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!

Disney Nature: African Cats UK release

Sita aka Shakira

Meet Sita, star of the new Disney Nature film, African Cats, which was due to be released here in the UK this October 2011. Unfortunately it has now been delayed until Spring 2012 and it is still unclear if this film is to be released into the cinemas or straight to Bluray/DVD, although I believe it may be the latter.

So, why the interest? Well, here in the UK, Sita will already be familiar to those who were viewers of the BBC series Big Cat Diares, as Sita is better known here as Shakira. It seems strange that Disney decided to change her name when all the trackers out in the Masai Mara know her already as Shakira. Her name only has to be whispered over the radio and suddenly a myriad of jeeps rush to the sighting location. That was exactly what happened when I was out in the Masai Mara just two years ago, when I too observed this 'cover girl of the Mara Vogue' on several occasions.

Cheetah watch - Shakira and her cubs are lower far right.

Taking the successful BBC observational formula of the Big Cat Diaries, originally fronted by Simon King, and Jonathan Scott, (our expert guide during my visit to the Mara) Disney Nature focused on this cheetah and her cubs plus two groups of lions from the Marsh pride- also well known to UK viewers.

 My photographer companions, oh - and the Disney Nature film crew

Over a period of more than two years, Disney Nature filmed these big cats in the wild, Simon King being one of the team, and respecting the natural space in which they lived. They edited the footage together, bringing in Samuel L Jackson to narrate this wildlife documentary film. Reviews from the US release have been quite favourable, so if you enjoyed Big Cat Diaries, then you might just enjoy this latest offering from the Disney stables.

I'm really hoping this film will portray the magic of big cat life in the amazing Masai Mara, just as I experienced it. I will, of course, let you know.

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