THE VIEWFINDERNEWSLETTER : ISSUE NO 25, SEPTEMBER 2001 [Cute and cuddly] [Increased air charter costs] [Jackson Hole festival] [Yet more variety at Viewfinders..] We cannot resist sharing this photo of a caracal kitten. Three were found at Baringo and the children who found them informed the warden, William Kimosop, who phoned us. Delulu immediately called her sister Bimbi and brother in law Fuzz Dyer who have raised caracals in the past. Fuzz flew to Baringo and collected the kittens. They are now two months old, and doing well at Borana Lodge on a diet of pigeons and spurfowl. They are free to go when they are ready, and it is hoped that they will join the wild population in the area.
A Government announcement has dealt a blow to Kenyan air charter companies. With effect from 1st September 2001, air charter companies are being forced to charge VAT of 18%. The Kenya Association of Air Operators has appealed against this ruling, on the grounds that such an additional cost will damage the tourist and film industries. So far no response has been forthcoming, but it is hoped that the decision will be reversed. An equally damaging announcement has come from the Tanzanian Directorate of Civil Aviation, aimed at Kenyan air charter companies. With effect from 1st September, Tanzania has now increased landing fees for Kenyan registered aircraft, to US$245-260 (depending on the size of the aircraft). As if that was not enough, they have also said that if a Kenyan aircraft proceeds to another Tanzanian destination after the first airport of entry (i.e. a plane going to Kigoma via Mwanza to refuel), there will be another US$300 payable, in addition to the landing fee at the airport of first entry. This will effectively increase the price of a charter from Kenya to a Tanzanian destination such as Kigoma or the Serengeti by US$545-560. It is easy enough to understand the Tanzanian Government’s wish to protect Tanzanian charter companies, but these amounts seem unnecessarily punitive for small film crews with limited budgets. This year’s Jackson festival is an important one for the industry (see previous issue of this newsletter). Emails from all corners of the world on ‘where the industry is going’ have been pouring in, and we have also had lengthy discussions with all our visiting film crews. Jean Hartley will be going to Jackson, and is available to meet other delegates for the entire week of the festival.
YET MORE VARIETY AT VIEWFINDERS… Having reported in June that our work this year has been more varied than ever before, we are happy to say that we have remained busy. At the time of writing, 89 film crews have passed through our hands this year, and the subjects continue to keep us on our toes. We can now add a cookery programme to the already extensive list of topics covered, but confess to having given two clients away to another agent. Survivor 3 with its crew of 300 people for three months would have left us with no time for regular documentary clients, and we felt that a stills photographer specializing in nudes was perhaps not quite our line. A recently published report from the National Rhino Conservation Coordinator in Tanzania reveals that five black rhinos have been lost since the middle of the year 2000. Three of these succumbed to a tickborne protozoan disease known as babesiosis. A prolonged drought claimed the lives of many herbivores including 300 buffalo, and this may have made the animals more prone to tickborne attack. In an effort to safeguard the remaining black rhino population in the crater, prophylactic treatment was carried out by veterinarians who darted the rhinos with a dose of Berenil. Since then, rain has returned to the crater and it is hoped that the rhino population will increase again, and that the herbivore population will also recover. We read with interest the articles in Wildlife Film News (August and September newsletters), as we were involved with fixing for Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone’s "Mzima, Haunt of the River Horse", Paneikon’s "Hippo Talk", the BBC’s "Hot Hippo", and John Downer’s "Supernatural". We recognize that much ‘new’ wildlife behaviour reaches the scientists as a result of wildlife filmmakers’ astute observational powers. Wildlife filmmakers spend so many hours in the field, eyes glued to their viewfinders, that it is obvious that they have the chance of witnessing new behaviour. What makes a finished wildlife film worthwhile is to see the animals relaxed and behaving normally. Nothing is worse than watching an animal that is obviously stressed and uncomfortable by the filmmakers’ presence. To achieve such a balance is a true art, and it is this ability and patience that separates the great from the not so great. As Ugo, Andrea and Angelo say, the necessary ingredients are sensitivity, respect, and devotion. We join the world in condemning the atrocious acts of terrorism at the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. If the perpetrators believe that this kind of action is the answer to the world’s problems, this is a sad situation indeed. Of course it will take a long time to determine how many innocent lives were lost, and we grieve for all those who have been injured and bereaved. |
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