roadwarriorafrica

I just got back after spending 4 nights at Mara Explorer camp in the Mara. It seems that an Austrian film crew paid the 'necessary' fee to film game from a helicopter. This went on for 5 days, and it was unbelievable at the damage they caused.

Around Rhino Ridge, there are three male cheetah's (Honey's cubs), as well as a female (Shakira) and her three young cubs. On Sunday 16th November, Shakira and the 3 males had hunted seperatley and eaten in the morning. That afternoon the helicopter arrived. Everytime the cheetah's started stalking, the heli would start hovering overhead (very low at times), and that would scare the plains game off, as well as freak the cheetah's out. The noise was unbearable for the bush, and their behaviour was so stupid. Whenever the cats would rest, the heli would land nearby and wait for some action.

Everyone was complaining, and we ended up calling the head warden and told him what was going on. This was on Friday, as the cats had not eaten for 4 days. he said that he had given permission for the helicopter, but they were going to film from a height and distance. He would have a chat with them. It seems that he did because on Saturday they filmed from higher up, and they were gone on Sunday.

As wildlife photographers, please show some respect and etiquette towards nature. We were all extremley disgusted by their behaviour.

Kavey

That's very disappointing. I can understand that he gave permission, I guess one has to try avenues of income before realising whether or not they will be disruptive BUT surely when such permit was given, it would not have been out of bounds to ensure someone was monitoring the filmmakers, at least for first couple of days, to ensure they were meeting his stipulated height/ distance limits.

KayeN

Hi roadwarriorafrica,

Maybe they didn't realise the lack of respect they were showing the animals they were filming. Sometimes I am amazed at what people in a gamevehicle do with wild animals so close to the vehicle. I also believe that some people do not realise that for animals in the wild, each day is life and death. That by zooming in when cheetah are hunting may ruin their chance of eating that day. It seems obvious to me, but some people are not very perceptive and as long as they get what they need on film, they are happy!

The helicopter pilot, if he/she was a local and I imagine he/she was, should have set the ground rules right from the start and not be browbeaten into doing something that he/she knew was irresponsible.

It is heartbreaking to see animals suffer because of our stupidity/ignorance/or I just must have this photo regardless!

Kind regards

Kaye

HariS

Very irresponsible and a complete lack of respect.

How is the weather in the Mara at the moment? what are your experiences in early to mid March? Thanks......

andybiggs

Thanks for posting and sharing the experience. It certainly sounds like the helicopter pilot was way way way off base.

Didn't all of the big production companies (Nat Geo, BBC, Discovery Channel, etc) sign an agreement where they won't show any footage or take footage where they harass the wildlife? In other words, they are all now doing helicopter flights with a heli gimbal mount, and don't need to fly close to get their footage.

I would be really frustrated if I were on the ground when that happened, for sure.

Nyamera

Disgusting! I’ve read of “annoying” helicopters before on the Mara Conservancy website. Someone was actually herding wildebeest back to the river with a helicopter, but I don’t know who or why.

atravelynn

Thanks for the alert. Hope the predators were able to eat eventually. How deplorable.

What if we wrote to the Mara Conservancy about our disgust. If this is a frequent occurrence, who wants to go and have their couple of days there ruined? We need to let them know that.

roadwarriorafrica

KayeN - There is a camp at Olare Orok Conservancy called Film Safaris Camp. I was told that there is a guy called Warren Samuels (not sure of his name) who is Kenyan and had organsied the filming. The helicopter was Kenyan registered, and the pilot was Kenyan as well.

Hari - the weather all over the world has become so unpredictble. We have been in March where it has been dry and other times wet and cool. The grass is usually long, so game viewing is not at its prime. The high season when the migration is on, is from August - October, and we have found that November / early December, the rates are much lower, the grass is shorter (all eaten by the migration), and the game viewing is phenomenal.

In 4 days, I saw 6 different leopard inc. one that had just killed a male impala and then drgagged it to the river bank to eat it, and call 3 other leopard (sister and 2 cubs from seperate litters), the cheetah's, 5 different lion prides (total of around 40 cats inc. cubs and a buffalo kill, warthog kill and post elephant and eland kills), bat eared foxes, heaps of hyena, jackals, serval cat, genet cat, and plains game (with a total of 2 zebra and 3 wildebeast).

HariS

Thanks, RoadWarrior....... appreciate your feedback. From the sounds of it, appears like you had some phenomenal sightings on this recent trip.

DanaPhx

This incident is certainly very disturbing and never should have happened.

Just a note, since roadwarriorafrica said this was in the Mara Explorer camp area, this area is NOT patroled by the Mara Conservancy. This area is under the Narok County Council which has a different game warden and rangers.

DShah

Eben,

That leopard family you encountered was likely to be Olive (Bella's daughter) and cubs of Big Cat Diary fame..

Did the guides mention whether it was indeed her?

D

atravelynn

Thanks DanaPhx, then complaining to the Mara Conservancy will do nothing.

divine54

Author: Kavey ([email protected])
Date: 11/25/2008, 06:42 am

That's very disappointing. I can understand that he gave permission, I guess one has to try avenues of income before realising whether or not they will be disruptive BUT surely when such permit was given, it would not have been out of bounds to ensure someone was monitoring the filmmakers, at least for first couple of days, to ensure they were meeting his stipulated height/ distance limits.

kavey
the massai mara has more than 1 million visitors a year and assuming that only 500.000 are NOT residents they cash in 20 million US$/annum! and from jan it will mount up to 30 million.
and still you can understand that they gave permission to exploit.

sorry - but this is incomprehensible.

furthermore as a professional a warden should now about the noise etc.

it's going down to greed. nothing else.

div

divine54

dana
the narok council charges 40 US$/pppd.
how much money do the massai want to invest into their cattle which overgrazes and dies when the next drought comes?

especially the massai seemingly want to live their lives as their anchestors did but cash in at the same time.

the whole incident is disgusting!

no excuse for such a unprofessional and stupid behaviour!

div

Nyamera

Roadwarrior, if your information is right it doesn’t look like the organizer can plead ignorance. http://www.mandy.com/home.cfm?c=sam097

roadwarriorafrica

DShah

Most of the leopard we saw were Bella's cubs, etc. We saw Olive, Ndito, Kalli, Ntitio and others I cannot remember. Two are Bella's daughters and the rest their offspring.