2009, Encounters, Laos Selection

Laos, rice planting

Rice is the second most produced food grain in the world. In 2015, global rice production was 491.5 million tonnes (source: fao.org). This represents a production of over 15 000 tonnes of rice per second.

2010, Encounters, Thailand Selection

Young Padaung lady, Northern Thailand

Young Padaung lady, Northern Thailand

The Padaung (or Kayan) is a Tibeto-Burman ethnic minority of Myanmar (Burma).
In 1990, some Padaung have fled the Burmese regime and crossed the border to settle in Northern Thailand. The Padaung women are known for wearing a spiral-necklace in brass, wrapped around the neck. They start wearing the first necklace at the age of 5. It will be then replaced time after time when the girl is growing up (it is not rings that are added). This tradition gave to Padaung the nickname of “giraffe women” or “long-neck tribe”.

2008, Costa Rica Selection, Mammal

Hoffmann’s sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni)

Hoffmann's sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni)Hoffmann’s sloth (Choloepus hoffmanni)

The sloth is named like this because of his slowness he puts to perform the simplest actions and its appetite for long naps.
This animal sleeps more than 18 hours a day. When he does not sleep, it is mainly to feed on the leaves he would have chosen meticulously.
Although this animal is very agile while climbing on trees, he is clumsy when it comes to walk on the ground, which places him on the land of his predators: jaguars and snakes. The sloth goes down from the tree once a week in order to defecate and to change the tree, if needed.
Regarding love, the sloth is also taking his time. Very solitary, the male will wait until he is 4 or 5 years old to start looking for a partner. The couple will embrace each other for 48 hours . They will be separated after the coupling, each of them will go back to a solitary life.

2007, Mainland France Selection, Reptil and Amphibian

Common toad (Bufo bufo)

A toad eagerly awaiting in his hole

The bufo bufo is a nocturnal animal. This animal spends the day hidden in a hole he dug, in abandoned burrows or simply under a stone or a dead piece of wood. This hiding place serves also as base for hunting. Indeed, the common toad hunts mainly on the lookout. He stays at the exit of his hole until a prey (fly, caterpillar, slug…) passes nearby. Then, he can catch the prey with his sticky tongue.

2009, Encounters, Laos Selection

Buddhist temple in Pakse, Laos

The stūpa (thât in laotian) from Wat Luang, Buddhist temple in Pakse, Laos

The stūpa is a Buddhist architectural structure and jaïna. Initially, a stūpa was a mausoleum containing a relic of Buddha. Today, just a few stūpa contain a relic of Buddha or an object that belonged to him. Nevertheless, they represent Buddha and remain monuments commemorating his death (the parinirvana).

The word stūpa is not known in all languages. In thai and in laotian, we call it “thât”, in Khmer “chetdei”, in Mongolian “suburghan”. In Sri Lanka, we use the term “dâgoba” to refer to this structure.