'I want to be reborn as a cobra!'

Q&A: Jeff Corwin

Emmy award-winner and wildlife conservationist Jeff Corwin recently spent a year in Alaska. His show Into Alaska... premiers on Discovery next week. Aabhas Sharma travels along

First, why Alaska? After all, it is a surprising destination for wildlife exploration...

Alaska is special. It is one of my favourite destinations in the world. Its beauty is that it has a perfect blend of almost everything a tourist looks out for.

One can find America's highest mountain, its greatest wilderness and fiercest and most fascinating animals. And spending an entire year in that wilderness just gave amazing insights into the place. So, it is not just about wildlife.

What were the highlights of the filming of the documentary?

If you ask my camera crew, they would say "where did we land up with this guy?" But jokes apart, there were far too many. Spotting an entire clan of grizzly bears hunting salmon was one of the rarest and most beautiful wildlife sightings. Climbing the Kit Carson mountain on my 40th birthday was also very special for me.

You've been to various parts of the world on adventure and exploration trips. Which are your favourite destinations?

Not because I just spent a year in Alaska, but yes, it has been among my favourite places in the world. Apart from that, I would say Africa, Arizona and India are just beautiful places to go to as they have a unique combination of wildlife and fascinating culture which makes them must-visit places.

In all these years being fascinated by wildlife, which one creature do you find the most intriguing? Is there one?

I simply love snakes. They are fascinating because of their evolution, adaptability and diversity. In fact, in my next life I want to be reborn as a King Cobra! A lot of my shows have covered, in depth, this fascination with snakes that I have. I feel that it is important to show people the incredible role that reptiles and amphibians play in the natural world.

So which is the next exploration project that you would be taking up?

Not decided for now, but I do want to visit India pretty soon and visit a lot of places out there. I am also working on my book on amphibians as a whole lot of species are getting extinct and I want to make people aware about how quickly we are losing these wonderful creatures.