1. Charged By A Black Rhino

    Posted in: Videos on Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

    black rhino charge

    We wanted to get close to black rhinos, we just hadn’t planned on getting this close.  I was in Zimbabwe at the Malilangwe Wildlife reserve working on a story about African rhinos for National Geographic when we decided it would add a nice visual element to the piece if we tracked some black rhinos on foot.  My guide, Brad Forchet, our tracker, Difficult, from Singita’s Pamushana Lodge and I set out on the trail of two rhinos early one morning but we were having little success in catching up to our quarry.  They were just moving too fast.

    After a couple of hours we gave up on the rhinos and decided to kill time and hopefully get some good ground level video of a big bull elephant.  But when we were within fifty yards of the elephant, Difficult spotted a black rhino in the bushes behind us.  We changed courses again and began trying to sneak up close to the rhino.  Once we were fairly close, Brad started making rhino calls hoping to get our rhino to stick her head out of the bushes for better pictures.

    As you’ll see in this video she not only stuck her head out, but her whole body, and then decided to come in for a really close look at us.  That’s a nice way of saying, “she charged us.”  Yes I have now been charged by a black rhino and lived to tell about it.  It does make for an entertaining video, but the real story here is what’s happening to Africa’s rhinos and we tell that story this week on my radio show, “National Geographic Weekend”.  We also talk about the success of the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve in protecting rhinos in Zimbabwe at the same time record numbers are being killed in South Africa.

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  2. Rock Art Zimbabwe

    Posted in: Videos on Monday, January 9th, 2012

    rock art africa

    The San Bushmen lived in the area of Zimbabwe, Africa that is now the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve as far back as seven thousand years ago.  They didn’t leave behind an architectural footprint of cities, or temples, or even houses to be studied by 21st century archeologists, but they did leave their mark.  More than eighty sites on the Malilangwe Reserve are living museums of San Bushmen rock art.  The animals they painted are the same ones running wild in the area today.  Brad Forchet, a ranger and guide at the Singita Pamushana Lodge, led me on a hike to see some of the paintings.

    According to Brad, even though the animals are recognizable, the Bushmen weren’t painting scenes from their daily life.  Instead the artwork was done by spiritual leaders when they would go into a trance.  The scenes depict visions they had while in the trance.  Brad talks with me this week on my radio show, “National Geographic Weekend” about these African Picassos and the importance of their rock art.

    We also go looking for some of the animals whose images appear on the sandstone cliffs around the Pamushana Lodge.  And just like we found the rock art on foot, we go looking for rhinos and elephants on foot.  In our interview you’ll also hear the story of how we were charged by a black rhino and lived to tell about it.  This video is from the part of our conservation about rock art.  Coming soon I’ll post the video and story of the rhino charge.

    If you’re thinking about a trip to Africa and want to know more about the Singita Pamushana Lodge here’s a link to their website:

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  3. Wild Dogs

    Posted in: Videos on Friday, December 23rd, 2011

    African Wild Dogs

    There’s a reason they’re called wild dogs.  Just watch them in action jumping, biting, play fighting with each other and the first thing you think is,”These guy are wild dogs.”   Then when they go on the hunt their relentless full on pursuit of their prey further cements that reputation.  But those same characteristics that some call wild, have made these dogs one of the most successful predators in Africa.  When they go after an animal, it’s estimated they come home with a meal about 80% of the time.

    I was in Sabi Sabi Game Reserve in South Africa where I spent a couple of days with a large pack of wild dogs and filmed the pups as they put on quite a show with their exuberant play.  The adults would go off hunting every day and then return to regurgitate a hot meal for the kids.  It’s not a recipe you’ll find in the Martha Stewart cookbook.

    More recently i was in Zimbabwe at the Singita Pamushana Lodge in the Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve where I filmed a much smaller pack of wild dogs.  Kim Wolhuter, an old friend and filmmaker who’s made several films for National Geographic, has been living on the property for several years and following the wild dogs.  We hooked up with Kim who drove us to where the dogs were eating an impala  they had killed a few minutes earlier.

    Kim, whose father and grandfather were both game rangers in South Africa, has spent most of his life in the bush, so it should have been no surprise to learn he often gets out of his vehicle and runs with the dogs, crashing through the trees and bushes with them when they go on the hunt.  Still it’s pretty amazing when you think about it, and it does allow him to capture the kind of footafge you won’t see elsewhere.

    I interviewed Kim for my radio show National Geographic Weekend while we were together with the wild dogs.  That interview is now up online at national geographic weekend, or as a free podcast on itunes.  Wild dogs are now endangered and Kim’s films are helping draw attention to the crisis they face.  In this video you can hear part of the interview and see the dogs Kim has been following as well as the ones I filmed playing and jumping around at Sabi Sabi in South Africa.

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