Marsh Pride Lions

I have to say that I was shocked and saddened this afternoon, to hear reports in the news that lions from the famed Marsh Pride in the Maasai Mara had been poisoned, with two confirmed dead as a result.

Jonathan Scott, zoologist, BBC presenter and author of a book about them said that they were popular with visitors because it was always possible to find them in the same place. However, of late, the pride had been pushed to the fringes by the Maasai needing to herd their cattle onto grazing land.

It was back in 2009 that I spent several amazing days in the Mara with Jonathan, staying with a group at Kicheche Camp and was able to observe this well known and well studied pride of lions, stars of BBC series Big Cat Diary.
I learnt it was possible to identify each individual from their whisker pattern and so it was easy for the lives of specific lions to be followed. One such popular lioness was Bibi, and sadly it appears she may have been one of the victims.

It seems that three men have now been charged with poisoning.
Reports are appearing online about the incident. It is a difficult one as grazing is in short supply and so when a lion attacks their cattle, they have every reason to be angry. However, to poison the animals is to poison the very thing that brings revenue to the region. As the lion population is falling, a careful balance must be struck between nature and natives.

It was with this news that I went back into my archives and pulled out a few shots from my time with the Marsh Pride. It is quite interesting to see how I look at shots I passed over back in 2006 and see them in a different light today, so do forgive me if I share a few with you now.

Enjoy!

UK Release of Disney's African Cats Today!

Sita (aka Shakira)

After a false start and a long wait, the UK general release of the Disney Nature, African Cats documentary film has finally happened! Prior to todays release, the Royal Premier took place on Wednesday evening at the BFI Southbank, with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in attendance, the event also helping raise money for Tusk Trust.

The film has been adapted for the UK market, with Patrick Stewart now providing the narration, in favour of Samuel L Jackson, when it was released for the American market back in October.

I was fortunate to enjoy several sightings of Sita (also know to Big Cat Diary viewers as Shakira) during my visit to the Masai Mara in 2009. This magical evening encounter with her and her cubs, became one of the highlights of my visit to Kenya.

I now look forward to finally being able to enjoy this film, following my premature blog post back in October, and hope that it will recreate the true atmosphere of this special place.

RSPB Birdfair 2011

Simon King

Jonathan Scott

One day just isn't enough!
Unfortunately we didn't actually arrive at the showground at Rutland Water until lunch time and there was no way we were ever going to get around the whole show and find time to sit in one of the hides (that will have to be for another day).

Shamefully I can admit, that the only birds I saw down a camera lens yesterday were cardboard cut-outs set up deliberately so we could drool over the amazing 500mm lens on a 1D mk IV, set up on the Canon show stand for potential purchasers (that will have to be for another day too).

My main aim then, in the short time we did have there, was to get a seat in a couple of the guest lectures for two naturalists whom I greatly admire, buddies from the Big Cat Diaries days, Simon King and Jonathan Scott.

I remember first watching Simon King on TV way back in the 70's and apart from being exceedingly envious of the amazing wildlife opportunities he has had over the years, he has to be admired for his amazing camerawork and his endearing presenting (or should that be en-deer-ing, in the light of his Autumnwatch rutting coverage?!) I am obviously not the only one to appreciate his easy-going presentation, as a long queue had formed outside the lecture marquee some time before he was due to speak. He didn't disappoint either and provided us all with fuel for thought as well as great little wildlife challenges to have a go at.

Jonathan Scott followed on stage with an up-date to the story of the Mara's big cats. As well as being a highly knowledgeable naturalist, he is also a previous winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the year (as is his wife Angie). This ensured a spectacular presentation of stunning images from the Mara, something that for me was quite personal too. I had been fortunate enough to be part of a small group, spending a week in the Mara accompanied by Jonathan, a couple of years ago. To have on hand, his knowledge and expertise in all things Mara and photographically was the finishing touch to this must-do photographic travel experience.

So, as I said, I have no bird pictures to show from our day out, only these couple of record shots, further testing the ability of the G12. Whilst it coped quite well with the difficult lighting situation - black-out marquee and stage lights, there was a need for the digital zoom to be brought into use and that is when the noise began to take the edge off the clarity of the image. It is becoming clear that the handy little G12 is definitely better at one end of its range than the other.

Breakdown in the Masai Mara

(This is the mishap I mentioned yesterday)

Out for a day in the Masai Mara with big cat expert
and award winning wildlife photograher, Jonathan Scott

One bump too many and a nasty noise
prompted closer inspection

Broken suspension

Thankfully, even though we were in the middle of the Mara,
it was possible to radio for assistance

An hour later, and a team of mechanics arrived from Govenors Camp
to see if the break could be fixed in the field

Sadly, these wheels weren't going to take us any further today
so it was a quick transfer to another 4x4 to make up for lost wildlife spotting time

Having eventually managed to get to see the Marsh Pride during the afternoon

There was just time as the day was coming to a close
to spent a quiet and intimate time observing a herd of elephant at a river crossing

Before rounding off the day with an African sunset

To see TV clips from Jonathan Scott, including the famous encounter with Kike the cheetah go to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/collections/p00db3b8

The Truth About Lions BBC 2

Romeo, King of the Marsh Pride

Watching these two programmes on BBC 2 last Wednesday 23rd and again last night, rekindled some fantastic memories for me.

Back in October of 2009, I took a trip to the Masai Mara where I was fortunate to spend an afternoon observing the now famous, Marsh Pride. This was a treat in itself, having followed the stories of this pride on several series of The Big Cat Diaries. But to be there in the company of big cat expert and award winning photographer, Jonathan Scott, it couldn't have been much better. (Although an earlier mishap might have caused us to miss the Marsh Pride but more about this another time.)

Jonathan was accompanying our delegation of Canon photographers for the week-long trip, imparting his expert knowledge, both about the wildlife and on how to achieve the best from wildlife photography. As we sat quietly in the 4x4, only a matter of feet from a realxing Romeo and his 'three graces', we learned from Jonathan, amongst other things, the way to recognise the individual lions. The whisker marks are as individual as our finger prints and the blackness of the nose indicates the age of the lion.

We were able to capture some amazing images during this afternoon with the pride, but only gaining just a tiny glimpse into the lives of these lions that Jonathan has been expertly following for over thirty years.

Incredible!



Romeo, King of the Marsh Pride, is available as a high quality framed giclee print, by sending a request via an email through my website.

It may be still possible to catch last weeks programme on iPlayer
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00zv8w8
and this weeks programme will be available for another week
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0101jpx

Just a Tick

One last ele picture, then we will call it quits with these illustrated idioms, for now.

Bush Telegraph 2

Trunk Call

Whilst we are in this mood, here is another one.

Bush Telegraph 1

After my post yesterday, the challenge was laid down to continue in a similar vein and illustrate 'bush telegraph'.

Well, not one to run away from such a challenge, I took a look through my back catalogue and found a couple of subjects that might just fit with the title. Although not such an obvious image/caption link as yesterday, this particular event came to mind.
Here is the first Bush Telegraph for you today.

Whilst on my trip through the Mara a little while back, we had stopped for breakfast next to a hippo watering hole. An ideal way to pass the time. Our guides lifted the breakfast boxes out of the vehicles, where we then helped ourselves before finding a suitable rock to sit on. Whilst balancing our plates on our knees, we looked up and across to the other side of the waterhole.

To our astonishment, another safari group was in the process of having their breakfast laid out in the bush, the only apparent omission being an ironed copy of a well known quality Britsh daily.

Big Cats

Guess what? It has been yet another miserable day and no point of interest has emerged, so you will have to forgive me for indulging in a spot of archive delving. Following yesterdays encounter in the thicket, it got me to thinking about what else I could have encountered. The inevitable rabbit or hare; other deer such as Muntjak; the Fen Tiger. Wait a minute, Fen Tiger?

Oh yes, it is quite probable. For a number of years, there have been occasional sightings of un-identified large black cats wandering in the region. Our neighbour says he saw one close enough that he could even hear it breathing. That is pretty amazing. Reports appear in the press, but of course, there are seldom any images to accompany the report and even then, they are so poor it could be anyones guess what it might be. (Maybe this is my chance to capture a stunning image of this questionable beast or beasts?) It is believed there must be several on the prowl, as they have been spotted over such a large area it couldn't possibly be a sole feline. Mind you, it would be interesting to see what the mutt would make of it when faced with it in a thicket!

So, what of the splendid cat above? Well, I have included Binti as she is a leopard and it is thought that our big cats are the black versions of leopards that have escaped from captivity. These animals were fashionably kept as pets until it became illegal to do so following the dangerous animals act of 1976. It is said that many were released into the wild and they and their off-spring live on. The thought of these splendid animals being domestically caged for selfish gratification disturbs me. There is really only one place to see these magnificent beasts and that is in their natural surroundings. I was fortunate enough to enjoy a trip to the Masai Mara where on one day, for nearly an hour, we watched Binti behaving as leopards do. She is the granddaughter of Bella, made famous from the BBC Big Cat Diaries series. For us as photographers, it was just perfect and this shot of her in the African thicket, is just one from the stunning set I captured that day.

(If you want to see more of this set, just tell me and I will make a special posting)