Hello! Last night on AP i watched the episode "Family histories of the Big Cat Diary"...... it basically was a half hour show with clips from the different seasons to highlight the history of their stars.

Saw the episode of the cheetah, starting with Kidogo(sp?), Amber and then finally Honey. It appears that, when Amber was last seen she seperated from a co-alition of three sub-adults? and now, we know of Honey's 3 sub adults..... so, that makes two co-alitions in the Masai Mara?

Does anyone know if Amber's boys are also still around?

However, i did notice that in the more recent episodes they would go back to focus a lot on the faces of the presenters of the BCD....wonder why.

Hari

Hi Hari,

I saw this programme too though must confess it being kinda repeat stuff I did not concentrate on it too much. My daughter was glued to it though and I did tell her that one of the well known cheetahs in the Mara died earlier this year in a tragic incident. Don't recall whether that was Amber or Honey or another one. When we were there last year we had a nice encounter one morning with three cheetahs trying to hunt a wildebeest. To me they looked fairly well grown ones but not sure if it was a mother and two cubs or whether it was three sub adult males. This was near the Sand river area.

On another note - I was in Yala over the weekend and the "prince of darkness" played hide and seek with me. Several times I would drive up and down a track only to find his fresh pug marks over my tyre marks but finally I got him...... http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/558212

Hope you make it over to Sri Lanka some time soon. Just remember the park will be closed in September.

Re: Very thirsty Leopard

Lovely shot Moh!
Has a slight cool/blue tinge, an adjust to a warmer WB will improve this. ;-)
I shall be chasing a few Leopards myself in Sept's trip for 17 nights to Zambia (SLNP)

Cheers
Marc

Thanks, Mohammed.....will do Yala sometime next year!

Hi Mohammed

A really great photo and I cannot really see any blue tinge on my screen, to me, he looks just perfect!

Kind regards

Kaye

Great photo of the leopard. I would really like to visit Sri Lanka, mostly the cultural triangle, but also Yala if its possible to build into my itinerary.

Hari, I have to admit, I can't stand "Big Cat Diary" -- to me, it turns a very wild place, like the Mara, into a zoo or drive-thru safari (like the kind they have at some amusement parks in the US). I really find it offensive, with the cute names, creating stories and intrigue and such.

Michael

Stunning picture. What kit do you use?

Hari,

To get back to your points ….

Big Cat Diary (or Big Cat Week as the recent episodes have been called in the UK, where I’m based) has been filmed since 1996. Kidogo was indeed the Cheetah star of that first series.

Amber died in early 2002 and her 3 cubs featured in a later series certainly survived to maturity and lived for some years. Whether they are still around or not, I’m not sure and it becomes difficult to track males as they can wander long distances from their original territories. As far as I recall they were two males and a female – males (brothers) will usually stick together for some time, often for life and on average have a longer life expectancy than lone males. This is thought to be due to their having lower stress levels (safety in numbers and more success with hunting). Sometimes a sister will stay with her brothers for a few weeks/months but eventually she will separate when she becomes sexually mature. This happened with this trio for a while. Kike, another star of later programmes, was thought to be another daughter of Amber’s from a different litter.

Honey’s three sub-adult male cubs are certainly still around – or they were when I last heard about 3 weeks ago.

There are at least two other coalitions around in the inner conservancy area that I know of.

It is true that in recent years the style of BCD/BCW has changed and the presenters have become more upfront on camera. Whilst this is not to everyone’s liking (nor are other aspects of the filming) it does gain wider appeal from audiences of all ages, or so the viewing figures seem to show. I’m afraid it’s the way longstanding series have to be sold these days whether we like it or not. As an avid photographer and safari enthusiast myself, I try to look beyond the commercial aspects of how the programmes are presented. I must admit to still enjoying them.

Each of the three presenters is passionate in their own way about wildlife. I was lucky enough to be on a safari with Jonathan Scott last year and he was tremendous – a very genuine and well informed guy. He’s lived in Kenya for 30+ years after gaining his degree in zoology and his whole life has been spent photographing African game – lucky, lucky man!

Unfortunately, filming for Big Cat Week has not been commissioned for this year. In the UK where it is put together there is still one series left to be shown. It was filmed last September and is scheduled for this September together with some updates. I hope they resume in 2008.

By the way, don’t know if you’ve seen it before but there’s a good family history website for Big Cat Diary on the following: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/programmes/tv/bcd/

Chui

And for those who can't wait till September, the 2006 series DVD is available here
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-Cat-Week...365963-4032420

Chui,

Many thanks for the detailed info on the cheetah of the Mara. I hadn't been watching too much of BCD, but IMO any nature program is better than any regular tv (expect sports, ofcourse). I will take a look at the BBC site.

Rgds,
Hari

Typo: Except....

BCD went downhill with the arrival of the bit of fluff, Saba. Once she joined the team there were far more face (and feet!) shots than on previous editions. I guess they feel it is necessary to provide some eye candy for the fellas.
Never the less I am looking forward to the new series in September, and also to the "Life" series Simon King refers to in his diary. He is a great cinematographer, and that is what he is doing for "Life", not presenting. Much as I admire him he can be a bit awkward in front of the lens, as demonstrated on Springwatch. Jonathan Scott on the other hand manages to bring over his knowledge and enthusiasm with skill and seem very relaxed which makes for enjoyable watching.

I still enjoy BCD BUT I have never liked Saba as a presenter and much prefer the first several series with Jonathan and Simon only.

I find Saba irritating and if I see her feet one more time I'll be sick. Though it seems producers last time around did note that element of feedback, at least, and gave us less Saba feet shots.

I don't mind that the series includes presenters a bit more - it's not a standard wildlife documentary (which I also love). Their reactions help remind me of being on a safari myself where the feelings and reactions of the viewer are relevant and interesting.

I do like to be able to follow families and understand personalities and skills and weaknesses of individuals, though I'd prefer it not to be too anthropomorphic or over-dramatised.

I also prefer the format they used when it was Big Cat Diary rather than Big Cat Week - they condense time ( which I know they always did) but these days they do it more aggressively and also seem desperate to have an emotional cliff-hanger at the end of each "day".

BUT, at the end of the day it's a commercial venture and viewing figures are important. I assume the current style brings in more viewers. It's not a bad thing to do that as it helps those who might not normally develop any understanding of the issues facing wildlife today to become informed and interested.

If we are to save endangered habitats and species we need the mainstream of our populations to come on board. At the moment those of us wanting to do something are a minority and it's a constant struggle isn't it?

I'm afraid Jonathan Scott gets me really wound up -

"Ooh, look! Can you see? Can you see? Look, look - it's a cheetah. Look, it's stalking its prey - can you see? Look it's a cheetah stalking its prey. Can you see?"

Yes, we can bloody well see. Why can't he just let the images speak for themsleves.