African Wildlife & Environment Issue 76 FINAL
FAUNA, FLORA & WILDLIFE
vehicle and focussing on the sleeping subjects I heard a sound like distant thunder, and I started feeling like I was being watched. Suddenly the lions jumped up from a dead sleep and stared intently in my direction. I knew that they were not aware of me and I turned my head slowly to look behind me. My blood ran cold as I made out a large maned lion staring intently at me through the bushes. I suddenly felt extremely vulnerable and started getting up slowly. The male lion started growling softly again at my movement, and I realised that I was at a distinct disadvantage, if I remained on the ground. I counted down in my mind and suddenly stood up, hitting my head on the chassis of the vehicle and I screamed out in pain thinking that I had been caught by a lion. My scream made the male lion growl loudly and the rest of the pride ran forward to investigate the commotion. As I was resurrected out of the grass, and my more than six-foot plus frame became evident to the male directly behind me, he realised I was a human and turned tail running away still growling. The pride now rushed after the male also growling. I jumped into the front seat of the vehicle bumping my head again on the door frame on the exact same spot I had hit my head on the chassis. I was screaming out in pain in the cab, when the lionesses had caught up with the male lion and realised that it was not an interloper, but a family member who had just been on a walkabout and started with an intense greeting ritual. I then started laughing, seeing the funny side of the situation, a reaction prompted by the excess adrenalin still pumping through my body. The lioness also had a broad grin with teeth bared, but was more likely just a nervous growl as she surveyed the Land Rover cab with the screaming/laughing human with the egg on his head? In the pandemonium, no photo was taken…
Thedigitalrevolutionhasbroughtaboutextremelycompact systems like Go-Pro cameras that are inconspicuous and can capture the action in high definition quality. YouTube has many close wildlife encounters recorded and uploaded for all to see of the many incredible and stupid incidents that have been captured. Camera traps have also revolutionised how wildlife status can be captured in remote areas, and this technology has been written into best practice norms and standards requirements when it comes to recording and subsequent identification of known individuals of various wildlife populations. This is especially successful when it comes to identifying predators, whereby you ascertain whether the population is declining, stable or increasing. The longer the cameras are left out in the field, the more robust the data; camera traps are assisting protected area managers to make more informed decisions. Working in the Western Cape with the Cape Leopard Trust, camera traps were used extensively to record the leopardsightingsandofcourseotherwildlifethathappened to pass that point. Steve Winter, who is a professional photographer who worked for National Geographic , set up high definition cameras in the Cederberg Wilderness andmanaged toget someamazingphotosof the leopards in their natural environment. He is also famous for capturing iconic photos of Snow leopards, tigers and jaguars. Steve has his camera traps custom-made by Kenji Yamaguchi, a photo engineer who works for National Geographic . A lot of attention to detail is considered when setting up these custom-made camera traps, which could take many days after consultation with the locals and the conservation experts, considering the unique behaviour of the cat being photographed. He likes to set the camera traps at eye-level and goes to great lengths to ensure the
16 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 76 (2020)
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