THE VIEWFINDER

NEWSLETTER : ISSUE NO 26, DECEMBER 2001

Dear friends

Once again December has come round again, way before it is due. We take this opportunity to wish everyone a very happy Christmas. We also wish that the New Year brings yet more success for those who have managed to stay on the crest of the wave, and new hope and inspiration for those who feel that they have been staring defeat in the face. Times are indeed changing, but we must always remember, "when you are down, there is only one way to go, and that's up".

Our picture this time is an aerial view of Mt Kenya, taken by Delulu in November. The snow is unusually heavy, and we feel sure that Martyn Colbeck is glad he wasn't up there at this time of year.

For us, the year has been like no other. As we reported earlier, the proportion of wildlife films has dropped dramatically. There has been a positive rush of films about early man and a significant increase in science programmes. The grand total in 2000 was 108 film crews; this year it is 95. While we cannot say that this slight decrease is attributable to the events of September 11th, we can share with you the fact that the months of October and November were incredibly quiet. No-one actually cancelled their shoot, but we sensed a feeling of "let's wait and see", particularly from the USA. December is looking a little better, and we have a National Geographic Today crew here for nearly three weeks, a small BBC crew, one from Germany and a magazine fashion shoot. January 2002 is not looking as manic as January 2001, but we hope that once the festive season is over, people will get back to work and we will have a rush of film crews pouring in.

Just about one year ago, we wished Juliet farewell as she left to get married. As one friend put it, "a Nightingale marrying an Owles – surely a marriage made in heaven". The fact that Charles farms turkeys makes an even stronger link to bird life, and we are happy to report that a chick is due to make its appearance in April.

Chania left us in early October, as she felt that things were not busy enough to challenge her energies. As we have not been so busy since then, we have not yet replaced her, so the two of us (Jean and Delulu) are on our own until times change.

Our congratulations to Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone for yet another triumph with "Mzima, haunt of the river horse" which did so much more than win the main awards at the Jackson festival. This magnificent film, carefully crafted over two years, brought home to those delegates who were there that there is still a place for traditional 'blue chip' natural history films – if somebody has the foresight and courage to fund them.

The festival was interesting, and the initial feeling of desperation tangible, but by the end of the week Jean sensed a new optimism. The festival helped to bring the world back into perspective, and the autumn colours and almost snowless Tetons were sensational, so far removed from the horrors of New York. Alan Root's tongue-in-cheek spoof caused quite a stir - his biting sarcasm was partially softened by his unique sense of humour, and the 8 minute film was shown at several of the sessions. Though certain commissioning editors did not appreciate its content, it certainly provoked discussion, and much laughter. People desperately needed something to laugh at towards the end of September but they were, after all, at Jackson to gather together and discuss the future of the wildlife film making business. It would be very easy to put all the blame for the current climate on one particular type of programme, and this may not be entirely fair if one looks at the audience ratings. But one startling fact that came out of the festival was that crocodile conservation in northern Queensland has been put back 20 years by a single wildlife television series. Many of the sessions at the festival dealt with conservation, and there was a strong presence from the Wildlife Awareness Foundation, an organisation which will surely put the conservation message back on everyone's agenda by getting films to the people who will ultimately be responsible for the future of wildlife and the environment. Certainly in Africa, where conservation is widely viewed as a "white man's hobby", there is urgent need for the indigenous people to understand where we are all coming from.

During the year, we have endeavoured to expand our range of digital location photos, and now have many of the most popular locations on computer. These can be emailed on request, and we will continue to add to the collection whenever the opportunity arises.

In November, a small but worrying paragraph in the local press announced that the Director of Kenya Wildlife Service had been "sent on indefinite leave", and that his deputy, Joe Kioko, would act as Director until further notice. Despite efforts to get to the bottom of this, we have been unable to find out what exactly the situation is. Certainly Dr Nehemiah Rotich is not currently in his office at KWS. It seems that some changes are taking place, but neither the Chairman nor any of the directors are able to throw any light on the situation. We will keep you posted if and when we find out the true story.

The once almost deserted Meru National Park is on the way up again. Over fifty elephants were moved to Meru in July, and there is an almost continuous exercise going on to move other animals such as zebras, giraffes and one rhino. Mukora, the lone white rhino who survived the massacre in Meru in the eighties, has spent many years in the Ngare Sergoi rhino sanctuary on Lewa Downs where, recently, he was being attacked by other males. He has been moved back to Meru, where he has settled down happily. There are plans to translocate several hundred more elephants into the park.

The Maasai Mara has had a wet year, and this year's migration was almost a non-event. The grass is still very long, so many of the smaller animals have been extremely difficult to see. The cheetah population seems to have decreased dramatically, and sightings of these elegant cats are now very rare indeed. Zawadi, the leopard star of Big Cat Diary, gave birth to two cubs at the end of September, and we hope that they both survive this time.

Again, our very best wishes for the festive season, and we look forward to welcoming many of you during 2002.






© Copyright View Finders Limited. All rights reserved