What should be the punishment for those who take the lives of endangered species?

Should it vary according to why they killed them...

What kind of education/ignorance they possess about the animal's plight...

Or even vary by how they killed them, as one gorilla's life was taken execution-style...

Share your thoughts.

Don't miss Explorer's Gorilla Murders on Tuesday July 1 at 10P et/pt.

Have you ever seen a tornado?

Tell us your story or submit your photos to comments@natgeochannel.com and we'll post them! Don't miss Tornado Intercept/Twister Chasers on Sunday June 29 at 9P et/pt.

	Sneh Gupta
	Producer

As the days drew closer to Lakshmi’s discharge date, her parents needed to make a decision about their future. They had a choice of three options. The first – stay on in Bangalore so Lakshmi could be close to Dr Patil and Sparsh Hospital; the second – return back to their own village in Bihar; and the third – come to Jodhpur with me, and start a new life at SKSN, a charity organization I work with which runs a boarding school for over 500 underprivileged physically challenged children.

Lakshmi, the little girl with a new lease on life.

Revisit the story

To Donate to Lakshmi's Aftercare Fund Click here

At SKSN, Lakshmi (or Nunu as I prefer to call her – meaning ‘Little one’) would be able to have her daily dose of physio from Preeti, the school therapist; there would be free education for Mithu in a proper school; and her father Shambu could work in the school dairy or farm – instead of the grueling life he was used to as a lowly paid laborer in the family’s native Bihar.

To my surprise, the family opted to head for the ‘blue’ city of Jodhpur – one of India’s best-known tourist destinations located in the land of the Maharajas and palaces – but it couldn’t be more opposite to the family’s native Bihar! Their decision was fine with me, but would they be able to cope with living in the harsh, arid, nevertheless colorful desert environment of Rajasthan where temperatures hit above 50 degrees Celsius at the peak of the summer, where they can also plummet to well below freezing point in the winters, and where water is extremely sparse even during the monsoon season? Different also to Bangalore – where the landscape is much greener, bearing a little more resemblance to Bihar, but with different foods and a totally different language (they say that the language changes a little every 12 kilometers in India!). Time would tell.

Jodhpur: December 15th – Nunu’s discharge day. It spelt freedom for the family after 2 months of being cooped up in the hospital. The newspapers had reported that Lakshmi was going to be welcomed like a princess when she arrived in Jodhpur – the SKSN kids certainly didn’t let her down and gave her a welcome equal to that of a previous guest…….Prince Charles! Some of the girl-students came to the airport to meet and greet the new addition to SKSN. All the other kids had lined up the entire pathway from the gates of the school to the family’s new home, and huge cheers went up when Nunu arrived at the school.

	Sam Relph
	Associate Producer

Emotions flew thick and fast once it was clear Lakshmi’s operation had been a success.

For the team of surgeons the relief was immediate and joyous – they understood immediately that the most dangerous phase was over and, by the time Lakshmi was out of surgery, there were hugs and handshakes all round. It was a top-notch team of doctors and they knew they had done well.

For the film crew, it took a few hours for the relief to set in and the nerves to die down. It was almost like things had gone too well.

As the producer, Sneh had arranged for the family to meet Dr Patil. She had set up the surgery and felt responsibility for Lakshmi more than the rest of us.

Lakshmi and her family prior to surgery

Preview the story before it airs.

To Donate to Lakshmi's Aftercare Fund Click here

Normally, you tell yourself it is work and leave the emotions at the door. But Lakshmi was no job. We had all become attached to her. We knew that if something had gone wrong, we would never have been able to forgive ourselves. That’s certainly how I felt.

The fact that a young girls’ life was hanging in the balance weighed heavily on everyone – more so than in any other project any of us had been involved in.

What we were feeling, however, was nothing. It is hard to put into words the effect Lakshmi’s surgery had on her mother. Poonam had been staunchly in favour of surgery all along – she knew it was the only chance her daughter would have of a normal life. She was strong when others questioned if an operation was the correct option; she was in high spirits when the rest of us felt timid; she was the backbone of her family.

And then she crumbled. As Lakshmi was wheeled unconscious towards the operating theatre Poonam broke down and didn’t recover for five days. She didn’t eat. She didn’t sleep. She couldn’t be comforted.

She was seven months pregnant with her third child. She was in tears or shock the entire time. It was hard to face her.

	Greg Chapman
	Research

There is this pretty interesting game coming out from Electronic Arts called Spore which the channel is using in conjunction with an upcoming show about how humans and other species have evolved over the course of their respective existences – how they are formed, survive or die off. The program uses EA's very complex graphics engine in the show to get across some fascinating ideas from evolutionary biology in a fun and straight-forward way. Some really interesting stuff.

EA has released the “Creature Creator” – this app lets you jump-start evolution and build your own creature for the game -- and the “Creator” makes it easy to share animations of your creation on YouTube.

As for my creature, his name is Monty, he likes to party. He likes to flip, snarl, and dance every once in a while. Click below to check out his special talents.

To find out how to create your own creature go to Spore.com for more information.

	Greg Chapman
	Research

I mentioned in the checklist post last week about the upcoming premiere Explorer: Gorilla Murders and how its a program that is core to what National Geographic is all about. I know that the team on the Explorer-blog are working to get some behind the scene stories about the show, but i wanted to share some of the creative that just came across my desk and that is being used to show the tone and the importance of the visuals in this show. Its amazing to me that these Gorillas are strong, powerful creatures yet are so vulnerable and are unable to fully protect themselves even in the deepest jungle. Let me know what you think....

More and more about this show will be coming out in the days and weeks ahead, so keep your eye out for it here and on the Explorer-blog.

I'll try to be sure to pass along links once more content is up and rolling.

In 2007, Dr. Sharon Patil was the head surgeron during the surgery which removed the parasital twin from Lakshmi Tatum's body. He was gracious enough to take time out of his schedule to answer some questions about the procedure./

What was your reaction when you first heard about Lakshmi’s case?

Dr. Patil: It was one of amazement, curiosity, great concern and my heart went out for the little girl and her family.

Looking back, do you feel that people of Lakshmi’s village carried any resentment towards you or the Tatmas for going through with the operation?

Dr. Patil: I did not sense any such feelings towards me or the Tatmas family. To immortalize the memory of Lakshmi Tatma, they have built a temple with a replicate idol of Lakshmi Tatma in her original form. They still feel Lakshmi has been a good omen for the village and she will bring in good fortune.

With Lakshmi’s likeness to the goddess and a strong belief that she was reincarnated in Lakshmi, was there much of a struggle to convince the Tatmas of the importance of the operation?

Dr. Patil: Not really, they felt the baby was special. However they were also very practical and worried about the wellbeing of Lakshmi for the present and also the future. They were willing partners in exploring the medical possibility of making her in to a more normal child.

How did it feel to be the first doctor to perform this surgery in India? Did you reach out to any foreign medical professionals for advice?

Dr. Patil: The sense of joy and fulfillment has been immeasurable. Even though it was my initiative and social commitment towards the cause, there was an entire team of high class professionals who worked with me to make this surgery possible. In our month long preparation at no point in time did we feel the need to consult any foreign medical professionals. We seemed to have every investigating modality available to us and came up with the plan which looked quite comprehensive. We reviewed the skills of the team time and again and found no one lacking. We would have had no hesitation to ask for help from any other professionals in India or abroad if we had felt the need for it.

What were the greatest challenges in performing this surgery? At what point did you realize this was a success?

To find out what Dr. Patil's greatest challenge was, click here to read the rest of this great interview.

Rumspringa - An Amish practice of releasing teenagers in to the "English World" to explore what they have been protected against their entire lives. The National Geographic Channel follows these teens as they leave home and interact with an entire world that they only know through what their parents tell them.

Click below to preview A Devil's Playground before it airs on Wednesday, June 25 at 10p.

For more check out the NGC's Devils Playground show-page by clicking here

	Paul Copeland
	Director

On September 25 2007 Sneh, Sam, Dr Patil and I – together with cameraman Boaz Eshtai and other members of the crew – set off from Patna, the state capital of Bihar, for the distant town of Arraria, near where Lakshmi lived. On leaving the city we were faced by an almost apocalyptic scene. It had been raining for weeks and on either side of the road flooded fields stretched as far as the eye could see – at times, only an isolated tree or gaunt electricity pylon broke up what otherwise might have seemed open ocean. The road was at often rough with flooded potholes so deep that our convoy of SUVs barely made it through. Secretly, I began to worry I’d made a mistake – news from rural Bihar is so unreliable that we’d had no idea that conditions would be as bad as this, and we had no idea if somewhere up ahead the road would be blocked or a bridge washed away. But we couldn’t turn back. The area we were driving through was notorious for the communist terrorists and we had to do everything we could to make it to Arraria before nightfall, when car-jacking or worse became a distinct possibility. So we pushed on – for 14 bone-jarring hours – through stifling heat and rain brought on, we discovered, by a tropical cyclone.

Girl with Eight Limbs Premieres Sunday, June 22 at 9p

Preview the story before it airs.

As night fell we approached Arraria, a one-strip ‘Wild West’ town famous for weapon and drug-smuggling from over the border with nearby Nepal. The land here was rising gently toward the Himalayas, so that although flat and damp, to my enormous relief it was no longer flooded. The rain that had engulfed us all the way from Patna had also eased. But as we drove into the Government Guesthouse it seemed they were not expecting us. After an exhausting drive, we all had to sleep in an open hall in 104 degree heat and rampant humidity, harassed by mosquitoes. I have to say it’s to Dr Patil’s credit that he seemed totally unfazed… and to Sneh’s that by the following night she’d sorted out the confusion and got us into the guest-rooms, and even arranged for diesel for the generator to power a little electric light and mercifully cooling fan.

We were there – and we were ready to meet Lakshmi. The following day we went with Dr Patil to see her. The villagers had never seen anything like this – several told us that the last time white people had been there had been during the days of the British Empire – they watched our every move from the rooftops. Lakshmi’s parents, Shambu and Poonam, were courteous but wary… not quite believing that Dr Patil had actually come to help their daughter, rather than try to kidnap her and sell her to a circus (an ever-present danger for them in this lawless and brutal part of the world).

Paul's film crew walking through the village..

	Paul Copeland
	Director

When we first set out to visit Lakshmi Tatma in her village, to introduce her to Dr Patil, and then to bring her to hospital, we had no idea if we’d be able to achieve any of these goals. We also knew that there was a lot more than the success of a documentary film hanging on our efforts – in all probability, this was the chance to save a little girl’s life.

Girl with Eight Limbs Premieres Sunday, June 22 at 9p

Preview the story before it airs.

Lakshmi’s family lived in one of the poorest, most isolated, and most politically unstable regions of India: an outlying area of a state known as Bihar. Bihar is notorious for lawlessness and a highly active communist terrorist group which bombs road and rail links and attacks police posts on an almost daily basis. We knew that working there was going to be difficult and dangerous – and that the Indian government would be wary of allowing a foreign media crew in to film As the director and producer responsible for making the documentary happen, I knew I needed to put together a top team.

Lakshmi’s family had first been encountered in Delhi by Sam Relph, a locally-based British newspaper journalist who secured their blessing for the documentary. Sam knew the whereabouts of the village where they lived. But in order to give us a chance of a successful documentary shoot, and to take care of Dr Patil during his visit to the village, I decided to engage a top Indian documentary producer, Sneh Gupta. With Sneh’s local knowledge and government contacts, we were able to set about planning our visit to find Lakshmi and have her examined by Dr Patil.

In early July Sam travelled to the village and established that the family where there and desperate for Lakshmi to be seen by a doctor. But in August heavy monsoon rains swept the north-eastern region of India, including Bihar, and caused widespread flooding which killed and displaced many thousands of people and cut off many towns and villages entirely. For a while it seemed as if the journey to meet Lakshmi might be impossible – but we knew that, as soon as the monsoon rains subsided, we had to try.

Read part two of Paul's story by clicking here.

Girl with Eight Limbs Premieres Sunday, June 22 at 9p

Reminder: Father's Day is This Sunday

With Father's day approaching, National Geographic's Green Guide has some tips on how to get Dad a bit greener this and ways to disguise the fact that he is being eco-friendly. From Kayaks to Earthkeeper Boots, the Green Guide has you covered with their Father's Day Finds.

Without a doubt some may kick back with pops on Sunday with a cold brew, why not try one from the Green Guide's list of Hops

Is Dad a weekend warrior? Pretty interesting article for Dad about building green.

Happy Father's Day to all Dads out there.

What whopper have you reeled in? Tell us your story!

Don't miss these enormous fish this Sunday June 15 starting at 8P et/pt.

	Dr. Brady Barr
	National Geographic Reptile Expert

I recently received one of those phone calls that we all dread. One of my family members was sick, really sick. Fortunately it wasn’t a member of my immediate family, but rather my extended family … my reptile family.

I have worked closely with a population of crocs in the country of Costa Rica for almost a decade. I know these crocs as individuals, and they are truly like family to me. I was terribly upset when I discovered that something was dreadfully wrong with them. They were going blind. I was determined to find out what horrible thing was causing this condition in my beloved crocs, so I immediately organized a “Dream Team” of scientists, biologists, toxicologists and wildlife veterinarians to accompany me to Costa Rica and research the problem.

Find More at NGCDangerousEncounters.com

Preview Video

Dangerous Encounters: Blind Croc Mystery Premieres Tuesday, June 9 at 9p

Diagnosing an illness in a croc is similar to diagnosing one in a human; it all starts with a physical examination. The only problem is that gigantic wild crocs usually aren’t cooperative patients! Doing a physical on a croc, just like a human, involves gathering important data such as length, weight and overall appearance, and visual inspection of eyes, ears, nose and throat. The most difficult part of the operation by far is getting the weight! Big crocs are unwilling participants and will not simply step upon the scale when asked. Furthermore, there are few scales that can register such tremendous mass as a big croc, especially in the field on a muddy riverbank. Therefore, these data are sorely lacking in scientific literature. They are just too difficult and dangerous to get, though vitally important. I was determined to overcome all obstacles and acquire these important data, especially if they could help my crocs.

My team attempted to do something that has rarely been accomplished — weigh full-grown wild crocodiles in the field at their capture site!

We armed ourselves with strong climbing ropes of the finest quality, lots of cargo netting, chain, tackle, winches and an industrial-sized scale, normally used to weigh automobiles. It would be quite an operation and definitely a spectacle.

Our first patient was a monster, literally, at more than 16 feet long. It was one of the largest crocs I have ever captured — there was to be no learning curve here! The big boy was also blind in one eye, exactly the patient we were looking for. After an epic battle, and one that nearly cost me my right index finger, the croc was ours. My finger became entangled in the rope during the battle, and as my doctor described it, I experienced a catastrophic spiral fracture in my finger. It was literally pulverized by the size, power and mass of the croc. Fortunately, a long surgery later in the day, and multiple titanium screws, rebuilt and saved my finger.

	Greg Chapman
	Research

So my boss, Jeff Darnell, was telling me about how NGC Games is up and running with some new games and yesterday I finally was able to check it out. To much of my amazement, what was going to be a fifteen minutes of my day, turned in to forty-five minutes of me playing The Rise of the Atlantis.

(Sorry about that boss - I....er....kind of got hooked on it for a bit, I swear I am productive today.)

The area houses all of the games that the channel has built for our shows - Fight Science, Dino Autopsy, Taboo, etc - and actually has a whole lot more. The site is also broken up in to six different categories, all related to the content of the channel.

If you have some time today, or simply need need a break from your day to day duties, you should check it out.

You can play all of great games at NGCGames.com

Are mobsters and gangs out of control on American streets?

Don't miss the world premiere of Bloods and Crips: L.A. Gangs and Bullets Over Boston: The Irish Mob this Sunday, June 8 starting at 9p et/pt.

	Stacy Boots
	Digital Media

Interested in unsolved mummy murders? Or how about the mission to find Titanic? Or maybe you're more of a pirate fanatic? Arrr, well matey, whatever your fancy is — obviously mine is pirates! — you’ll discover one great find after another this week on Nat Geo. "Finding History" dives into some of the greatest and most intriguing historic finds.

In tonight's show "Ghost Ships of the Black Sea," Dr. Bob Ballard (if his name doesn’t ring-a-bell, he discovered Titanic!) uncovers 1,500-year-old shipwrecks on the bottom of the Black Sea. Thanks to the Black Sea’s poisonous layer on the sea floor, it has suffocated bacteria and preserved the ships like no other body of water has before.

In addition to pirates, I also love a good unsolved murder mystery. Which is why Explorer: "Mystery of the Mummy Murders" instantly grabbed my attention. Quite a contrast to Egyptian nobility mummies, these mummies were tortuously slain. From stabbings to disembowelment, each mummy revealed a more gruesome death. Originally these mummies were thought to be executed criminals, but new evidence is leading experts to another conclusion…

Aye matey's, grab your grog and watch Nat Geo tonight starting at 9P et/pt

	Greg Chapman
	Research

Back in the fall I posted about some docs we were coming out with that I thought were "can't miss" programs for you all, well its that time again. Here is the summer edition of Chapman's Checklist....

	The Girl With Eight Limbs: A story that is sure to tug at your heart strings of Lakshmi Tatam's surgery to remove a parasital twin. I for one am not a big fan of medical documentaries, but this story grasped on to me once I saw the promo that began airing a couple of weeks back. I ended up watching it last week and to my surprise I was very moved with the story of the Tatums and little Lakshmi. More to come about this show on the NGC Blog as we move closer to the air date....stay tuned. Premiere: Sunday June 22 at 9p
	Explorer: Gorilla Murders: Deep in the Virunga Jungle in the Democratic Republic of the Congo there is a struggle going on between rebels and the government of Democratic Republic of the Congo and Silverback Gorillas are caught in the middle. National Geographic Explorer goes inside with help from Park Rangers to document this clash and what it has done to the Silverback Gorilla population. Premiere: Tuesday July 1 at 10p
	Earth: The Biography: A six part summer event that will showcase the awesome power of our Earth and its powers blend together to co-exist. Topics include Volcanoes, Ice, Atmosphere, Oceans and one that we are dubbing Rare Planet. It'll be sure to impress, especially if you have NGC-HD. Begins Sunday July 13 at 9p
	Inside L.A. Gang War: Made by the same people that brought the channel Inside The Green Berets, this documentary heads straight to the heart of the America's Gang War - Compton, California. Not only do get a glimpse of street life through the eyes of gangbangers, but you see how hard it is for families, communities and children growing up there to escape from the tragedy that has engulfed so many generations.Premieres Sunday July 20 at 9p
	Locked Up Abroad Coming Back!: From the jungles in Latin America across the globe to frozen earth of Chechnya, Locked Up Abroad brings the tales of world travelers that, simply put, are in the wrong place at the wrong time. For me and many others at the channel, Locked Up Abroad is one of those shows that we just don't miss. And if you haven't checked it out yet, the show airs every Monday at 9p. New Episodes Begin on Monday July 21 at 9p