Malé, Maldives – Maldivian netizens are expressing outrage after a local journalist Ahmed Jaishan exposed survival expert Bear Grylls’ misrepresentation of the Maldives on “Into the Wild.”
In the most recent episode of “Into the Wild” with Bear Grylls featuring Indian actor Vicky Kaushal, two popular locations in the Maldives were documented. One being famous tourist dive spot the Vaavu atoll shipwreck and the K. Huraa mangrove nature reserve, protected by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Bear Grylls does not identify any of these locations as Maldives, instead labeling it “somewhere in the middle of the Indian ocean.”
- Misinforms about the mangrove, by calling it a swamp and stating that it is home to crocodiles and snakes, none of which are native to the Maldives.
- Grylls and Kaushal also find a tin can of 20 year old “cat food” closely resembling canned tuna exported worldwide by the Maldives.
- The duo are also observed to be travelling via Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) coast guard vessels assisted by Maldivian soldiers in formal combat gear featuring the Maldivian flag.
While some Maldivians are amused by the misinformation, others are calling out Grylls for inauthentic content creation.
The video has since been removed, however, netizens are questioning the credibility of Bear Grylls.
