tapir In order to prepare her offspring for independence, a mother tapir has to show them all the available resources they will need to survive. On top of the countless plant species that make up their diet, she must also lead her calf to the clay licks [where animals gather to eat] located within their rainforest home. The clay helps offset the toxins within many rainforest plants, and it will be vital for the calf to know where and how to find them. Our team worked with a fantastic Brazilian camera team to stake out these clay licks with thermal cameras and a network of camera traps to capture the special moments when a mother leads her calf to this life-giving remedy. Orangutan Orangutans invest a huge amount of time into preparing their young for independence – almost a decade. Where we filmed, deep in the jungles of Borneo, the abundance and whereabouts of the best food changes year on year, and a mother orangutan must teach her young where and how to find it. And it's not just food, but know-how too – and to see a young orangutan learning how to make his own bed by copying his mother has to be one of the highlights of the series. The mother selects larger sticks to build a stable mattress, and smaller sticks to form the rim; she even chooses leafier branches for the pillow, and she does this every day. Pheasant-tailed jacana Often in wildlife filming the story you come home with is more interesting than the story you set out to film. In Thailand, we knew the parental commitment shown by pheasant-tailed jacana fathers was a good story – but what we hadn't expected, and what the jacanas we were filming certainly hadn't prepared for, was a caterpillar infestation that devastated the lilly pads that the jacanas needed to raise and protect their young chicks. What started as a simple story about the complexity of raising a family who can't swim or fly on the surface of a lake, turned into a Cormac McCarthy -esque epic journey out of the aftermath of Armageddon to find a suitable home for the family. We have a mantra – always be open-eyed to the serendipity of the natural world – and there are dramas even the best planned script could never predict. African social spider This story, which has never been filmed before in full, has to be one of the most extraordinary examples of animal behaviour I've ever seen. African social spiders live in large sprawling nests of up to 50 adult sisters, who hunt together within the nests, emerging en masse to engulf prey insects that become trapped. Each female will lay up to 50 eggs, and when the eggs hatch, the mother spider begins to feed her spiderlings with regurgitated 'milk' made from decomposing her own insides. As the spiderlings grow in size, they become more and more voracious and soon become large enough to take on solid prey. Within a few weeks however, between the resident sisters there are too many spiderlings, and not enough food to go around. This is when their mothers do something extraordinary – their movements become more and more laboured, and their struggling appears to mimic the vibration of a distressed prey insect. These vibrations are picked up by their own spiderlings, who descend on their mother's dinner table one last time – only this time, their mother is the main course. To witness this sacrifice on location in Namibia, and to work out how to film it, was one of the most extraordinary challenges I've come across in 25 years of making wildlife films. Burrowing owl Quite possibly the most charming bird on the planet, burrowing owl parents work around the clock for the brood. They first scout a suitable home underground (hence their name) to lay their eggs and, once agreed upon, they form a formidable team to first incubate and then feed their chicks over the course of several weeks. It's a 24-hour job, and the larger the chicks become, the harder work it is to find enough snacks to keep them satisfied – what parent doesn't recognise that pressure? As they spend longer and longer away from the burrow, their chicks become exposed to predation pressure, and we witnessed and filmed wily road runners constantly trying to find opportunities to grab young owl chicks. Ingeniously, the chicks have evolved an alarm response to intruders that sounds exactly like the warning rattle of a rattlesnake. Its effective for most mammals – in this case, however, rattlesnakes are one of the preferred prey of the road runner, which further endangers the chicks! Cheetah Cheetahs, though extraordinary predators, have a lot to contend with as parents. As one of the smaller cats in the Maasai Mara, their kittens are extremely exposed to larger predators like lions and hyenas, so their mother is in a race against time to feed them up to get them large enough to fend for themselves. Harder still is to expose them to the correct hunting techniques and situations so they can learn through their own mistakes. In the time we spent with this fantastic cheetah mother, one could feel the pressure and frustration at trying to get her teenage kittens to become better hunters. Remarkably, she provided them a young Thompson's gazelle for practice – a low-risk prey item on which to literally cut their teeth. It's an extraordinary parental commitment to witness. Banggai cardinalfish One for the fathers out there – left to fend for his fertilised eggs brood, a Banggai cardinalfish father decided the best way to look after his precious cargo is to house them inside his mouth. This 'mouth brooding' father keeps them safe until they hatch within his mouth, at which point he then needs to deposit them in a safe part of their reef ecosystem – one which has few predators, plenty of cover, and little competition. It's no easy job, as a busy reef is dangerous for both him and his fry. Potter wasp No internationally filmed major wildlife series would be complete without an extraordinary British species whose behaviour is equally deserved of celebration – and the potter wasp is no exception. Filmed on the heathlands of Devon with the help of an equally fantastic scientist John Walters, the sequence shows the exceptional devotion and skill that a female potter wasp undergoes to first craft a clay pot for her single egg, before stuffing it full of juicy caterpillars – a larder for her unborn offspring. Over the course of a few weeks, she builds up to 25 of these pots, each a loving commitment to her future young. It's her life's work. She will die before her young emerge from their mother's pot the following spring. It's an extraordinarily beautiful sequence.
The National
21-07-2025
- Business
- The National
How the Gulf could emerge as a global hub for wellness travel
The travel industry is undergoing a profound transformation. What was once a sector dominated by leisure, sightseeing and business conferences is now being reshaped by a more purposeful motivation: wellness. According to the Global Wellness Institute, wellness tourism is set to more than double in value from $651 billion in 2022 to a projected $1.4 trillion by 2027, growing at a compound annual rate of 16.6 per cent. This is not a passing fad – it is a structural shift that signals how we, as a society, are redefining the value of travel. At its core, wellness tourism is the intersection of travel and self-care. It spans far more than detox retreats or luxury spa getaways. Today's wellness-seeking traveller is just as likely to be on a silent meditation retreat in Bhutan, as attending a biohacking clinic in Switzerland or participating in a movement-based therapy programme on the beaches of Oman. The motivations are varied and include mental resilience, physical renewal as well as emotional healing – but the economic impact is universally clear: wellness is now a defining force in global tourism. This trend has been accelerated by several macro forces. First, the long tail of the Covid-19 pandemic has left a deep psychological imprint. The isolation, disruption and stress of those years have triggered a mass re-evaluation of lifestyle choices. Consumers are now allocating time and money towards experiences that offer restoration – not just recreation. Second, demographic shifts are at play. Millennial and Gen Z travellers, who now form the bulk of global travel demand, prioritise holistic well-being as a central part of their identity. This is the first generation for whom vacationing and healing are not mutually exclusive. Finally, digitalisation has enabled travellers to discover, plan and access highly personalised wellness experiences at scale. The Middle East, and the Gulf in particular, is uniquely positioned to benefit from this surge. The region has invested heavily in high-end hospitality infrastructure, but until recently, much of this was aimed at luxury leisure and business travel. The wellness economy presents a compelling adjacent growth opportunity. Destinations like AlUla in Saudi Arabia, the Hatta Mountains in the UAE and Oman's Dhofar coast offer natural settings that are ideally suited for immersive wellness experiences. Coupled with strong air connectivity, an increasingly diversified hospitality sector and supportive policy environments, the Gulf could emerge as a global hub for wellness travel. But capturing this opportunity will require more than beautiful resorts and Instagrammable yoga decks. The winners in this space will be those who take a systems-level view. First, cross-sector collaboration is key – linking tourism boards, healthcare providers, tech firms and the hospitality sector to create integrated offerings. Second, data and personalisation will be critical. Wellness is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Travellers expect experiences tailored to their biometric data, lifestyle habits and cultural context. Third, credibility matters. As wellness tourism grows, so too does scrutiny. Governments and operators must ensure that standards are rigorous, claims are evidence-based and that wellness does not become an empty marketing slogan. At its core, wellness tourism is the intersection of travel and self-care There are also implications for the workforce. Wellness tourism demands a new breed of professionals – holistic health practitioners, mindfulness coaches, fitness experts and traditional medicine therapists – all of whom must be trained, accredited and fairly compensated. This presents an opportunity for regional economies to invest in human capital, diversify employment and foster innovation within the broader health and hospitality ecosystem. From an investor's perspective, the sector's performance is increasingly compelling. Studies have shown that wellness travellers typically spend 35-45 per cent more than the average international tourist. And unlike mass-market tourism, wellness offerings tend to be high-margin, low-volume and less seasonally volatile – an attractive proposition for developers, sovereign wealth funds and private equity alike. What's more, wellness tourism aligns closely with the rising demand for ESG-aligned investments. Sustainable resort developments, nature-based retreats and culturally rooted healing traditions offer not only strong financial returns but also measurable social impact. As institutional investors look to diversify their portfolios with purpose-driven assets, wellness tourism presents a rare confluence of profitability, resilience and long-term relevance. In a fragmented and volatile world, people are searching for meaning, balance and connection. Wellness tourism is not just a product category; it is a reflection of deeper societal desires. For the Gulf, this is a chance not only to capture economic value but to shape the global narrative around what purposeful travel looks like in the 21st century. The destinations that embrace this shift – with authenticity, strategy and bold investment – won't just attract travellers. They will build ecosystems of health, resilience and renewal that transcend tourism altogether.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Forced from Bhutan, deported by the US: these stateless Himalayan people are in a unique limbo
More than two dozen refugees from Bhutan have been left in a unique legal limbo after they were deported by the US back to the tiny Himalayan nation they once fled – only for it to reject them a second time. The refugees are Lhotshampa, a Nepali-speaking ethnic minority who were expelled from Bhutan in the 1990s. After decades in refugee camps in eastern Nepal, more than 100,000 of them were legally resettled in the US, Australia, Canada and other countries under a UN-led program that began in 2007. Until very recently, the US had not deported a single person to Bhutan in years, according to data from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), because the Bhutanese government was unwilling to repatriate its refugees, who were stripped of their citizenship when they fled. But since March, more than two dozen Lhotshampa have been deported from the US back to Bhutan – though the country is still refusing to take them in, according to several deportees, advocates and the Nepali government. Many have ended up back in the same Nepal refugee camps where as children they dreamed of a better life abroad. Ramesh Sanyasi, 24, was born in a refugee camp and migrated to the US when he was 10 years old with his parents and older sister. Sanyasi was living in Pennsylvania, a hub for refugees from Bhutan, and working in an Amazon warehouse until last year, when he said he was arrested while borrowing his friend's car during a night out. Sanyasi was convicted of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and handing false ID to law enforcement, court records show. In April of this year, after spending eight months in jail, Sanyasi said he was put on a one-way flight to New Delhi, India, then to Paro, Bhutan. When he arrived in Bhutan, he said, local authorities took him and two other refugees to the border with India, where they paid someone to take the men to Panitanki, a town on the India-Nepal border, giving the deportees 30,000 Indian rupees (about $350) each. Sanyasi said he and the other deportees paid someone to smuggle them across the Mechi River into Nepal. 'Life here is tough. I'm living without any identification documents, which makes everything challenging. I can't even withdraw money sent by relatives because I lack proper ID,' Sanyasi told CNN in an interview from Beldangi refugee camp, where he is now staying. 'My days are spent idly, with no clear purpose or direction,' Sanyasi said. 'For now, I'm surviving on money sent from the US, but once that runs out, I don't know what will happen.' His sister, mother and father all remain in the US. Sanyasi and the other deportees were not undocumented and came to the US legally. Most – if not all – have been convicted of crimes of varying severity, though many served their full sentences before being deported. Under US law, non-citizens can lose their visas if convicted of certain crimes. They now find themselves in an extraordinary diplomatic gray zone, with no documentation for either the US, Bhutan or Nepal, where many are currently residing. Gopal Krishna Siwakoti, Nepal-based president of the International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development, estimates 30 people have been deported by the US to Bhutan so far, while at least two dozen more are in detention facilities awaiting deportation. All the refugees deported to Bhutan were expelled to India once they arrived, Siwakoti said. Most of them made their way to Nepal, though some are still in India. Many are in hiding, he said. Four of the US deportees have now been ordered deported by a second country, after they were arrested and briefly detained by the Nepali government for crossing the border illegally. However, Tikaram Dhakal, the director of Nepal's Department of Immigration, told CNN it has nowhere to deport these people. 'We are in a dilemma: the US is unlikely to accept them back, and deporting them to Bhutan is not straightforward either.' Nowhere to go Bhutan, a small Buddhist kingdom of roughly 800,000 nestled between India and Tibet in the Himalayas, is often revered for its sustainable approach to tourism and national happiness index, but it has a dark history of crackdowns on ethnic minorities. In the late 1970s, the government of Bhutan began cracking down on ethnic Nepalis who had migrated to southern Bhutan in the 19th century, introducing a series of discriminatory policies designed to exclude Lhotshampa. From 1989, the government pushed the 'Bhutanization' of the country by enforcing a dress code and banning the Nepali language, aggressively clamping down on anyone who resisted. Faced with abuse, threats and coercion, the Lhotshampa fled. It has long been a bedrock of US and international law not to send someone to a country where they could face persecution. But the administration of US President Donald Trump has increasingly deported people to states with grave human rights records, such as Libya and South Sudan. Siwakoti said it was a 'mistake on the part of the US government' to deport the Lhotshampa back to Bhutan, 'because these people don't have a country.' 'These people's belonging, their existence, their ownership of the country, was completely written off – formally, legally – by the Royal Government of Bhutan,' Siwakoti said. 'They became completely stateless.' Bhutan has refused to receive Lhotshampa refugees. But during Trump's presidency, countries that have historically accepted few – if any – deportees from the US are now opening their doors, under pressure of sanctions and tariffs. Bhutan was initially included in a draft 'red' list prepared by US diplomatic and security officials of 11 countries whose citizens would be barred from entering the US, which was published in March by The New York Times. But when the final list of 19 countries targeted for full or partial travel bans was released in June, Bhutan was not included. The first deportation flight from the US to Bhutan was at the end of March. Siwakoti said he believes Bhutan accepted the deportees to appease the US, but never intended to let them stay. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions from CNN. A US State Department spokesperson said it would not discuss its diplomatic communications with other governments. 'Foreign governments will make decisions regarding the immigration status of aliens removed from the United States in accordance with their respective domestic laws and international obligations,' the spokesperson said. CNN was unable to reach Bhutan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment. The Consulate of Bhutan in New York did not respond to an email request from CNN. Dhakal, the Nepali government official, said Nepal cannot accept the refugees and is currently in discussions with the US government to come up with a solution. 'Family separation is not a solution' The Beldangi camp looks different from when Ashish Subedi last lived here a decade ago. There is electricity; his father's bamboo hut is now fortified with metal; and running water comes from a tap, rather than a well. Dogs, cows and chickens roam the dusty roads. Subedi never imagined he would be back here, in the same place where he and his family took refuge years ago. Subedi was convicted of a felony sexual offense in Ohio in 2022, according to court records, and served his two-year sentence before he was deported back to Bhutan in March. He is among the deportees who were arrested by Nepali authorities, though they were eventually released from detention after Subedi's father filed a habeas corpus petition with Nepal's Supreme Court. Without travel documents, it is unlikely he and the others will be expelled from Nepal anytime soon. In the meantime, the government is not permitting them to leave the refugee camps. 'We are living in darkness, with no clear path forward,' Subedi told CNN. 'The lack of documentation and restricted movement make it nearly impossible to rebuild our lives. We feel trapped, with limited options and a constant sense of insecurity.' Subedi said he hopes to return to the US, where his wife and 3-year-old daughter still live. 'Being sent back to Bhutan is not an option for us – it would likely mean imprisonment,' he said. Back in the US, the recent deportations have sent shock waves through communities of Bhutanese refugees. Tilak Niroula, a refugee and community leader in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said Bhutanese refugees have embraced life in the US and laid down roots there. 'Since we were forcefully evicted from Bhutan, and we do not have a country to call home, we call this country, the US, our home,' he said. Niroula said he and other advocates want anyone who commits a crime to face justice – but insists deportation isn't the answer. 'If somebody got involved in any kind of criminal activities, we do have a due process,' he said. 'Family separation is not a solution.' Solve the daily Crossword
CNN
19-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Forced from Bhutan, deported by the US: these stateless Himalayan people are in a unique limbo
More than two dozen refugees from Bhutan have been left in a unique legal limbo after they were deported by the US back to the tiny Himalayan nation they once fled – only for it to reject them a second time. The refugees are Lhotshampa, a Nepali-speaking ethnic minority who were expelled from Bhutan in the 1990s. After decades in refugee camps in eastern Nepal, more than 100,000 of them were legally resettled in the US, Australia, Canada and other countries under a UN-led program that began in 2007. Until very recently, the US had not deported a single person to Bhutan in years, according to data from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), because the Bhutanese government was unwilling to repatriate its refugees, who were stripped of their citizenship when they fled. But since March, more than two dozen Lhotshampa have been deported from the US back to Bhutan – though the country is still refusing to take them in, according to several deportees, advocates and the Nepali government. Many have ended up back in the same Nepal refugee camps where as children they dreamed of a better life abroad. Ramesh Sanyasi, 24, was born in a refugee camp and migrated to the US when he was 10 years old with his parents and older sister. Sanyasi was living in Pennsylvania, a hub for refugees from Bhutan, and working in an Amazon warehouse until last year, when he said he was arrested while borrowing his friend's car during a night out. Sanyasi was convicted of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and handing false ID to law enforcement, court records show. In April of this year, after spending eight months in jail, Sanyasi said he was put on a one-way flight to New Delhi, India, then to Paro, Bhutan. When he arrived in Bhutan, he said, local authorities took him and two other refugees to the border with India, where they paid someone to take the men to Panitanki, a town on the India-Nepal border, giving the deportees 30,000 Indian rupees (about $350) each. Sanyasi said he and the other deportees paid someone to smuggle them across the Mechi River into Nepal. 'Life here is tough. I'm living without any identification documents, which makes everything challenging. I can't even withdraw money sent by relatives because I lack proper ID,' Sanyasi told CNN in an interview from Beldangi refugee camp, where he is now staying. 'My days are spent idly, with no clear purpose or direction,' Sanyasi said. 'For now, I'm surviving on money sent from the US, but once that runs out, I don't know what will happen.' His sister, mother and father all remain in the US. Sanyasi and the other deportees were not undocumented and came to the US legally. Most – if not all – have been convicted of crimes of varying severity, though many served their full sentences before being deported. Under US law, non-citizens can lose their visas if convicted of certain crimes. They now find themselves in an extraordinary diplomatic gray zone, with no documentation for either the US, Bhutan or Nepal, where many are currently residing. Gopal Krishna Siwakoti, Nepal-based president of the International Institute for Human Rights, Environment and Development, estimates 30 people have been deported by the US to Bhutan so far, while at least two dozen more are in detention facilities awaiting deportation. All the refugees deported to Bhutan were expelled to India once they arrived, Siwakoti said. Most of them made their way to Nepal, though some are still in India. Many are in hiding, he said. Four of the US deportees have now been ordered deported by a second country, after they were arrested and briefly detained by the Nepali government for crossing the border illegally. However, Tikaram Dhakal, the director of Nepal's Department of Immigration, told CNN it has nowhere to deport these people. 'We are in a dilemma: the US is unlikely to accept them back, and deporting them to Bhutan is not straightforward either.' Bhutan, a small Buddhist kingdom of roughly 800,000 nestled between India and Tibet in the Himalayas, is often revered for its sustainable approach to tourism and national happiness index, but it has a dark history of crackdowns on ethnic minorities. In the late 1970s, the government of Bhutan began cracking down on ethnic Nepalis who had migrated to southern Bhutan in the 19th century, introducing a series of discriminatory policies designed to exclude Lhotshampa. From 1989, the government pushed the 'Bhutanization' of the country by enforcing a dress code and banning the Nepali language, aggressively clamping down on anyone who resisted. Faced with abuse, threats and coercion, the Lhotshampa fled. It has long been a bedrock of US and international law not to send someone to a country where they could face persecution. But the administration of US President Donald Trump has increasingly deported people to states with grave human rights records, such as Libya and South Sudan. Siwakoti said it was a 'mistake on the part of the US government' to deport the Lhotshampa back to Bhutan, 'because these people don't have a country.' 'These people's belonging, their existence, their ownership of the country, was completely written off – formally, legally – by the Royal Government of Bhutan,' Siwakoti said. 'They became completely stateless.' Bhutan has refused to receive Lhotshampa refugees. But during Trump's presidency, countries that have historically accepted few – if any – deportees from the US are now opening their doors, under pressure of sanctions and tariffs. Bhutan was initially included in a draft 'red' list prepared by US diplomatic and security officials of 11 countries whose citizens would be barred from entering the US, which was published in March by The New York Times. But when the final list of 19 countries targeted for full or partial travel bans was released in June, Bhutan was not included. The first deportation flight from the US to Bhutan was at the end of March. Siwakoti said he believes Bhutan accepted the deportees to appease the US, but never intended to let them stay. ICE and the Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions from CNN. A US State Department spokesperson said it would not discuss its diplomatic communications with other governments. 'Foreign governments will make decisions regarding the immigration status of aliens removed from the United States in accordance with their respective domestic laws and international obligations,' the spokesperson said. CNN was unable to reach Bhutan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment. The Consulate of Bhutan in New York did not respond to an email request from CNN. Dhakal, the Nepali government official, said Nepal cannot accept the refugees and is currently in discussions with the US government to come up with a solution. The Beldangi camp looks different from when Ashish Subedi last lived here a decade ago. There is electricity; his father's bamboo hut is now fortified with metal; and running water comes from a tap, rather than a well. Dogs, cows and chickens roam the dusty roads. Subedi never imagined he would be back here, in the same place where he and his family took refuge years ago. Subedi was convicted of a felony sexual offense in Ohio in 2022, according to court records, and served his two-year sentence before he was deported back to Bhutan in March. He is among the deportees who were arrested by Nepali authorities, though they were eventually released from detention after Subedi's father filed a habeas corpus petition with Nepal's Supreme Court. Without travel documents, it is unlikely he and the others will be expelled from Nepal anytime soon. In the meantime, the government is not permitting them to leave the refugee camps. 'We are living in darkness, with no clear path forward,' Subedi told CNN. 'The lack of documentation and restricted movement make it nearly impossible to rebuild our lives. We feel trapped, with limited options and a constant sense of insecurity.' Subedi said he hopes to return to the US, where his wife and 3-year-old daughter still live. 'Being sent back to Bhutan is not an option for us – it would likely mean imprisonment,' he said. Back in the US, the recent deportations have sent shock waves through communities of Bhutanese refugees. Tilak Niroula, a refugee and community leader in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, said Bhutanese refugees have embraced life in the US and laid down roots there. 'Since we were forcefully evicted from Bhutan, and we do not have a country to call home, we call this country, the US, our home,' he said. Niroula said he and other advocates want anyone who commits a crime to face justice – but insists deportation isn't the answer. 'If somebody got involved in any kind of criminal activities, we do have a due process,' he said. 'Family separation is not a solution.'
