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Gibbons

Agent – Bryony
AKA – Bryony
Age – 12
Destination – Khao Yai, Thailand
Mission – Track gibbons and set up a tree platform to film them

Bryony is given the task of testing out a new filming platform to report back to the Life team. Her head for heights is put on trial when she finds out she is off to Thailand to track and film gibbons in the giant rainforest trees. Scaling the dizzy heights to film gibbons swinging through the jungle canopy she uncovers some harsh realities on a visit to the local gibbon sanctuary.

How has your experience reporting for Inside Life changed you?
It was my first time in front of real television cameras and I really enjoyed working with the camera crew. I was reminded just how important team work is, and the experience also made me more patient, as I had to repeat things for the camera just to make sure everything was perfect. I discovered just how hard it really is to work in TV, but it definitely has not put me off!

What was your scariest moment?
I don't get scared of very much, but I have to say that the first time I climbed a tree (in Bristol) and reached the top, it truly was frightening. Surprisingly, even though the trees in Thailand were higher I was less scared climbing. I had great trust in Tim and Pam (production team), so found the whole thing much less scary! As for the animals, none of them scared me, not even the tiger that had been trapped in a cage all its life, you would think it would have scared me going so close up to it, but you could see that it was really very friendly.

What was your most exciting moment?
Definitely revealing the banner with my overseas mission. I had absolutely no clue what was coming and the moment I read it my heart literally skipped a beat! When I climbed the tree in Thailand and saw (even after all those weeks that the camera crew had been out there and got no footage) a family of gibbons, which was what (after all), the whole experience was for.

Tell us the most interesting fact you learnt?
It wasn't very nice but the most interesting thing that I learnt was about the poaching of gibbons and wild animals for food or money. It was horrible to see just how bad things were, especially the bad treatment of animals that were really gentle and wouldn't hurt a fly. It was definitely interesting, just not very nice.