Big Cat Diary

In message , Rita Daggett
writes

BTW - anyone know when it was filmed?
My bet is October.

According to the Radio Times it was September (all of Sept! so there's been
some 'constructive editing')
I was surprised at amount of rain at that time of year and number of
wildebeest - presumably they are on their way back to the Serengeti?


The sheer numbers of wildebeest was amazing! It really is the greatest
show on earth. I`ve only been to the Mara once, in 1998 and then there
were more zebra actually crossing the river than wildebeest.
Would you believe whilst we were watching the river crossing, and I was
emotionally affected by the whole scene, crocodiles poised etc, the
driver tapped me on the shoulder saying, "I`ve got bad news for you,
Princess Diana is dead!"
Pat
--
Pat Anderson

Pat Anderson wrote:

Iain has a charity based at Samburu called "Save the Elephants". Saba
works there with him when she isn`t working on wild life filming for
the BBC, who she joined in 2002. Her sister, Dudu (what a choice of
name!) is also involved in the production of films here in Britain.
If you do a search on google.com for "Save the Elephants" the
information is there.

Pat,

thanks! Haven't looked at their web site in a while, but looked
it up again now. Great site, to be found at
www.save-the-elephants.org.

They misspelled Timbuktu and I fired off a mail to let them
know. Let's see if they correct the spelling. :-)

The only member of the family I've ever met was Saba, briefly,
in Amboseli. But of course I keep seeing Iain on photos and in
films. Would like to meet him one day.

A good movie is the IMAX one, Kingdom of Elephants, available on
DVD. Recommended. I have it and keep showing it to people.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

Liz wrote:

Tonight's cliffhanger:
The pride found the two tiny cubs without the mother and are sniffing them out.
Their fate is in the balance...

Liz,

unless their mother is a member of the same pride, their chances
of not being killed are very low.

Can't see the series, unfortunately, but it will probably be
shown in Germany at some later time.

Hans-Georg

--
No mail, please.

I am not a viewer of this series, but I was wondering.
The people who watch obviously love wildlife. Apparently, there are some lion
cubs in danger from baboons and/or another pride of lions.
All this is being filmed.
What are the feelings?
Should these cubs actually be allowed to be killed by other animals when they
are being filmed and you would think that the filmmakers could intervene and
save the cubs?

Just what are the ethics involved in filming endangered wildlife? Not the
normal killing of unendangered animals such as lions killing their food, but
the happenstance killing of some sort of wildlife that is less common, more
endangered while it is being filmed and the filmmakers could interven in some
way to alter the end result?

In message
Hans-Georg Michna wrote:

Liz wrote:

Tonight's cliffhanger:
The pride found the two tiny cubs without the mother and are sniffing them out.
Their fate is in the balance...

Liz,

unless their mother is a member of the same pride, their chances
of not being killed are very low.
They said that she was of the same pride, but had been 'exiled' (I don't
think that was the exact work they used) because her cubs were so much
smaller than the others. I was quite surprised at that.

Can't see the series, unfortunately, but it will probably be
shown in Germany at some later time.
I've been trying to get my pupils interested, but they're more likely to
watch that Aussie bloke who holds his children over crocs. :-(

Liz
--
Virtual Liz at http://www.v-liz.co.uk
Kenya; Tanzania; India; Seychelles; Namibia
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"

In message
(Treemoss2) wrote:

I am not a viewer of this series, but I was wondering.
The people who watch obviously love wildlife. Apparently, there are some lion
cubs in danger from baboons and/or another pride of lions.
All this is being filmed.
What are the feelings?
Should these cubs actually be allowed to be killed by other animals when they
are being filmed and you would think that the filmmakers could intervene and
save the cubs?
They could, but the ethical film-makers should not intervene in a natural event.

Just what are the ethics involved in filming endangered wildlife? Not the
normal killing of unendangered animals such as lions killing their food, but
the happenstance killing of some sort of wildlife that is less common, more
endangered while it is being filmed and the filmmakers could interven in some
way to alter the end result?
I'm sure it happens.
There was a few years back a seminar for wildlife photographers with a
session on ethics. The lecturerer started by asking how many of them would
throw a person to a crocodile to get good footage, and of course they all
thought this was ridiculous. They were then asked who would introduce a fly
to a spider's web for a film and most of them said they would, then the
discussion was, where should the line be drawn.

I personally would like to think that all documentaries are 'true to life'
but I know that it isn't always so - and not always for 'bad' reasons.

The only time a photographer should intervene would be if they knew for
certain that s/he is influencing events. On our first safari, there were
many minibuses in a closed circle around a leopard in Samburu. Somehow, a
dikdik got into the circle, and the leopard went after it. I was pretty
upset, because I thought us being there had given the dikdid an unfair
disadvantage, but in the event, it managed to get out between (or possibly
under) two minibuses, but the leopard couldn't follow. I don't like to get
too anthropomorphic, but he gave us some pretty dirty looks.

Liz

--
Virtual Liz at http://www.v-liz.co.uk
Kenya; Tanzania; India; Seychelles; Namibia
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"

In message , Treemoss2
writes
I am not a viewer of this series, but I was wondering.
The people who watch obviously love wildlife. Apparently, there are some lion
cubs in danger from baboons and/or another pride of lions.
All this is being filmed.
What are the feelings?
Should these cubs actually be allowed to be killed by other animals when they
are being filmed and you would think that the filmmakers could intervene and
save the cubs?

Just what are the ethics involved in filming endangered wildlife? Not the
normal killing of unendangered animals such as lions killing their food, but
the happenstance killing of some sort of wildlife that is less common, more
endangered while it is being filmed and the filmmakers could interven in some
way to alter the end result?
This too could be a great debate.
As I understand it filmmakers do not intervene as what happens is
part of nature, or the natural order. The trio we have as presenters
are all experienced, for instance, both Saba and Simon were born in
Kenya, although Simon left in 1964. Jonathan Scott has lived in Kenya
for twenty five years. It must be painful for them as they get to know
these big, beautiful cats, if anything does happen to them.
Pat
--
Pat Anderson

In message , Hans-Georg
Michna writes
Pat Anderson wrote:

Iain has a charity based at Samburu called "Save the Elephants". Saba
works there with him when she isn`t working on wild life filming for
the BBC, who she joined in 2002. Her sister, Dudu (what a choice of
name!) is also involved in the production of films here in Britain.
If you do a search on google.com for "Save the Elephants" the
information is there.

Pat,

thanks! Haven't looked at their web site in a while, but looked
it up again now. Great site, to be found at
www.save-the-elephants.org.

They misspelled Timbuktu and I fired off a mail to let them
know. Let's see if they correct the spelling. :-)

The only member of the family I've ever met was Saba, briefly,
in Amboseli. But of course I keep seeing Iain on photos and in
films. Would like to meet him one day.

A good movie is the IMAX one, Kingdom of Elephants, available on
DVD. Recommended. I have it and keep showing it to people.

Hans-Georg

Hans Georg,
I met Oria briefly in Nairobi whilst I was with a friend. I send Saba
an email now and again and she has me on a mailing list to inform me
when something she`s involved with is going to be on TV.
Glad you liked the website and I`ve noted about Kingdom of the
Elephants.
Pat
--
Pat Anderson

In message
Pat Anderson wrote:


I met Oria briefly in Nairobi whilst I was with a friend. I send Saba
an email now and again and she has me on a mailing list to inform me
when something she`s involved with is going to be on TV.
Glad you liked the website and I`ve noted about Kingdom of the
Elephants.


I'm sure I read that Iain and Oria take visitors on one of the these
fantasic-looking but out of my budget homestays? Or was that a while back?

I'll see if I can find the book I read it in.

Liz

--
Virtual Liz at http://www.v-liz.co.uk
Kenya; Tanzania; India; Seychelles; Namibia
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"

In message
"Rita Daggett" wrote:


BTW - anyone know when it was filmed?
My bet is October.

According to the Radio Times it was September (all of Sept! so there's been
some 'constructive editing')
I was surprised at amount of rain at that time of year and number of
wildebeest - presumably they are on their way back to the Serengeti?

The greeness was completely fooling me.
I suppose that in September, the wildebeest are in the northern sector and
north of the park, and head south again in October.

Anyway, I'm just off to watch tonight's episode which I taped...

Slainte

Liz

--
Virtual Liz at http://www.v-liz.co.uk
Kenya; Tanzania; India; Seychelles; Namibia
"I speak of Africa and golden joys"