Saving Rhino Phila has garnered a great deal of interest since it’s completion in late 2011 due to the sensitive and topical nature of Rhino poaching in South Africa. The film uses high production value dramitisation to re-enact poaching scenarios, bringing a sense of tension to the film that would otherwise be unattainable. Watch this behind the scenes look at how director Richard Slater-Jones aims to ‘hit the audience between the eyes’.

A cheetah in full stride

Marcy has cheetah print fingernails. In any other situation this would be a little disconcerting, but in this context it signifies not eccentric style but something more powerful, a passion for the most endangered of Africa’s big cats; the cheetah.

Marcy is an American environmental photo-journalist whose work on cheetahs and human predator coexistence in Africa overlapped with NHU Africa at the Cheetah outreach programme, where NHU’s Cheetah Diaries is being filmed. Her enthusiasm for the subject of cheetahs was clear from our correspondence and it was in fact her that spotted the cheetah skin being illegally sold in Greenmarket square last week (see the video here). I got hold of Marcy to discuss her work in Southern Africa and the plight of the world’s fastest mammal.

Chris: Tell us a little bit about your work here in Southern Africa

Marcy: This is what I call phase one, the point of this project is not to be a hit and run. With this story I plan to follow up and I plan to come back.  So I have been in Southern Africa for three and a half months, starting in Botswana for a month where I worked with Cheetah Conservation Botswana. I did some safaris and talked to a lot of experienced locals in Maun, and from there I moved onto Namibia and I worked with the N/a’ankusê organisation, where we tracked the cheetah in the wild in the Namib desert and I observed what they were doing with their research and community outreach.

A wild cheetah relaxing

There are some fascinating new developments in foot imprinting software, where they are having their cheetah walk across a bed of fluffed up earth in order to get the footprint of the cheetah foot, and I hate to say it but basically mimics what the Bushmen already know. It’s fascinating. So N/a’ankusê is doing some interesting things. And then moving on to Africat in Okonjima, this is still in Namibia, and speaking with them and seeing their shift towards an education focus.  And of course no visit would be complete without visiting the cheetah conservation fund in Otjiwarongo. And there speaking with their volunteers, speaking with Dr Laurie Marker and seeing what they are about with their programmes, so a month in Botswana, a month in Namibia and then South Africa, and I have been here for six weeks and I have worked with Cheetah outreach and that’s been amazing. In fact I went on the road with Cyril, who is one of their researchers who checks up on the dog programme in the North West province so we were on the road together for about a week, way up in parts of South Africa that if I tell a South African national I was in Bray, they’re like “Bray where?” It’s 200m from the Botswana border, so we were based in the bottom tail of the Kalahari and delivering Anatolian Shepard puppies and checking up on existing dogs and talking with farmers and learning firsthand what those experiences are, where the issues are, and it’s complicated.

Chris: So for the everyday person, how would you describe the crux of the issue around cheetah conservation and the threats towards cheetahs in the wild?

Marcy: The ultimate threat is man. I don’t want to paint with a broad brush by saying that people are terrible, there are always a few bad apples, but because cheetahs tend to live on farmland they come into conflict (with people), they get blamed for a lot of things as well because they hunt in the day, so if a farmer has a loss he might see a cheetah and blame it on that animal. You know farming is very difficult and very stressful and at times the last straw is when a predator takes that livestock, given all the stresses that that farmer has. And the farms have maybe been there for generations…Ultimately the main problem, (well there are many problems cheetahs have) the main problem is humans.

An Anatolian puppy

Chris: What are some of the other problems cheetahs face?

Marcy: They are genetically similar to each other. So they don’t have (and I am not a scientist so please don’t quote me, there are ways to research this!) the strongest constitution, they are basically so genetically similar that you could take a skin graft from a cheetah in South Africa and graft it onto a cheetah in Kenya and it will take. So you have that, and you have a really high infant mortality rate, the infants might starve, they might get killed by hyena or leopard or lion, so it’s very difficult in the wild for them and they have stiff competition from other predators in the wild. They are the world’s oldest cat; they are a 4 million year old breed and they are built for running, they are not built for combat. So even though when we see the cheetah we see this huge cat, it is actually a small cat on the big cat scale. So they have this fragility, but when you see them in the wild and they are growling and hissing and spitting you don’t think they are fragile at all!

Chris: What are the realities of Cheetah population numbers, can you give us an estimate of how many there are in the wild and how many are left in South Africa?
Marcy: well we tend to not want to give numbers because we don’t really know. They are low. The world’s population of cheetah has dropped by 90% in the last 100 years. You have the highest population in Namibia, then Botswana, then South Africa. I don’t know if it is more than a thousand in the wild and I don’t really know those numbers but it is low and they are rare. If you talk to some farmers they may say that maybe their grandfather could tell you that he saw a cheetah on his farm. Nobody sees cheetahs now. It’s very rare, and I made a point of asking lots of people and people don’t see them. They don’t see them and that’s indicative of a problem, because if you look at their range, it’s all over Southern Africa, but they are very scarce in South Africa.

Chris: Wow, okay well that’s certainly an important issue. If people would like to find out more, where can they go for more info and to see your work around cheetahs?

Marcy; Sure, I can direct them to my site, which is cheetah-watch.com and there are also a wealth of sites, there is www.cheetah.org which is the cheetah conservation funds site, and http://www.cheetahbotswana.com/ if you go to these sites you will see information links and it can feel overwhelming. Just to give you a background I studied for three years straight, writing grants and going to events and talking to people before I came to Africa, and once I hit the ground here and started really talking to people it was like I could throw out everything I read because of the experience of being on the ground. I think it is hard for people to come to Africa, It’s a long way, I understand that, and that’s our job as media producers to bring this message home in the best way we can, but I can’t stress enough that if you have the opportunity to come here, do it. Talk to people. Because conservation is a about people, for the animals it’s not their problem, we are the ones that are giving them the issues.

Chris: that’s a great point, so in a sentence what would you like to say to the public out there, both South African and international, what’s your advice. If people want to help save cheetahs, is it about education. What’s it really about?

Marcy: it’s about coexistence. Coexistence is the key word. Coexistence is possible.

Chris: Thank you very much!

Click HERE For more info on cheetah genetic similiarity and survivorship

Namibian sunset

Ancient Bushman knowledge

Sharon and Misty

How did you first come across the Presidential herd? Why elephants? And why move your life across the ocean to a country with significant problems?

A dear friend of mine first introduced me to the Presidential Elephants in the late 1990s. He died in a tragic accident soon after, inside of Hwange National Park. I had already fallen in love with elephants prior to this; in 1993 in South Africa’s Kruger National Park. Life’s too short not to follow your dreams and your passion, no matter what time in life these hit you, and where they take you.

Do you consider Zimbabwe your home and do you have plans for the future there?

 Zimbabwe has been my home for the past decade. I now know no other. Some clearly don’t want me here, but they must know by now that they can’t get rid of me that easily!

Do you have any hopes/expectations/outcomes through the production of this film?

My hope is that the world will fall in love with these elephants, just as I have. Their ongoing safety and survival is very dependent on the tourists returning to Zimbabwe. I hope that everyone is inspired to come and visit my extraordinary wild elephant friends such as Lady, Whole and Misty, and the many others in these ohh-so-friendly Presidential family groups.

Did you ever expect a film to be made? And could you tell us a bit about your book..  

I’ve believed for a long time that these elephants deserve more awareness of their existence, and their battles. My own part in this is what’s been somewhat of a surprise. My book The Elephants and I was released in 2009. It’s the 2001-2007 story of my life with these grey giants – through good times and bad – and is available on Amazon. You can also read about it on my own website www.sharonpincott.com  My next book (working title Masakhe – which means ‘to rebuild that which has been broken’) is a collection of short stories – including my ongoing life with the elephants from 2008 until the present day – which will be released in mid-2012.

Have you encountered any opposition from any particular parties with

"Whosit" loves to be close to Sharon and her vehicle

regard to interviews, access to locations etc? Is the Zimbabwean government aware of your activities/presence?

My Zimbabwean life always seems to be filled with controversy and frustration. There’s always someone who doesn’t want my eyes and ears – and mouth – around. That hasn’t changed. I’m here with the support of high-level Government officials, but that doesn’t mean that all who are in office are my friends.

Have there been any encounters with danger whilst living in Zimbabwe? If so, how did you get past that and decide to carry on?

My life in the Hwange bush is very different to what a tourist will experience. There are no more dangers for tourists here than anywhere else in the world; in fact this would surely have to be one of the safest African countries to visit. I’ve certainly experienced my own set of threats and hazards over the past decade. If anything, these just make me more determined not to leave my elephant friends.

How did you adjust to having a film crew around documenting your life? Was it difficult to get habituated to the cameras? Did you enjoy it?

Having lived a very solitary life for the past 10 years, it did take some getting used to having people with me every day. But I love to share these elephants with others and the film crew were blown away by how unbelievably friendly and tolerant these free-roaming elephant families can be – especially given all that they’d previously heard about Zimbabwe and its beleaguered wildlife. Cameras make me nervous, but some of my special elephant friends clearly had a real desire to be Movie Stars! I think we all enjoyed it, spending so much dedicated time in the company of such exceptional wild animals.

 What has been your highlight and most inspiring moment, during this project?

On location with Sharon's elephants

There were a lot of heartfelt and encouraging moments during the filming (as well as sad and frustrating ones). One moment does stand out for me though. I had an incredible encounter with one of my favourite adult female elephants from the W family (where all elephants have names beginning with W). Willa was clearly not feeling well, under the harsh African sun, and the deep intimacy that infused our meeting that day surprised even me – creating another intense bond. It was an unforgettable moment between two not-so-very-different species.

How did you come across Rhino Phila and her story?

Oloff Bergh- Executive Producer: Triosphere wanted to contribute to efforts to create global awareness of the rampant increase in rhino poaching  in South Africa. Whilst the local news media was carrying almost daily stories of new poaching incidents, the international reach was minimal and the stories were essentially generic i.e. “another rhino slaughtered by poachers”. This was highly unlikely to appeal to international factual programming networks. During the course of our research into rhino poaching, we came across Phila’s story. This presented the perfect opportunity to personalize the war on rhinos in a “Saving Private Ryan” approach. And so “Saving Rhino Phila” was conceived…

What are you hoping to achieve with the production of this film, and where are you hoping it will go?

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: What we would like to achieve with this film is an absorbing, emotional, but above all, entertaining hour of  television, that cuts through all the crap out there on hundreds of channels.  Importantly, we want to reach the audience that doesn’t give a damn about rhino’s, or doesn’t really go out of their way to watch wildlife or conservation films. An immersive cinematic experience is what will draw this audience into Phila’s story.  We are not preaching to the converted, nor are we trying to solve the rhino poaching problem here – we just want to create a global awareness of the problem and its surprising complexities.  From there it’s out of our hands – but it may affect enough individuals to create a groundswell awareness, and the spin offs from that could help rhinos to survive at least for the next generation to see and experience in the wild. Then it’s up to that generation.

How did you build the back story for this film?

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: The back story for this film – Phila’s incredible tale of survival – was built primarily through the scripting of dramatic recreations of the events, presented in a featuresque style.  We drew from the evidence of what may have happened to Phila, from ballistics investigations to accounts from people close to Phila (there were no eye-witnesses) and scouting the actual locations where the poaching incidents happened.  We also drew from other known poaching incidents, and the modus operandi of the poachers, to piece together our scripted drama of Phila surviving two poaching attempts on her life.  We then put together a fantastic team from the feature film and commercials industry, to bring Phila’s story to life in a stylised way.  Our lead actor, the ‘Poacher boss” was the bad guy from ‘District 9’ and he brought a beautiful dark side to the poachers who hunted Phila down.

Of course Phila’s story isn’t over so a large part of her story was documented in the present day, and we drew from actual footage of her shot by her owner just after the attacks as well.

Have you encountered any opposition from any particular parties with regard to interviews, access to locations etc?

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: You wouldn’t believe the opposition we’ve encountered to get access to individuals and locations.  The rhino poaching problem in South Africa has everyone in the industry really scared, cautious or untrusting – often a combination of all three.  We’ve had the most incredible access to alleged poachers, police investigators, ballistics lab reports, special forces, rhino owners and anti-poaching teams but a lot of that was ‘off the record’.  As soon as we wanted to take the cameras out for an interview, the barriers went up – from alleged corruption in the police and government to ‘so-called’ kingpins of the poaching crime syndicates.  Reasons not to talk on camera varied from landowners fearing the location of their rhinos would be leaked to the poachers, to cops fearing for the lives of their families because they had uncovered too much.  It was a really tough shoot with constant obstacles to our progress, but despite all the crazy stuff we learnt behind the scenes, we still managed to get some amazing interviews and footage to build perspective around Phila’s story.

Kira Ivanoff – Producer: Trying to set up interviews with anyone in the police force was possibly the most difficult and frustrating job I have ever encountered on a production. I was passed from pillar to post so many times that I would eventually end up back at the beginning again. In some cases we rejoiced at the eventual permission to interview an individual, only to find out a day later that the permission had been revoked. The upshot is that some of these curve-balls led us to dig deeper to find willing interviewees, most of whom, offered us fantastic insights, which we would never have stumbled upon had we gone with our original choice. These ‘curve-balls-turned-home-runs’, featured a lot in the production of Saving Rhino Phila, and gave us a strong sense of being on the right path. To a certain extent, the production took on its own evolutionary arc – as our network of contacts increased, so the web of information expanded and all the dots started joining up. It was fascinating to be a part of this process.

On location for 'Saving Rhino Phila'

Have there been any encounters with danger with regard to poachers?

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: We never embedded ourselves with anti-poaching patrols, hoping to encounter poachers – it wasn’t that kind of film.  And although a rhino a day is being killed currently, that is country wide, on massive properties, so it would take months, spending 24 hours a day with anti-poaching patrols to get any ‘action’, and even then it would be a lucky encounter (or unlucky!).  We had more important elements of the story we wanted to pursue with our resources.    So although we saw freshly poached rhinos, met with alleged poaching syndicate members, cops and ex-cops, we never found ourselves in a gunfight with poachers, or in any danger. Thank goodness – I don’t like guns much.

Kira Ivanoff – Producer: Never mind the guns! I had to play pushy-producer with some seriously powerful and some pretty shady characters along the way in order to get access to some of the scenes and information on our wishlist. I’ll let you know in a couple of months’ time if my phone’s been tapped or my horse’s head lands up in my bed one morning.

We heard you have had to conduct interviews with people who have very different perspectives to you, what was the most difficult and hard-hitting interview you had, and has it affected your view on the topic?

Kira Ivanoff – Producer: It was a hugely enlightening journey to gather up the opinions of such an incredibly diverse group of people. From wealthy businessmen commercially farming rhinos and stockpiling their horns in anticipation of the CITES ban being lifted, to wildlife purists who have devoted their lives to protecting rhinos in the wild. The fascinating realisation is the fact that every contradicting opinion had a very strong argument behind it and it became impossible to subscribe to any one ideal in the end. There is no single solution to the rhino poaching crisis and this is a theme which will present itself very clearly in the narrative of the film. The audience has to make up their own mind. It’s a huge shock to realise how little we all knew when we set out on our ‘Saving Rhino Phila’ journey – and I mean public knowledge here too. The media is not even giving us the tip of the iceberg at present.

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: I enjoy different perspectives, even if the views are polar opposite to mine, so I quite enjoyed the variety of interview subjects we talked to.  The hardest part about the interviews was the constant ‘scratching beneath the surface’ to access the information and emotion that normally remains hidden, unless provoked.

How do you feel about the measures being taken to protect the black rhino? Have you met anti-poaching units, what were they like?

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: There is a huge amount of effort from many sides trying to protect both the black and white rhino.  All the anti-poaching patrols we met with and worked with are incredibly dedicated, and put their lives on the line because the poachers are heavily armed and well funded.  But the poaching is so out of control, that the anti-poaching units are not going to be able to stop or slow down the poaching by themselves – we explore other options, efforts and potential solutions in the film, ranging from the unexpected to the bizarre.

Kira Ivanoff – Producer: The public, on the whole have also become an enormous anti-poaching unit, countrywide. There is such a huge awareness out there now that no chopper flies by unnoticed any more. Every hum of propellers in the distance smells of poachers on a mission. During our recreation shoot we blanked out the registration numbers on the chopper (to simulate what the poachers do) and our pilot had genuine fears of being shot out of the sky should he venture over neighbouring properties. We also had an incident when the chopper first arrived on set, where the radios on all the neighbouring farms were ablaze with activity – nobody had been alerted of its planned arrival, the whole area was in a tizz. And then there was the awful road transfer of our lead actor back to Johannesburg, who unfortunately had to travel in the vehicle that was towing our fake rhino carcass, complete with bloody face and sawn-off horn. He said the looks that passing motorists gave him were anything but kind. Luckily he’d just spent four days acting as poacher-boss, so he didn’t take it too personally.

Has this been an emotional film to work on? How has it changed you and your perspectives on this subject?

Kira Ivanoff – Producer: It’s been very emotional.  Seeing a dead rhino for the first time struck me to the core. Listening to some of our interviewees, I couldn’t stem my tears. Some, because their accounts were so heart-rending, others because their ideals were so inspiring. It’s also been a rollercoaster of emotions on other levels. We would set out to shoot a scene, only to find that the scenario had changed by the time we got there. Sometimes leading us on a totally different tangent – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse – frustration and elation all the way. Personally I’ve had my own epiphany through this process, having to swallow my strong opinions on animal rights in order to be able to be the impartial and open-minded producer that the situation called for. It’s been a wonderful mix of personal growth and inner strength that can only be attributed to the fact that it’s such an incredibly worthy cause we’re working on.

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: Working on this film has opened my eyes to the scale of and nature of the poaching.  It is not a simple problem and there are no simple solutions, and as you scratch beneath the surface it becomes a more and more bizarre world complete with unexpected twists and darkly colourful characters.  It’s been a fascinating, disturbing journey, challenging our preconceptions every step of the way.

What has been your highlight and most inspiring moment?

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: My highlight was seeing the recreations come to life.  The teamwork, sleep deprivation, gunshots, laughter, blood and tears were a potent mix to bring Phila’s story of survival onto the screen.

Kira Ivanoff – Producer: I have to agree with Richard (and not just because he’s the director!) I loved being involved in the recreation shoot. It’s about as far from a normal everyday natural history shoot as you can get and it was fascinating and so rewarding to see the final results! The team spirit was phenomenal and every person on the crew felt a personal quest towards the realistic portrayal of Phila’s nightmare ordeal. We had our fair share of curve-balls, as can be expected, but once again they all turned out for the best – our original chopper pilot let us down and instead we got a kick-ass pilot who more than delivered the dynamic visuals we needed, and after much desperate hunting through the normal channels, we finally found, through sheer coincidence, the best actor imaginable to portray our evil poacher boss. Between the two of them, they set our camera’s, and inspiration, alight.

Has there been any really low moments?

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: Seeing a dead rhino from gunshot wounds is never pretty.

Kira Ivanoff – Producer: The lowest moment for me would be if I didn’t think this film could make a difference.

Were there any particular scary filming experiences?

Kira Ivanoff – Producer: There were a few moments where I feared for my crew members in choppers and had to dig deep into my faith in the pilot, and a few moments where I feared for the safety for some of the gear. Firing live rounds near excruciatingly expensive cameras is quite an adrenaline rush – you’ve got to pray your marksman’s got a steady hand that day!

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: I think the person who had the most scary experiences was our safety officer.  As the person responsible for our safety, he had to undergo a mini-stroke at least a few times a day as he watched our lead actor hanging out the side of a chopper, doing the most daring flying through the tree tops, semi-automatic weapons with live rounds, chainsaws, handguns, crazy off-road driving and the chopper landing on highways.

Can you recall any humorous moments on production?

Richard Slater-Jones – Director: For a film subject that involves death, despair and organised crime, we actually had a good few laughs – it’s inspiring to be surrounded with people who can still laugh, and have hope for the future, despite the onslaught of poaching affecting their lives very personally.

Kira Ivanoff – Producer: Indeed, I almost feel guilty when I say that we had a huge amount of humour going round on this shoot. I think when people are faced with dire circumstances, they do dig deeper to find the humour in a situation. All of our contributors provided us with a healthy dose of laughs, for all sorts of reasons, and I’d like to think they enjoyed working with us as much as we enjoyed working with them. I look forward to seeing them laugh – and cry, when they watch the final product.

Calling all students!

We are happy to announce a brand new feature on our site! We are launching a Student Column which features student success stories, and latest news from our past and current students.

If you would like to contribute to our student column, then please get in touch at shani@nhuafrica.com .

Stay connected by joining our WFA group or becoming a fan on Facebook .

Aaron Gekoski

Aaron Gekoski, UK

“All has gone very well since completing the amazing course .I helped produce a documentary on Africa’s shark finning crisis, Shiver. We are now in talks with major broadcasters to shoot an international version, which I will produce. We hope to commence filming in the coming weeks. I also have articles coming out this month in National Geographic Traveller, Getaway and FHM and write regularly for Travel Mag SA, Divesite and African Diver magazines.

So once again I would like to wholeheartedly recommend the course. It’s a fantastic stepping stone into the industry.

My work can be viewed on www.aarongekoski.com “

Alexander Sletten

Alexander Sletten, Norway

“I did a documentary for an  SA based production company called the “The Trapper and the Amazon” – where we spend six weeks in the depth of the Amazonian jungle shadowing animal trapper expert Darien Simpson on his quest to trap Jaguars for scientific studies.

I’m currently working on a Rhino film commissioned by the NHU Africa as camera and sound and established my own company, Apex images. The idea is to start, slowly but surely, produce content for local and international clients, fingers crossed.”

Ashwika Kapur

Ashwika Kapur, India

“It is possible to have a career that enables you to live in the midst of the wild outdoors, seeing and telling the remarkable stories found in nature through the eyes of an artist and a conservationist. I have spent the last year giving further shape to my dream and have occupied myself  in assignments that have taken me to various places: the Kenyan savannahs, the rainforests of Borneo, and some exotic jungles and wetlands in India.

You can have a look at some of my work at www.ashwikakapur.com , though the website is due an update!”

Judy lehmberg

Judy Lehmberg, USA

“I retired from biology teaching in May, 2009 and took my new RED camera to Yellowstone National Park to make a movie about what has happened to a species of native fish, the Yellowstone cutthroat trout, since lake trout, from the Great Lakes were illegally put into Yellowstone Lake.  The lake trout eat cutthroat trout whose population has nose dived. The cutthroat trout has over 30 species of animals that are dependent on it for their survival including grizzly bears, osprey, bald eagles, otters, dippers, great blue herons, and other animals.  The lake trout have decimated the cutthroat population and, because they live only in deep water, are not substitutes for the animals who normally eat cutthroat.

This is a rather circular story because over 150 years ago lamprey were accidently introduced into the Great Lakes where they almost wiped out lake trout.  Then the lake trout were introduced into Yellowstone Lake where they are wiping out the cutthroat.   In the meantime biologists from the Great Lakes have taken lake trout from Yellowstone.  They are breeding them and reintroducing them to the Great Lakes to try to increase lake trout populations there.

Because this story covers such a diverse list of species I have had the opportunity to film all of the animals listed above.  Grizzly bears are the most exciting, but can be difficult to find.  Others like the osprey and the bald eagle are relatively easy to find but can be difficult to catch them doing what you want to film.  I spent over 30 hours with my camera pointed at a bald eagle nest waiting for them to bring their chick a cutthroat trout.  They brought in a snowshoe hare leg, a bird, something I couldn’t identify and then, after a total of 30 hours they brought in a cutthroat. Then they brought in another cutthroat about 30 minutes later! I was so excited about the first one I almost missed the second one.

I took my cutthroat movie idea to the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in September, 2009 and found a company that is producing it for me.  It should be finished this summer.  It has taken a while because the summer filming season is pretty short in Yellowstone.

In the meantime I am finishing up a kids environmentally oriented music video with a singer named Jim Stoltz.  I am also working on a “how to” movie on fly fishing. I have sold some wolf footage to National Geographic that was in their “Expedition Wild – Inside a Wolf Pack” and Aquavision TV Productions in Joburg has my footage on their website for sale.

I was lucky to be able to get my RED camera.  While I was trying to decide which camera to buy a pipeline company announced they wanted to put a natural gas pipeline through our land.  I knew I couldn’t stop them, but I negotiated with them long enough that the money they paid us almost paid for my camera.  I have really enjoyed using it.  It shoots up to 4K resolution and can accommodate Nikon lenses, which my husband already had boat loads of, everything from an 11 mm to a 500 mm. I now have about 40 hard drives with over 80 TB of footage, but that includes backups.

I have worked more than I ever did when I was teaching biology and enjoyed every minute of it. I had some wonderful teachers and met a lot of really nice people.”

Series 2 of The Cheetah Diaries Coming Soon!

The Cheetah Diaries Series Two is almost complete. This time we not only reunite with old friends like Shadow and Baggins, but we meet 2 new groups of cubs, training to become cheetah ambassadors. We follow the trials and tribulations of their lives at Cheetah Outreach and viewers can look forward to a series that has drama, romance, comedy and tragedy.

Annie and Beryl from Cheetah Outreach

The first season of The Cheetah Diaries was a great success. The series was broadcast on e-tv we were very happy with the audience response. It has been sold worldwide and is currently one of the top sellers in the NHU Africa’s catalogue. Most importantly the series sparked an interest in Cheetah Outreach and highlighted the cheetah’s cause.

We hope that viewers tune in for Season Two, while we’ll be hard at work putting season three together.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF CHEETAH DIARIES

A worthy cause

The staffs at Cheetah Outreach was thrilled when visitors poured in from South Africa and around the world, coming to see their favourite characters from the show, like cheetah ambassador Shadow. We hope that the forthcoming season will achieve the same success and fire the growing public passion for this cause.

Young cubs and the Anatolian guard dog breeding program.

There are six cubs this time and we get to meet new characters like Sebastian, Minkie the Meerkats and Brandy the Mountain Lion. Season 2 was a great success with the Anatolian guard dog breeding program. We follow up on the progress of the project where pups were placed on farms. Here they will work as guardian’s protecting livestock and acting as a non-lethal predator control. This project is the single most important way that the Cheetah Outreach is helping to conserve the wild cheetah.

Close contact with the cheetah

Alice filming cheetah cubs

It is always such a privilege to be able to get up close and personal with amazing animals like cheetahs.  Nothing beats being allowed to play with a four week old, very fluffy, cheetah cub. It is definitely one of the many perks of being a wildlife filmmaker!

Inspirational

Working with the team of handlers is a huge learning experience. Not only have they welcomed the crew with open arms, but also affording us the privilege of working alongside people who have great ardour for cheetah conservation.

*Get in touch with Cheetah Outreach at their official website www.cheetah.co.za

Interview with Emma Napper, first time producer and winner of Roscar award for Best Newcomer

Filming of "Sea Otters: A Million Dollar baby"

Why have you chosen to film sea otters?

I’ve always thought Sea Otters are amazing animals, not just cute but incredibly resourceful and tenacious. I visited Monterey (California) in 2008, filming for the BBC’s LIFE series, and came across the female otter who lived in the Monterey Marina and I thought she was fascinating. She was doing everything an Otter should do, but right in the middle of a busy harbor. I spoke to the local boat owner, Jim, about her and found out that she wasn’t just surviving in the marina, she was taking advantage of it – adapting her behavior to every new opportunity, opening her clams on the boats and feeding around the abalone farms. I hoped that she would have a pup and we would be lucky enough to capture on film how she passed on her knowledge. I didn’t know how she would cope or whether she could really raise a pup in these unusual circumstances, but as we started to film her I quickly realized what an extraordinary mother she is. ·

How long have you been working on this project?

We started filming for the Natural World in June 2009 when the pup was born and followed the mother and pup until April 2010 right up until a couple of days before the edit! I really felt I got to know the mother and pup – I miss them! I was working on this part time (along with my other job as the researcher / AP on the BBC Madagascar series)

What has been one of your most memorable encounters with the sea otters?

I really got to spend time with the pup. It is illegal to approach sea otters so we couldn’t move too close to them, but the mother felt safe with us so she would look up from the water, shoulder lift the pup out of the water and place her right up next to us on the dock. We had to be quiet and respectful at all times but we were able to witness some intimate moments in their lives which I think were completely unique – even if it was just the pup dreaming and twitching in her sleep.

How does it feel knowing you’ve won the Best Newcomer Award and it being sponsored by the Wildlife Film Academy?

I ‘m so happy to have won the Best Newcomer Award – I couldn’t believe it when I found out. Sea Otters was a real joint effort with the very talented cameramen, editors and people on the ground in Monterey. I’m really grateful for the Wildlife Film Academy for sponsoring the award.  It can be a tough time when you start  out as a wildlife film maker but it is a great industry to be part of – so full of passionate people determined to celebrate the wonders of wildlife

INTERVIEW: FILMMAKER/PRESENTER RICHARD TERRY

Richard terry

Richard is a documentary cameraman, filmmaker and TV Presenter.  He has worked on a wide range of television documentaries & dramas, some in extreme locations such as the Arctic, jungles and deserts. Among his best works are A Man Among Wolves and the two critically acclaimed film series Stranger Among Bears, and Alone among Grizzlies With Richard Terry.

You recently attended the Wild Talk Africa Festival in South Africa; did you enjoy visiting the country?

My trip to Cape Town and the Wild Talk Africa film festival were memorable in so many ways. However, co-hosting the awards ceremony took me right out of my comfort zone, having to stand on stage under a bright spotlight before a room filled with so many industry high-rollers – thankfully I seemed to have come out unscarred and didn’t collect any rotten vegetable skins. Sitting on a couple of panels afforded me the opportunity to feel a part of a special group of like-minded people, some of whom I made an instant connection with and have since become friends. These encounters could very well lead to future filming collaborations – it would be an absolute pleasure and a most rewarding experience to work alongside them.

Thankfully, I did get to see a little more than the inside of Spier hotel in Stellenbosch, where the festival was held.  With a long weekend in Cape Town, I managed to visit the spectacular Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, horse ride and swim in the invigorating Cape waters with Gully sharks, penguins and Fur seals. I even had the chance to test out my lungs by free diving through a spectacular system of tunnels and a cave beneath a kelp forrest having just recovered from a lung disease called Histoplasmosis which I and the rest of the team had picked up whilst filming inside bat caves in Mexico.

What production are you currently working on?

I am currently the presenter on a new adventure & wildlife film series for Nat Geo Wild channel called ‘Man V Monster’.

So far we have made 3 x 1hour episodes produced by Optomen, a New York based production company who recently made ‘Monsters Inside Me’ for Animal Planet and Discovery Channel.

The first of our adventures were filmed in the Brazilian Amazon, Southern Mexico and on remote islands in Indonesia. All people involved are very pleased with the finished films. The show will premiere in the USA aprox. end of May 2011. We are waiting to hear if and when we will be asked to make more episodes – viewing figures will be a large deciding factor.

*You can catch Richard’s new series Man V Monster which premieres in the US Monday, May 30th on Nat Geo Wild.

Richard during his work with Grizzlies

For more information about Richard, you can visit his website at www.richardterry.eu