A man who wears many hats, Jeff Corwin is an entertainer, conservationist, author and has even made it to People Magazine’s ‘50 Most Beautiful People’ list. An Emmy award winner, he is best recognised as the host of, The Jeff Corwin Experience on Animal Planet. He answered some questions about his latest journey into the wild— into Alaska.

Tell us about your eight-part series, 'Into Alaska with Jeff Corwin'...

Alaska is the last great frontier in North America. It is the last great vast stretch of wilderness. Alaska is just a place of incredible wilderness, incredible wildlife. The wildlife and habitat is diverse, which provides a unique and rare opportunity for adventure and discovery.

When we were there for this trip, it was less about field research and more about adventure and more about showing our audience the diversity of Alaska. It was really designed to not only take the audience on an incredible journey, to give them adventure and to see really cool animals and also talk about conservation, but it was more about giving them ideas for things that they could do in their lives for exploration. It’s really an appetiser to get people up and out and exploring. It was really an opportunity to highlight, again, the last great frontier. 

In Alaska our vision was more about focusing on Alaska itself where we put the viewer on really a once in a lifetime journey from climbing the tallest mountain to Denali National Park, to sailing to the coastline and going down glaciers.  

Have you been to Alaska before? What changes have you seen in the landscape after global warming became a palpable phenomenon?

I have been to Alaska many times before, but I never had the opportunity to spend a whole year up here. We have seen a little bit of change in Alaska. We have seen a decrease in glaciers.  We’ve seen a change in the forest type of— what you call tundra, which is this vast, open grass. What they’re discovering in Alaska is that the permafrost is melting underneath it.  This is a layer of frozen ice, about two feet deep. What they’re discovering is that it’s giving way and the tundra is collapsing. Also there is this vegetation growing up there that traditionally wouldn’t grow up there because it wouldn’t have the opportunity for the heat. Unfortunately, we have noticed changes.  

Animals have changed because of climate change. We see caribou populations have changed, migratory birds have been impacted because they migrate up to Alaska. They get up there and the insects were there because the birds are migrating on a light cycle. The insects activate on a heat cycle. So the insects wake up earlier because spring came earlier, but the birds don’t know that. That impacts birds around the world. So Alaska, despite its power, its majestic nature, its ancientness, there is a vulnerability to it.  

Any plans for a series in India?

I have done a couple of shows in India. One of my great memories is being in Ranthambore and seeing the old ancient baths and then going up to the hilltop and then seeing a wild tiger stalk a sambar deer. Or going to Battis Shirala and experiencing the snake festival Naag Panchmi there and seeing how this ancient traditional festival is still celebrated and taken seriously well into the 21st century.  

Which is the most exciting place you have been to and why?

Well, I’ll tell you, I did love Alaska and Alaska is a place that I really enjoyed exploring.  I’d say probably my three most favourite places are— actually, probably four. One would be Alaska. The other would be the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. The other would be the grassland savannah of Africa and the other is the dry forest of upland India that you see. I just love that wilderness there. Those places are some of my favourite places that is not a hard sell to get me back to.

Do you think the Kyoto Protocol is really useful (as countries have no obligation beyond monitoring and reporting emissions)?

I believe that the Kyoto Protocol is an incredibly important step, but I think there needs to be accountability, real accountability. Every nation has to work together and it really is going to be a global effort if we’re going to deal with climate change. 

If you look at climate change, the history of climate change through the human lens in 20 years, it went from conjecture to hearsay to fact. Now, we know that it’s happening and what we’ve discovered is it’s happening far more severe and far faster than we ever imagined, at exponential levels. What we now realise is that a glacier that melts in the Himalayas or in Alaska won’t just impact those regions, but the whole world. They could affect a species of fish that travels the whole world that communities around the world depend upon.  

The melting ice melt from an Alaskan glacier could affect the coastline of a place like Chennai in India. What we realise is we’re all connected in this, and that’s how we’re going to solve this. So I think Kyoto is one very important step, but I believe it’s going to take a Herculean effort to truly pull this off.