From the field

Life on the edge in Moremi Game Reserve May 22 2008

Having lived in the Earth-Touch camp at Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana for a week now, I feel I have already had my fair share of close encounters with game.

Our camp is situated on a bottleneck of land in between two areas of water, so it’s the ideal footpath for almost every animal wanting to make its move to the next piece of dry land. This would explain the countless paths running through the camp, but more specifically, the countless paths running in front, behind and adjacent to my tent. I seem to have drawn the short straw and been situated at the crossroads of midnight mammal traffic.

It’s amazing how safe you feel as soon as you have shelter (a canvas tent), a sense of perimeter keeping you safe, and a sense of community or belonging. The electric fence looks more like 50m (165ft) of dental floss than a real boundary, but Earth-Touch field crew member Graham Springer tells me it does in fact have a nasty bite, and he speaks from experience. As for the community, that’s my three colleagues here, who live and work in the bush.

No matter what the environment, humans tend to feel safe and protected as long as they have these three things. It’s easy to have this false sense of security in the camp, and I’ve quite obviously made the mistake of feeling like I’m living in a protected and peaceful suburb, rather than the very wild and unpredictable Moremi Game Reserve.

We have joked about the fact that we don’t even need to leave camp in order to find subjects to film. Just in the past week we have seen three of the ‘big five’ right on our doorstep, as well as hyena almost every night and hippo that munch away on reeds just metres from our campfire. The night is alive with animal activity, sometimes disturbing our sleep, but most of the time it’s a peaceful kind of noise which reminds us that we are in fact the visitors to this beautiful and untamed spot.

I had only just managed to get over my first two close encounters before the third really scared the pants off me.

The first was when, unbeknown to me, an enormous male elephant headed straight for me as I filmed. It was almost as if I was a giant marula fruit that he was determined to swallow in one gulp. Thankfully he must have taken into consideration my rigid and frozen silhouette and laughed me off as a stork. He then gently walked beside us to drink from the swamp.

The second close encounter was while I was standing alone at the campfire. I casually looked up with my torch in hand and noticed a hyena’s face in very close detail. Just 3m (10ft) from the other side of our electric fence stood a large male spotted hyena. I have to admit the dental floss electric fence gave me a small sense of security but it didn’t stop me from hot-footing it to the kitchen, where Graham enthusiastically banged and crashed licence plates together, which seemed to do the trick. 

Just when I thought the worst was over, the best was yet to come. Yesterday the men went out early and I held the fort. Thinking 7am was a safe and light enough time to make my dash to the long-drop 50m (165ft) away, I emerged from my tent with little worry about what I might encounter. Having used the loo I casually banged the toilet seat down, making a loud noise, and strolled out onto the path and back toward my tent.

There was just one problem, though: a male lion was crossing the same footpath as me, just 10m (33ft) ahead! Luckily he didn’t turn to look at this fear-struck person who was too scared to even draw breath, let alone turn around and hide.

I honestly saw my life flash before my eyes. The thoughts were racing through my head – what if he heard me and comes back to attack? What if the wind direction changes and he smells my fear? What if he’s one half of the infamous pair of Mboma males and his partner is yet to make the crossing in my direction?

I watched him slowly move off into the grass beside me and then I dashed to take cover behind the toilet (which is not much bigger than a shoebox) in case the lion or his friend fancied a quick and incredibly easy meal. I must have cowered behind the long-drop for a good 15 minutes and waited for my heart to slow down to a gallop before rushing to the car to radio the men in case they wanted to film the beast I nearly lost my life to!

I announced my encounter with nervous excitement. And got a nonchalant and blasé reaction from crew member Richard Boltar: “Well, we’re just filming the cubs right now so we’ll catch up with you later.”

Hopefully this will be the last of my close encounters, but just to be safe, I think I’ll stay in my tent until after rush hour.

– by Julie King, Earth-Touch crew

Images of ‘the beast’ and ‘the lifeline’ © Earth-Touch 2008

From the field

Humans and other ocean mammals May 19 2008

Dealing with creatures in the sea on a daily basis often raises questions about how some more “sensitive” animals should be dealt with.

Take dolphins and whales, for example. In many countries, including South Africa, the law tries to make it difficult to interact with marine mammals. It is understandably unacceptable for a boat to approach, harass or chase these creatures. What about interacting on a more basic level, though?

I’m beginning to believe that our relationship with these ocean mammals runs deeper than we think, and that there is a certain acceptance of humans in the immediate environments of some marine mammals. Humans’ affinity with the sea is very deeply seated. We have instinctive reactions that are triggered by contact with water, perhaps stemming from our nine months in fluid before we’re born. This reflex is amplified by the connection that happens when contact is made with marine mammals in many circumstances.

Unfortunately this seems to be exclusive to freedivers, people who can manage to hold their breath so that they can have underwater encounters with dolphins and whales, where the animals are relaxed and accepting of humans’ presence in their realm.

The fact that sensitively managed meetings between humans and marine mammals often result in fully interactive behaviour makes me believe that we have an affinity with our fellow mammals.

In these situations, the power of choice rests with the wild animals: they have an entire ocean to retreat to, they are doing as they please. In a correctly managed encounter, the creatures have all the opportunity to decide whether to interact or not. They seldom do. When this does happen, the key is that it has to be respected.

– by Graeme Duane, Earth-Touch

You can see some of the Earth-Touch footage of swimming with dolphins, whales and seals in these clips:
Up close with bottlenose dolphins
Dolphins on the move
Swimming amongst seals
Close encounter with a leviathan
Sunfish and whale

Image of bottlenose dolphin © Earth-Touch 2008

From the field

Giant clam ‘farms’ algae May 15 2008

We found one of the species of giant clam in a cave at Nine Mile Reef, at Sodwana Bay on South Africa’s Indian Ocean coast, today. This is a truly amazing organism.

They are the biggest living bivalve mollusc and can live for 100 years and reach over a metre (3.3ft) in length. The one we found was about 40cm (16in) long, so a beginner I guess.

They exist by eating simple dinoflagellate algae, which are farmed on the mantle of the clam itself. The clam opens during the day to enable the algae to photosynthesise, and once an adequate crop is developed, I suppose the creature closes its shell and digests its meal.

Quite astounding for something that gets so big and heavy.

– by Graeme Duane, Earth-Touch crew

You can see a giant clam in the Earth-Touch clip, Ray shelters in cave.

Image © Earth-Touch 2008

From the field

Decompression depression Apr 9 2008

Hatched turtle eggs?

No. Imploded ping pong balls. Another one of my “home-cooked” inventions went wrong yesterday as I landed on the sand next to the Black Coral tree in 30m (98ft) of water off Sodwana Bay.

I had relied on a string of ping pong balls tied around the heavy glass port of my camera housing to provide compact and efficient buoyancy. This feat of micro-engineering had worked like a charm at depths down to 20m (66ft), but today they met their end.

As I was lining up for a macro shot of a longnose hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus), sitting delicately on a frond of rare black coral, I heard what sounded like a brief gunfight. A rapid series of explosions, or rather implosions, were the results of my ping pong balls giving in to the pressure of all the cubic metres of water above.

Back to the drawing board …

– Graeme Duane, Earth-Touch

Image © Earth-Touch 2008

From the field

Attack of the chacmas Apr 8 2008

While uploading video material from the main tent at the Earth-Touch camp on Gochathebe Island in Botswana’s Moremi Game Reserve, I heard hysterical screaming and barking coming from outside.

Our camp assistant, Fire, and I quickly ran out and were confronted by a troop of about 40 chacma baboons. We chased them off the premises by shouting at them, grabbing pots and pans in the process. Within seconds they were deep in the thickets, chuckling and barking to themselves.

I couldn’t see my tent anymore but as we walked closer we found it mangled – and my bright orange towel was missing.

Adjacent to my tent is a tree trunk lying on its side. I chose this site as it protects the tent from the hippo and elephant footpath running nearby. It is also a great place to attach the microphone at night for vivid sound recordings. Indeed, a strategic place for pitching a tent, or so I thought.

Within days I was proved wrong as the baboons used this trunk as a vantage point, allowing them to jump straight onto the domed top of my tent.

One baboon must have fallen right through the top and got caught in the canopy zip, tearing it off completely and leaving the tent almost inside out. This proved to be a painful process for the culprit as there were bloodstains all over the canvas.

Fire and I stood there for about five minutes, scratching our heads, wondering how this all had come about. Eventually, we recovered the towel from deep inside the bush. The stench from the towel was unbearable and we were forced to soak it in some washing powder.

My tent is now secured at all four corners with rope and four large galvanized tent pegs.

It is now a certified anti-chacma baboon sitting post.

– by Denis Ananiadis, Earth-Touch crew

See chacma baboons – including a contortionist youngster – in the Earth-Touch clip, Baboons feed on fruit.

Images of tent before and after © Earth-Touch 2008

From the field

Dark clouds and great whites Mar 25 2008

A blanket of apprehension lay over the day’s divers – the crew from Earth-Touch and a few British tourists. There were dark storm clouds making their way towards the area we were going to try to find the great white sharks, and the surface of the sea was windswept, with white caps dotted across the ocean surface.

The boats were loaded, and soon we were pounding our way to Skip Skop, an area 7km (4mi) off the coast, with a ferocious reputation for great whites (Carcharodon carcharias). As we sped from the base, the excitement seemed to drain from the faces with every kilometre we travelled.

Eventually, after 40km (25mi), we arrived at Skip Skop. The water, which we hoped would be blue and clean, was a dusty green colour, and the wind was up.

It seemed that we were against all the odds; we quickly put the bait stem down and hoped that a shark would appear sooner rather than later. The oil was in, the drum was down and we had half a yellow-tail bobbing on the surface.

It wasn’t long before the first dorsal fin sliced through the oil slick. Within 10 seconds the doom and gloom transformed into excitement and nerves. Fins, masks and weight-belts were evenly distributed amongst the team, and a short sharp message from the skipper: “This is not a goldfish – keep a good look around you all the time.”

With those kind words in my ear and a camera in my hand, I was into the abyss, The water was what we thought – cold and green – and our visibility was not great, a maximum of 7m (23ft), which is not the best when you searching for animals that can attain 5m (16ft) in length.

We were in the water for at least five minutes before we got our first glimpse of the shark; it was a rather large female great white. She seemed nervous of us at first, circling slowly around us and moving in and out of our visibility.

This did nobody’s nerves any good. On one of her passes she seemed a bit bolder, coming straight for the camera, not with any speed, but with determination and intent. She turned within a metre (3ft 3in) of the camera, and before I could understand what pre-empted this sudden change in behaviour, the answer was gliding 2m (6ft 6in) below me – another white shark.

Two became three, then became four. Although there was only one or two near the surface at any time, this was a couple too many for the faint-hearted, and five out of the seven divers decided that watching great white sharks was a lot safer from the boat than from the water.

Mark, the skipper of the boat, and I, stayed in the water.  Once the initial rush of seeing these animals in their own environment was over, it was an awesome 40 minutes we spent in the water.

Not once did they show any sign of aggression or any intent to bite; it was more they would come in, have a look and move off.

This is a shark of sharks – tapered tail, with a very thick caudal peduncle (the area between the tail and the main part of the shark’s body) which is where it gets such power from. From the pectoral fins forward, the girth is immense, with a jaw that stays slightly open and a small black eye that seems to look straight through you. The belly is striking white and the back blue-grey. An animal worthy of its reputation.

Back in the boat, the gloomy faces were now all smiles, the adrenaline was pouring through the veins. It sounded like a fish market with all the excited chatter – there were beaming faces and laughter was erupting from all.

The whole trip was really a day to remember. So few get to actually swim with these animals, and seeing the excitement of these divers made me realise how fortunate we are to live in such a rich country.

– by Barry Skinstad, Earth-Touch crew

View Barry Skinstad’s great white video footage on Earth-Touch:

Great white shark keeps watch
In the water with great white sharks
Sharks abound at Skip Skop

Also see Graeme Duane’s great white footage: Eyeball to eyeball with a great white shark

Image of great white shark © Earth-Touch 2008

From the field

Fears and smears in a bat cave Mar 14 2008

For someone who is afraid of heights, small spaces and the dark, one of the main concerns while filming in caves is avoiding an untimely and regrettable death.

So why go into such places?

Easy.

The chance to see new forms of life is too strong a pull to let the trivial fear of a nasty end hold you back.

To reduce the risk (to you and your gear) I recommend the following:

1.  Employ a couple of heavies to carry a ladder up the cliff and tie it in place for you.

2.  Wear a wide-brimmed hat to keep the bat guano out of your eyes.

3.  Keep your camera gear clutched to your stomach so that when you slip in the dark nothing expensive gets broken.

4.  Let the rest of the team wear head-torches to keep the insects away from your face.

5.  Use your hands for a good grip on the bat guano-smeared and cockroach-infested cliff face in the cave, but remember not to wipe your brow afterwards.

6.  Avoid stepping on pythons in the dark.

If you do all or some of the above you just might survive long enough to find that you made a mess of the focus so that you have to go back the next day and nearly die again.

– Darryl Sweetland, Earth-Touch crew

Watch some of Darryl’s Earth-Touch footage from Thailand:

Cave alive with spiders and insects

Life in a limestone cave

Predators and prey share bat cave

Image © Earth-Touch 2008

From the field

Push off, tiger Mar 6 2008

Things often happen while we are filming for Earth-Touch that we cannot show on video for practical reasons. Animals sometimes surprise us with their antics, and catch us off guard. Sometimes these stories can only be told with words – like what happened to me out at Aliwal Shoal yesterday.

I’d been working with an adult tiger shark that was particularly “cheeky”, coming very close to the camera and not being threatened by a human in her personal space.

On one occasion, the shark came too close, even for an ultra wide angle lens, and I actually had to push her away to avoid a collision with the “sharp end” of this apex predator.

This could be one of those tall stories told around campfires after numerous mugs of rum… But I have proof. Take a look at my fingerprints on the forehead of this shark.

– by Graeme Duane, Earth-Touch crew

Image © Earth-Touch 2008

From the field

Confessions of a food slut Feb 27 2008

Here follows another yet another “issue” that I have developed since my association with Earth-Touch began. I have to admit and confess that I am a “food slut”.

During my tenure as a field crew member for our company, I have developed many issues, such as ping (see my blog Into the future with a ping), pong (see On not using deodorant), organic gardening (see Have plant guilt, need counselling) and “sleeping in a hammock” (see Slouching hammock, hidden pain) issues.

My eating and drinking habits have now been exposed and become my latest issue.

It is current public knowledge that I can be bribed or convinced to do almost anything that can be loosely termed legal for a snippet of food. In fact, a colleague, Justine Crawford, recently attempted to bribe me to do some work for her for a chilli. This was especially sad for me, because I almost took her up on the offer.

I will and have been known to experiment with food and drink at any time, anywhere. My various filming expeditions see me imbibing all sorts of unmentionables, in all shapes and forms. I am also not shy when it comes to quantities. Let it be known that I will always be a happy chappy if I can get my mittens on a crumb or two, albeit something that someone else feels hesitant to approach. I will be sure to test, eat, slurp, sip or munch it!

For example, when I was recently filming in Brazil, I happily tucked into a meal consisting of small piranhas and salad – yup, those fish which are actually not as bloodthirsty as sensational movies make them out to be. I found that they tasted rather bland.

In Ecuador I discovered and converted to the “new black” of foods – popcorn. The Ecuadorians eat popcorn in soups and stews, pretty much as we use croutons in ours. The only difference is that they have been doing this for centuries. Now who didn’t know that?

My excursions in Botswana have seen me at times living on a combination of any random food items (that haven’t gone totally bad in the hot sun), all tossed into and heated together in one pot. It was here that we once found some herbal tea that was stored in an old boot at one of the camp sites. Delicious.

My coffee addiction has been a topic of discussion amongst my colleagues. I have been bust by them as I carefully carry my glass coffee plunger and Kenyan coffee beans into the deepest and remotest of filming locations.

It was in Ecuador that I lived for a few days on hot chocolate and coffee – by choice.

All good things must come to an end and I have now decided to take control and manage my issues. As far as food is concerned, I feel that a good management technique would be to reform my eating habits and attempt, at least, to become a “healthy food slut”.

I will need to think about and wrestle with this thought for a while, because I know that it will be difficult for me not to turn into Mr Piggy on my upcoming filming trip to Thailand. Who could possibly resist the best food in the world? 

After that, I will be heading for a long film excursion into Namibia. Where will I find organic grapes in the Namib Desert? On the other hand, I do know that the Namibians have excellent game meat, cream cakes, steak tartar, bread rolls, biltong (jerky), local beer, oysters, asparagus. Mmmm …

– by Pierre Minnie, Earth-Touch crew

Images: Piranha lunch, Brazil.
© Earth-Touch 2008

From the field

Bad news for tiger sharks Feb 19 2008

Last weekend’s killing of tiger sharks in a protected area caused an uproar, thanks to growing awareness of the animal’s value.

I’m seldom grumpy at the end of a day, but having spent the entire morning out in the sun and wind on the sea over the Aliwal Shoal, off the KwaZulu-Natal coast of South Africa, I’m exhausted and disappointed with the fact that we didn’t see a single shark today.

This may not be as serious as it seems to me – time and tide and all those clichés certainly apply to many of our situations on the sea. But what made today worse was the weekend’s news that commercial fishermen had been killing tiger sharks within the protected area of Aliwal to sell for meat.

On Friday the news came through that one of the boats fishing out of Rocky Bay had three big tiger shark carcasses on board. Though it is not illegal to harvest shark, the catching of tiger sharks within the Aliwal Shoal marine protected area is prohibited. Aliwal Shoal is a reef teeming with fish and sealife off the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

This has been happening for quite some time, but largely out of the public eye. Last weekend’s shark slaughter caused a furore and even made the front page of a national newspaper.

Attempting to find a good side to this disaster, I tried to look at things from a different perspective.

Local eco-tourism initiatives have had a huge impact in raising the profile of various shark species, and tiger sharks in particular. Before these shark dives became popular, no one cared what happened to these creatures. It’s only because of the heightened awareness of the value and character of the local tiger shark population, created by scuba charters, that this tragedy made the news at all.

You can start to get to know these sharks, too, in the Earth-Touch clip, Shark season begins at Aliwal Shoal, among other clips.

– by Graeme Duane, Earth-Touch crew

Image © Earth-Touch 2008