Don’t Turn a Blind Eye

In a recent post on his blog, Shem Compion asked “Who cares about the images you take?”

I am amazed that more photographers don’t ask, or try to answer, this question.  Is it perhaps because we are afraid of what the answer might be?  What if no one cares about my images?  What if if no one like the images I am creating?

For me the answer to the question, when relating to wildlife photography, is quite a simple one.   I care.  I do it because I love what I do.  Being in the moment and capturing that moment is both the challenge and the reward.  Sure, a time will come when you are going to want to take your photography to the next level but I feel quite strongly that you should never stop caring about your own images.  The moment you stop caring, other people will stop caring as well.

Shem does a great job of exploring the various directions one can go with this question, and I strongly recommend that you go and check out his blog, but for now I want to take a slightly different approach.

Wildlife photography.  Who cares about it today?  Who will care about it in the future?  Sounds simple enough doesn’t it but think about it.  Many of the subjects we are photographing in the wild every day will not be there in future.  They will be gone and only images will be left.  Will someone care then?

Too often we are so caught up in what aperture to use or firing off 8 frames per second that we forget the sad reality that the images we create will probably outlive our wild subjects.  Take rhinos for example.  Currently in South Africa, one rhino gets killed every 1.6 days.  Yeah, that means that every second African sunset brings the death of another rhinoceros in South Africa.  Every second sunset.

Now it’s all good and well to join a Facebook group and feel all happy that you have done your part for conservation but the people who really make the difference are the guys and gals who physically get involved.  Yes, Facebook groups and all that is great to create an awareness but there really needs to be more people who get out there and physically do something about it.

I was recently lucky enough to be a part of a conservation weekend organized by one of our lodge shareholders.  The short version is that eight guys all come together for the weekend, find out what needs to be done and then raise the money and get their hands dirty by assisting the  North West Parks and Tourism Board in completing some important conservation projects.

So two weekends ago eight guys got together to help with conservation in Madikwe.  During the weekend we released an endangered African Rock Python back into the wild, micro-chipped three white rhino and helped with the relocation of two male lions – all in one day!  The two other projects that we were hoping to complete was to remove a research collar of a Buffalo and place a GSM collar on a Wild Dog did not quite work out as the animals involved did not quite play along.  These two projects will be completed during the following few weeks but for now, here is a look back at our conservation weekend.

The wildlife vet and helicopter pilot herding a group of buffalo into the open while looking for the buffalo whose collar had to come off.  We found at least 300 buffalo but the one with collar was missing.  After a while it was decided to move our attention to rhino.   In an effort to combat the ridiculous levels of poaching, rhinos are now getting microchips implanted in their horns and body.  This then gets registered and can ultimately be traced back to the exact animal.  A small but very important part of trying to discouraging the illegal trafficking of rhino horn.

This was the second rhino that the helicopter brought out into the open.  The skill and experience levels of the wildlife vet and pilot is mind-blowing as they time the darting and ultimate collapse of the rhino to within meters of the vehicle where we were waiting.

This is a second before the rhino goes down.  You can see the vet and his assistant behind the animal making sure that he doe snot get injured in the process.

Once the animal is down the vet will check that it is safe, cover the rhino’s eyes to minimize stress at which point the guys can hop off to join in the checking, measuring and microchipping of the animal.

Every little detail of the animal gets recorded as the guy get a chance to support, learn and ultimately help conserve the fragile existence of the beautiful animals.

Being involved in something like this is a once in lifetime experience and nothing, and I mean nothing, can make you feel stronger about conserving nature then being immersed in a project like this.

Just before the vet wakes the rhino up, it literally takes a few seconds, Adele and I stopped in for a quick photo as well.

After darting and chipping three rhinos we stopped for lunch and then set off to find two male lions that needed to be relocated to new homes.  Not going to get involved int the whole natural balance of a closed conservation area now, but the bottom line is Madikwe has a lot of lions and some newer reserves needs lions.

After a little of searching we found the two 5 year old cats rather close to the lodge.  We tied a piece of wildebeest carcass to a old leadwood stump and proceeded to call the lions out.  Within minutes they moved towards the meat where Declan, Madikwe’s field ecologist, was waiting to dart them.

Always suspicious, the two boys came within range of the darts.  What followed was a quick tussle between the two brothers as when the dart hit the one attacked the other thinking that he bit him.  Didn’t last too long and soon both were sleeping like little kittens.

The freaky thing is that even though they are knocked out, their eyes remain open.  This made sure that everyone was rather alert during the entire lion removal.  Helluva experience.

After loading the two sleeping cats onto the back of a pick up, they were taken to a holding boma where they would wait for their new properties to come and fetch them.  We ran into a slight glitch in that ellies broke the one side of the boma fence, so in rain and disappearing light we had to get the lions to the other boma, about 45 minutes away, before their drugs wore off.  Quite an exciting chase!

With a lion like htis weighting around 200 kg it was quite a mission to pick them into and out of the vehicle.

While two large lions ‘spoon’ on the back of the vehicle, Jono and his conservation mates all pose for another picture of a very successful conservation weekend.  For your interest, involvement and financial support, I salute you guys!! Look forward to next year!

The reality is sad and scary.  African wildlife as we know it is not going to be around forever.  We are the ones who are destroying it but, and this is where there is a little bit of hope, we are also the ones who have the power to save it.

Whether through physical involvement, financial support or even just by creating an awareness I urge you to get involved.  Teach your kids.  Speak to people.  Support the people on the ground who are making it their life to try and conserve the magic that is Africa.

So who cares about your wildlife images?  Hopefully more people than we think.  Now and in the future!

When it comes to conservation, don’t turn a blind eye…

See ya tomorrow!

Gerry