The Prime Minister of
India, Narendra Modi, has been announced as the latest unexpected guest to team up with adventurer Bear Grylls for an episode of his survival show. The intrepid duo travelled through Jim Corbett National Park - home to leopards, lions and elephants - in the northern state of Uttarakhand for Man Vs. Wild. It will be broadcast on the Discovery Channel on August 12. Mr Modi, who claimed a landslide victory in May’s General Election, released a statement explaining he hoped his participation on the show would encourage Indians to care more for their environment. “For me, this show presents a great opportunity to showcase to the world India’s rich environmental heritage and stress on the importance of environment conservation and living with nature,” he said. “It was a great experience spending time in the jungle once again, this time with Bear, who is blessed with indefatigable energy and quest to experience nature at its purest.” It is the second time that an elected world leader will join Grylls for Man Vs. Wild after former
American President
Barack Obama featured in a special episode in Alaska in 2015. The Indian Prime Minister praised Grylls' 'indefatigable energy' Credit: Discovery Channel The Jim Corbett National Park was established in 1936 and is India’s oldest national park. There are a total of 104 national parks in the country, covering 1.2 percent of its surface area. However, animals that call the reserves home face on-going threats from poaching and deforestation. Mr Modi has long been an advocate for India’s jungles and told Humans of Mumbai that he would regularly seek solace in the forests when facing stress during his career. He revealed that he would head into dense rainforest for five days at a time when needing to focus on a particular political problem, requiring "only clean water and no people." In a released scene, the Prime Minister shows off his expertise to a surprised Grylls as he arrives in India. Mr Modi is seen gifting the explorer a weapon carved out of bamboo and other materials he had collected from the forest. “You are the most important man in India, my job is to keep you alive!” jokes Grylls after Mr Modi promises to use the weapon to protect him.