Chris: So why is the president of India here visiting the Cheetah Outreach programme?

The President of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, is in South Africa on a State visit promoting trade and diplomatic links between the two countries. She made a visit to the Cheetah Outreach centre and met with its founder, Annie Beckhelling, in order to strengthen the relationship between the groups in Southern Africa and India who are involved in an attempt to re-introduce the cheetah to India. Whilst visiting Cheetah Outreach the president was treated to an encounter with one of the centre’s best-loved ambassador cheetahs, Hemmingway, and was given a tour or the centre and an insight into Cheetah Outreach’s conservation initiatives. She also presented the wildlife charity with a generous donation on behalf of the India people.

Chris: What happened to the Asiatic Cheetah?

The Asiatic Cheetah was hunted to extinction in the mid 20^th Century, largely by colonial sport hunters. All that remains now is an isolated population of around 200 individuals in Iran. Genetic testing has confirmed that the African cheetah is close enough genetically to the Iranian population to enable the use of Africa cheetah stock in the re-population process. Three nature reserves have been ear-marked for the cheetah’s re-introduction in India and a plan is in place to use animals from the Iranian, Namibian and South African populations.

How many cheetahs do we have left in the wild in Africa?

It is difficult to put an exact figure on the number of cheetah but estimates are between 8 and 12 thousand. However, even that estimate is misleading  in term of cheetahs left in the ‘wild’ as the majority of those individuals are living within protected areas – fenced game reserves where their capacity to roam free is restricted and breeding is managed. It is estimated that there are as few as 600 cheetah remaining in South Africa and that of that number only half are roaming wild outside of fenced nature reserves.

When can the public expect to see the latest Cheetah Diaries Series available for purchase?

The Cheetah Diaries Season 2 should be available for purchase by the end of June. The Cheetah Diaries Season 3 is currently in post production and should be available to purchase towards the end of 2012.

NHU Africa presented the film to interested members of the film community, environmentalists and members of the public as a celebration of the global initiative of Earth Day.

The film was screened in over a 160 other countries around the world on the same day, in venues that ranged from UN buildings to art galleries to make-shift home cinemas.

Here in South Africa the film was screened in two venues, the Labia in Cape Town and the Pumpkin theatre in Ballito, hosted by the Zulu Coast Film Office and Ilemee Chamber of Commerce.

The film has been described as a ‘truly global film experience’ by the UK telegraph and is certainly a one of a kind production, that completed the large task of using footage from every country around the world.

NHU Africa would like to thank everyone who came through to support, as well as Canon for sponsoring a camera as a grand prize, BOS ice tea for their contribution of beverages and GreenPop and WESSA for getting involved and supporting the initiative.

To learn more about the film, go to www.onedayonearth.org

NHU Africa (The Natural History Unit Africa) is proud to present the Cape Town iteration of OneDayOnEarth’s Global premiere this Sunday 22^nd April, Earth Day at the Labia cinema in Orange street.

OneDayOnEarth is a new feature-length documentary film — the first to include footage filmed in every country on earth captured all on the same day, and created with the help of the United Nations and an international community of filmmakers. It is due to debut on Earth Day, April 22, 2012 at screenings in more than 160 countries worldwide.

NHU Africa has partnered with Canon and will be giving away a SX130IS powershot camera on the evening as well as some BOS ice tea, while GreenPop will be there giving people the opportunity to buy a tree in support of Earth Day.

Four years in the making, “One Day on Earth” is a video time capsule of one day – 10 October 2010. More than 19,000 filmmakers, both professional and novice, contributed 3,000 hours of footage. The project, headed by Founder/Director Kyle Ruddick and Co-founder/Executive Producer Brandon Litman, donated video cameras to more than 95 UN country offices, which resulted in unusually intimate access, including footage of remote villages of Papua New Guinea and Abyei, a district of South Sudan with a history of border disputes. The UN has extended their logistical support of the project through 2015. 

Featuring music by Grammy winners Paul Simon and Tinariwen, Fela Kuti, Sigur Rós, and DJ Cut Chemist, “One Day on Earth” captures a dazzling array of human experiences, from the birth of a newborn in Mongolia to a woman who collects clocks in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. The film fluidly links how crises confronting the world – from the water shortage to poverty – connects us all and offers rarely seen images from life in North Korea, Iran, and Kosovo. Beyond the film, the project has established a community platform of filmmakers worldwide and a shared public archive of video footage. The film has been financed by an array of sources, including significant support by the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms initiative.

 The screening is free and open to the public, however due to limited seats it is essential to RSVP to the following address to secure a space: shani@nhuafrica.com

 For more info visit

 http://www.onedayonearth.org

Entrants were asked to submit 3 minute shorts with 150 word production brief explaining how their idea could be developed into a TV series or one-off special. The response was impressive and after much deliberation the list cut down to 10 finalists. These 10 were then scrutinized by the panel of judges. The shorts were critiqued on two levels, firstly to see if they stood up as a short film production by themselves and secondly they were looked at as promos for possible future development. The written proposals were also looked at for succinctness and ability to explain the projects.

Finally, three winners were chosen:

 FIRST PLACE: Strange Marine by Alexandra Kent & Chip Roy

Vyv Simson

Film: Captivating visual subject with some good macro photography and behaviour.  ‘Weird creatures’ is a compelling hook and engages viewers immediately.  I would like to have seen some development of this ‘weird’ story line in the writing, even if it was as simple as ‘let’s meet some of the weirdest characters around’.  The film could have had greater impact with a careful use of music.

Proposal: ‘Strange’, ‘Weird’  or ‘Extreme’ are words that grab the attention. The proposal is well written and clear and could certainly strike enough interest to form the basis of a discussion with a broadcaster. But to develop this into a series would need some genuine story development. It is the sort of subject that might benefit from a presenter.

Piers Warren

Film: An excellent short – superb images and an engaging script. The narration was delivered in a rather unusual way and needs to flow more. Pay attention not to add too much detail when writing for young audiences. But overall the most watchable and enjoyable three minute short.

Proposal: The proposal was good but needed more detail/examples of how this series would be different from the many others there have been about marine life

SECOND PLACE:  Day of a Norfolk Bait Digger by Philip R K Jones

Vyv Simson

Film: An engaging short film with a beginning, a middle and an end but which doesn’t quite show its true potential. This idea stands or falls on the strength of the main character – the bait digger. We have to want to spend time with him. At the moment we don’t get enough idea of his character to get us really engaged. We need to hear him speak on location, not just in commentary. We need to know something about him and his life – that might give us the reason to want to follow him. Does he have some special knowledge to impart, is he a wry philosopher, does he have some unique insight into the landscape and the animals?

Proposal: Clear in what it’s outlining as an idea. Good too in suggesting a particular place in the TV world where such a film might fit.  But to develop this into a full length film the proposal needs to focus much more on the attributes of the bait digger-to sell the strengths of the character much more. It is his unique world we are offering to take viewers into and it is through his eyes and understanding that we need to see the wildlife. So let’s hear about that in the proposal.

Piers Warren

Film: Good photography and sound and a clear concept. Easy to visualise this as a 50 minute show. More of a story for the digger needs to be developed and the species seen need to be named with more info along the way. The narrator’s voice was poor so either a new voice needs to be found (an actor to give the voice of the digger) or a narrator to voice most of the script with occasional snippets from the digger himself. Excellent start.

Proposal: The proposal was one of the best in the contest with good detail

THIRD PLACE:  A Quiet Corner by Cain Scrimgeour

Vyv Simson

Film: Well shot with some good long lens work. Makes good use of natural sound. Very much an ‘impressionistic’ montage. Gentle and intimate, the film gives no real sense of the nature of the location or the proximity to urban area. Both need developing to give substance to the idea of ‘my patch’ as a television series, as outlined in the proposal.

Proposal: The idea is clear but as stated, it could only work as a series of shorts. The proposal doesn’t have enough content to sustain a series at 30 or 60mins. To get to this level it would need human characters to take you on some sort of journey into ‘their patch’ to reveal a hidden world.

Piers Warren

Film: Some excellent images (some of the best in the contest) but seemingly a random collection of wildlife. With no narration it was hard to get a feel for the style of the series and how stories would develop. Some good natural sound too.

Proposal: The proposal was rather vague – needs more examples of storylines and more technical info required – formats, length, audiences etc.

Top Ten- Click the link to watch them

1. Deer in Winter by Matt Smith
2. The Adventurer with Alex Jones – Alligator by Alex Jones
3. Day of a Norfolk Bait Digger by Philip R K Jones
4. Wildlife at War by Charlotte Storme van’s Gravesande
5. Yosemiteby Natasha Young
6. St. Kilda by Marcus Brent-Smith
7. Unexplored Wilderness – BERA by Gaurav Periwal
8. Strange Marine by Alexandra Kent & Chip Roy
9. A Quiet Corner by Cain Scrimgeour
10. Bioluminescenceby César Luiz Leite

Well done to everyone who participated and thank you to Frontier, Wildeye and Wildlife-film.com for putting on a great competition!

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NHU Africa commissioned Afriscreen to produce Paseka in 2010 and the film was completed in 2011, just in time for submissions to IWFF, DIFF and Encounters film festival.

To watch the trailer of the film and find out more about it, click HERE

The final judging will take place between the 19-25 March and the festival will be held between the 5-12th of May in Missoula, Montana, the heart of the Northern Rocky mountains.

Paseka is a touching story of one young elephant with an unbreakable will to live. On Easter morning she was found mysterously abandoned by her herd in the Okavango Delta, but according to wildlife interaction ethics the rangers had no choice to leave her out in the wilderness. What comes next is a bizzare chain of events where she finds herself amonst a very unusual herd of captive elephants.

To see more the trailer or the full version, click here

The competition encourages aspiring wildlife film makers to submit their 3 minute wildlife orientated video entries for judging. The judging and feedback process is where NHU Africa will become actively involved, by reviewing and judging the best entries and feeding back to the entrant. This process will imitate the submissions process that film makers would normally encounter at NHU Africa and provide feedback to the aspiring film makers as to how they would go about developing a good idea into a great natural history film.

To enter to competition please refer to guidelines and rules below: 

The Rules

Running from 1st March until 26th March, the competition will challenge entrants to submit two elements: 1. A three minute (max) wildlife video. 2. A 150 word (max) production proposal explaining how the concept could be made into a feature length natural history programme, film or series. Note: Wildlife may include plants and/or animals. Videos may be edited in any way, but this is not absolutely necessary. Remember, our main interest is in finding promising talent and ideas.

The Judges

The overall winning entry will be chosen by leading experts in the field from both Wildeye International School of Wildlife Film-making and NHU Africa.

How to enter

The competition opens on the 1st March 2012 and closes at midday on the 26th March 2012. Entries should be submitted via an email to marketing@frontier.ac.uk titled: 2012 Wildlife Film Competition Entry

The email must contain:

• A URL link to your three minute (max) video on YouTube.

• An attached document containing your 150 word (max) proposal.

• Your full name. Alternatively, the video may be submitted via an online video sharing platform. However we would prefer the original method outlined above.

Wildlife Film Making Course Terms and Conditions

1. Competition ends at 11:59 GMT on the 26th March 2012.

2. Winners announced on 2nd April 2012 on the Frontier website.

3. The winner will receive a 25% discount on the ‘Introduction to Wildlife Film-making’ course from Wildeye, a selection of eBook titles from the Wildeye publishers on Wildlife Film-making, a year’s membership to Wildlife-Film.com and feedback and advice from influential and experienced industry professionals from Wildeye and NHU Africa.

4. There is no purchase requirement to enter the competition.

5. Competition entries must be made in the manner and by the closing date and time specified in the competition. Failure to do so will disqualify the entry.

6. Only one entry per person, although group entries can be permitted.

7. Only one person from group entries will be eligible for the discounted Introduction to Wildlife Film-making’ course.

8. Prizes are non-transferable and there is no cash alternative. Frontier reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal or greater value at any time.

9. Winners may be requested to take part in promotional activity and Frontier reserves the right to use the names and addresses of winners, their photographs and audio and/or visual recordings of them in any publicity.

10. The competition is open to all citizens around the world, except employees of Frontier. If a winner is selected from outside of the UK postage fees may have to be paid.

11. Frontier may cancel or amend any competition, competition information, or these terms and conditions without prior notice. Any changes will be posted either within the competition information or these terms and conditions.

The Prizes

We are launching an exciting competition for aspiring wildlife film-makers, giving you the opportunity to win a discounted place on the extremely popular ‘Introduction to Wildlife Film-making’ course from Wildeye! Not only that, as part of this fantastic prize one lucky person will win: • Invaluable exposure to NHU Africa, an established and world-class production company. • Feedback and advice from influential and experienced industry professionals from Wildeye and NHU Africa. • A selection of titles from the Wildeye publishers on Wildlife Film-making. • A year’s membership to Wildlife-Film.com. This competition is truly unique and is perfect for aspiring makers of natural history film who want to get their creative video shown to influential and experienced industry professionals from Wildeye and NHU Africa.

South African National Parks announces that 52 rhinos have been poached and 30 arrests effected throughout South Africa to date. 

The hardest hit areas continue to be the Kruger National Park (KNP) and Limpopo province with 26 and 13 rhinos poached in both areas respectively. 

The CEO of SANParks, Dr David Mabunda, said “it is worrying that we are still losing such a high number of rhinos throughout the country. The most encouraging area in this whole saga is the increasing number of arrests and the steeper sentences that are being imposed on convicted criminals.”. 

Conservation agencies and the police are seeing increasing cooperation from the public which has resulted in arrests in the KNP and some provinces being effective before the criminals even enter the parks. The difficulty is pinning a suspected criminal to the actual crime because we are dealing with very wily and sophisticated individuals. 

Top wildlife experts from around the world have allocated $US 3.3 million to 23 species conservation projects. Gorillas, cockatoos, and frogs are some of the many threatened species that are receiving a helping hand from SOS (Save Our Species), a global conservation fund initiated by IUCN, the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Drawing on species conservation knowledge accrued over decades by IUCN, for the first call for proposals SOS focused on species groups that were completely assessed on IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species™ and already had specific conservation action plans in place. According to IUCN’s Red List, one in three amphibians, one in eight birds, and one in four mammals are at risk of extinction in the wild. Nineteen different organizations will use these funds to conserve threatened animal and plant species and their habitats.

“The dire situation facing the world’s biodiversity calls for urgent action. SOS is seeking to bring knowledge, expertise and funding together in order to address the plight of threatened species,” says Julia Marton-Lefèvre, IUCN’s Director General. “Through these exciting projects we hope to show that, if properly implemented, conservation works.” 

A high variety of different species is crucial for ecosystem health and SOS aims to conserve a multitude of threatened creatures, focusing on Asian and African mammals, amphibians and birds with the new round of funds. SOS supports a variety of mammal projects such as conservation programmes targeting the critically endangered Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli) and Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis) in Africa, in addition to the endangered Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) in Pakistan. 

Mammals represent the largest portion of the SOS portfolio, but they are not the only species at risk. SOS also supports bird and amphibian projects, protecting the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus pygmeus) in Asia; a project to re-introduce the Philippine Cockatoo (Cacatua haematuropygia); and an initiative preserving the Golden Mantella Frog (Mantella aurantiaca) in Madagascar.

“Ignoring species conservation means ignoring a world in which species are currently disappearing at a rate 100 to 1,000 times higher than normal. The loss of wild plant and animal species is a real threat to human well-being, sustainable development and poverty reduction. In these times of economic turmoil, it would be wise not to further damage nature—our ultimate safety net,” says Jean-Christophe Vié, Deputy Director of IUCN’s Global Species Programme and SOS Director. “By implementing on the ground conservation action, the projects SOS select help protect entire habitats which both people and wildlife depend on.”

In October 2010, SOS was established with more than $US10 million in financing commitments in order to build a global coalition to protect threatened species and their habitats. This unique international alliance aims to raise awareness of biodiversity conservation and looks for participation from innovative companies across all industries. Nokia was the first company to join SOS.

“SOS was established to use the charisma of wild animals to explain the role of nature, generate interest in the plight of threatened species, and shed light on the complexity of conservation work,” says Monique Barbut, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF and Chair of the SOS Donor Council. “Today, with our core funding we are adding 23 new projects covering a large number of threatened species, including around 60 that will be closely monitored. So far we are on track. The only thing missing now is the private sector’s commitment to join our endeavour to save the planet’s captivating wildlife before it is too late.”

This decade has been declared by the United Nations as the Decade of Biodiversity. Issues surrounding species survival will be discussed at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Jeju, Republic of Korea, from 6 to 15 September 2012.

For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:

• Elke Blodau, SOS Marketing and Communications Officer, t +41 22 999 0372, elke.blodau@iucn.org 

• Maggie Roth, IUCN Media Relations, m: +1 202 262 5313, maggie.roth@iucn.org