Documentary by working professionals to demystify reptiles, amphibians

A group of working professionals from the city has undertaken a documentary project to create awareness on the conservation of reptiles and amphibians. These wildlife enthusiasts are known as ‘The Green Hoppers.’

The project titled ‘Little Planet - Tale of The Lesser Known’ aims to get a clear picture about reptiles and amphibians and make citizens aware of their existence and contribution towards conservation. 

The documentary is being shot in the Western Ghats and the Sharavathi Wildlife Sanctuary, besides Kudremukh, Agumbe and Kodagu over the last eight months.

Suhas Premkumar, wildlife photographer and certified naturalist from the Forest department, conceptualised the project four years ago. He says people have misconceptions about reptiles and consider them a taboo.

Premkumar said, “This project is about the lesser known, highly misunderstood and yet the most important creatures of the planet - reptiles and amphibians. These creatures are indicators of a healthy ecosystem and play a remarkable role in balancing the ecology.”

‘The Green Hoppers’ have finished 40% of the shooting and plan to have the first screening by October, 2017. They aim to cover all the seasons - winter, spring, summer, autumn - and capture the transformation of reptiles and amphibians in each of the seasons.

Some of the challenges faced by the group are finding the species, getting their natural behaviour captured ethically without disturbing them and handling the camera equipment during heavy rain.

“It consumes time to obtain permission from government officials,” said Skanda Kumar G K, another member of the group. The project is also delayed as they go to shoot only when they have leisure from work.

The group is currently looking to organise crowdfunding of the film for which it has joined hands with a start-up.

“We have currently put the project on hold due to lack of funds. The shoot will resume only after we get funds,” Kumar said.

The other members involved in this project are Ganesh Reddy R, Manjunath Muniyarrappa, Shishir Hemanth and Sneha Kumari.

A teaser has been launched by the group on https://zingohub.com/en-IN/thegreenhoppers/the-little-planet.