Animal Kingdom (YOUR IMAGE MUST HAVE AN INVITE) / Discuss

noahg. says:

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Your grandfather's story of being attacked by lions is quite dramatic. How did the story impact you as a child? How does it influence you today?
As a child I never really knew what it all meant and wasn't really aware of his feat until in my teens. He died when I was 5. At school I got to realise he was famous when one of our reading books had his story in it and the other kids looked up to me because of it.
Today - well I will always admire Harry. He was an incredibly tough guy with an incredible wealth of bush knowledge. But the story or the incident doesn't affect me in my daily work. I've got to know lions really well through my own experiences and I don't think of this incident when I'm with lions. Although when I go walking in the bush I always at least like to have a knife with me.



Your father and grandfather were both game rangers in Kruger National Park, and you have clearly inherited their passion. Does this passion extend to other members of your family?
I have 2 brothers, one is my twin. He's a metallurgical engineer and my older brother is in the hotel business. Both enjoy coming to the bush but not full time.
I have 2 step sisters, too. One is involved in television and the other used to work in the bush but is now more involved in art.



What was the most extreme thing you did to get a photograph or film clip?
I have been out of the car with all the Big 5* to get low angle shots in various different situations. But I suppose the most extreme thing was flying an ultralight aircraft with a camera strapped to the wing, through Bogenfels. This is a rock arch that extends out over the sea on the desert coast of Namibia. I only had about 2 m clearance on each side and a rocky ocean below. Won't being doing that one again. Will use a radio controlled plane next time.
*Editor's Note– lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo are the Big 5.



Do you think wildlife photography and has significantly changed over the years, not only because of advancing technology, but because of the way we understand the animals and their habitats?
I think understanding the animals has changed photography to a small degree. But animals in general behave in similar ways and once you know some of them you're pretty well covered for most of them.
I think we do look at animals differently than we have in the past and so are looking at different angles and shots.



Wildcast, the "live blog", is like a diary of the adventures of creating your next film that incorporates Web 2.0 technologies such as Flickr and YouTube — a wonderful idea for the armchair traveler. Was this your own inspiration? When and how will the public be able to view this coming film?
I knew we had to approach the market in a new way and Chris Boden came up with the details on how we should do this.
I'm currently working on a film on wild dogs, elephants, and lions. And then hyaena, leopard and ground hornbil and the baobab tree. So that's about 7 films for now. Which one will be finished first I'm not sure. It all depends on the material I'm able to get. I hope by the end of next year to at least start on post-production of one film, probably wild dogs. But I hope to have all these projects done in the next 4 to 5 years.



You do most of your work in Southern Africa. Have you ever contemplated filming and photographing animals from other climates? If so, what and where?
I haven't thought too hard about working elsewhere. I feel that being native to this area and knowing it so well is a great asset. And if I was to go film elsewhere they would just send someone else to fill my place. And for me too there are obviously the advantages of living close to home.
After finishing the film "Beauty and the Beasts", a film about leopard and warthog for National Geographic, I was keen to film the snow leopards in Nepal. But that never happened.



What are your opinions about wildlife shows and films that appear to be as much about entertainment as education?
I think they all have a place. In some cases the presenters go over board and interfere and harass the animals too much. I myself prefer what we call "Blue Chip" Natural History films. That is films without people. Having said that, my latest film "Hyena Queen" has me in it. But I did that for a specific reason - to get people to sit up and watch the film as not many will watch a film on hyaenas, but seeing a person sitting amongst them they will surely take notice.



There has long been controversy about the care and keeping of animals in zoos. Organizations that arrange for the viewing of wildlife in their own natural habitat sound great, but are less available than zoos to most people. What are your thoughts?
Zoos have always served a purpose and have provided access to the less fortunate. And through this they have often instilled a love for animals. But more and more zoos are moving away from small caged pens to much larger free-er enclosures for animals. And not to forget, zoos have saved numerous animals from extinction and some have even been re-habilitated into the wild.
Although I dislike zoos myself, they do serve a purpose.



Do you have any pets?
I love pets. When I was a game manager in Botswana I took on the position and started up there with my 7 week old Doberman/Rottweiller puppy. We grew up there together and had the most wonderful time. But working the way I do now I just can't have pets. If they can't be free to walk around the place and I have to keep them indoors 'cos of leopards and other predators then it's not fair on them. And I'd love to have a dog but I know when I'm up close filming lions the dog will jump from the vehicle or the lions will go for the dog. So I just can't have a pet right now.

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Learn More:
Photostream-
www.flickr.com/photos/wildcast/
YouTube Channel-
www.youtube.com/profile?user=wildcastr
Website-
www.kimwolhuter.com/
Wildcast-
www.wildcast.net/
Tracking the Leopard-
www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/data/2001/10/01/html/ft_2...
National Geographic Society-
news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/06/0628_020628_leop...

Mentioned:
Beauty and the Beast-
www.kimwolhuter.com/work_beauty.htm
Harry Wolhuter-
www.krugerpark.co.za/kruger-park-history-harry-wolhuter.html

Snapshots Archives:
dotlyc-
flickr.com/groups/animal_kingdom/discuss/72157594286693042/
Ken Ilio-
flickr.com/groups/animal_kingdom/discuss/72157594228263393/
Originally posted at 10:50AM, 1 October 2006 PDT (permalink)
noahg. edited this topic 69 months ago.