Re: Jonathan & Angela Scott's Blog

**Doogs** Fri Jul 23, 2010 2:47 pm

Hi Lai, thanks for this cheers

and you're right it does sound like a good book :)

**whitestarling** Sat Jul 24, 2010 12:00 am

Thanks for the Nudge Lai, and it does sound like a great Book
WS

**Doogs** Tue Jul 27, 2010 1:25 pm

Latest update (27/07/10)

Our Travel Club is almost up and running! So what is the point of it all? Well, we wanted to share with you how we live, work and travel. What does it take to get the best out of each destination? What are our main areas of interest and the places we most like to photograph? We will be drawing together all the information we can lay our hands on – and all our top tips to help you travel to great destinations and hopefully avoid some of the pitfalls we have experienced along they way.

Travelling and photographing are the things we like to do most, and we have adpated our lives to achieving that reality. We will keep feeding back our thoughts and tips about how to get the most out of locations we have visited and will be focusing intially on Kenya and India.

With this in mind we are just putting together a whole document for the Travel Club on what equipment we use and how we work as photographers in the field, everything from what cameras and lenses we like most, to our favourite backpacks and binoculars.

Talking about binoculars I am just enjoying my Swarovski Swarovision 10×42 high definition binocs in our garden. I am catching up on our Bird Checklist as we have the most amazing variety of birds on our 10 acre property, everything from African Hawk Eagles to tiny Little Bee-Eaters. Of the songbirds the White-Browed Robin-Chat is my favourite. I could go on……….

We have friends coming round for lunch any minute so better help Angie in the kitchen – pasta with our secret pasta sauce, plus fresh spinach and salad from our veggie garden. Our friends set out overland from north Africa four months ago and have recently arrived in Nairobi. They are off to the Mara tomorrow – surprise surprise at that choice! Can’t wait to hear all their adventures.

**Laikipia** Tue Jul 27, 2010 1:29 pm

Thanks for posting Doogs - lunch sounds good! As does the Travel Club.

Lai

**Laikipia** Wed Aug 11, 2010 12:59 pm

J & A have updated 6th August.

There was a sense of wonder and relief here in Kenya when the referendum on the proposed new Constitution passed off smoothly and without any of the terrible incidents that were witnessed during the last general elections in 2007. Nearly 70% of Kenyans voted for the new Constitution which will lessen the power of the President and help to promote greater regional development. Kenya has a boyant and resiliant private sector that bodes well for the future. The government is currently pushing ahead with infrastructure development including the long awaited ring roads and bypasses to ease the traffic situation in and around the city.

Angie and I are currently chasing our tails to prepare for our UK trip. We leave on Tuesday morning – so not long to go now. Our Bore Hole decided to pack up the other day – water is like gold in Nairobi and many parts of Kenya and we hardly receive any City Council water, so our Bore Hole is a hugely valuable asset to our property. Looks like we will have water again by Monday – touch wood.

We are very excited about our visit to the Bird Fair in UK (Fri 20 Aug to Sun 22 Aug – we are giving a talk on the Sunday). And of course cannot wait to get home again and head for the Mara. We will be at our base at Governor’s Camp (check our their website for some great offers) from the end of August until the end of the first week in October.

We have all been working flat out on the Travel Club too. I have been gathering together all the articles we have written over the past few years on travel, wildlife and photography to add to the content, so hope you will enjoy those. Everything from Africa to India to Antarctica. Enjoy!

Good news about the referendum Very Happy

Lai

**littlewid** Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:13 pm

Thanks for that Lai, always nice to keep up with their blog and what they are doing and as you say, good news about the referendum......liked the sound of lunch in Doog's post as well Very Happy

littlewid-x-

**whitestarling** Thu Aug 12, 2010 12:46 pm

Thanks Lia another nice update. We just take water for granted dont we. and moan if we cant use our hosepipes affraid

sort of brings it home to you does'nt it
WS

**Laikipia** Thu Aug 12, 2010 1:09 pm

It really does WS - they value water so much, and never waste a drop.

Lai

**Doogs** Fri Aug 13, 2010 3:09 pm

Another update dated 12-08-10

"Just to say Hi to you all from London – had a great flight and just popped into the Mac shop in Regent St – one of our favourite browsing/window shopping hang-outs. We need to upgrade our G5 – it is five years old and creaking at the seems – gives Angie nightmares as it keeps threatening to quit!! So need a new one of those – probably pick that up when we come through London in Sept en route to Cologne and the big photo exp – Photokina – as guests of the Canon Ambassadors Program. Have been looking at the IMac as a possible alternative – it is all about editing and backing up images as we don’t have a lot of need for anything else. Lots going on here – checking out a possible India event for March 2011 along the lines of our Mara/Little Governors: Celebration of Wildlife’s that we co-host with Prestige Promotions – it would be centred on Ranthambhore National Park and Jaipur and Taj Mahal – could be a great trip. More on that later. Bird Fair next week end – travel up to Rutland Water for that next Friday (20 Aug) and are there Sat and Sun (speaking on the Sunday). Ok – got to go – typing proving hard on the back bent over the table like this!!

Take Care!"

Busy, busy, busy as always cheers

**littlewid** Fri Aug 13, 2010 4:50 pm

Thanks for that Doogs, they are always so busy aren't they. I like the sound of the India event, wonder if there will be any sightings of the Tigers that Ale & Cassio posted on as its from the same place if it happens.

littlewid-x-

**Laikipia** Fri Aug 13, 2010 6:08 pm

Thanks for posting the update Doogs - sounds hectic for them Jonathan & Angela Scott's Blog - Page 2 71418

Lai

**littlewid** Tue Aug 24, 2010 6:46 pm

Jonathans added another two updates since his last one. In his recent one they are off to Govenors today to catch up with the Marsh pride Jonathan & Angela Scott's Blog - Page 2 71418

Heres the link

http://www.jonathanangelascott.com/travel_club/wordpress/

littlewid-x-

**Laikipia** Tue Aug 24, 2010 7:59 pm

Thanks Littlewid - off for a read now

Lucky them .................... Jonathan & Angela Scott's Blog - Page 2 112330

Lai

**Laikipia** Wed Aug 25, 2010 1:22 pm

Latest from J & A -

Big Cat Diary – what is happening?
Published by Jonathan and Angie

People have been asking about the state of the game regarding Big Cat Diary. Not sure what is happening with Big Cat re-runs in the US – I was told that they were going to reshow the whole archive again – but maybe the person who told me that got their wires crossed and it has already happened – that was what I thought as so many of you contacted us to say how much you were enjoying the chance to watch the series from beginning to end. Did Animal Planet go right back to Series 1 of Big Cat Diary filmed in 1996 – or did they just begin with Big Cat Week and Kike and her cubs (2003)?? If you saw epidodes with Half-Tail then it would have been 1996 and/or 1998. So maybe our contact got it wrong and the re-runs have happened already?

We talked about Big Cat Diary when I was up at the Natural History Unit in Bristol – people still seem to think it will happen but there doesn’t seem to be any great rush to recomission from on high – having said that I know that it looked as if it was getting the green light very recently but then the money that was available got used for something else!!

But as one insider told me if the BBC really want to film more BCD they can find the money – just doesn’t seem to be a huge priority.

My take – and I raised this when I was in Bristol – is that the BBC would be nuts not to do something on Big Cat next year simply because with the Disney Nature theatrical release (cinema) of Africa’s Big Cats due out in UK/US in April 2011 the Mara’s big cats that are the stars of this 90 min film are going to be getting a lot of coverage. Disney will really come out all guns blazing to push their product – books, fluffy toys, calendars, ‘the making of’ – so why wouldn’t the BBC want to capitalise on the interest in cats such as Notch and his Boys and Shakira/Sita and her Girls who are stars of the Disney show. It would appear to be a no brainer not to bring our audience – and the wider audience that Disney will generate – up to date some time later in the year with more BCD????

Maybe you all need to pose that question to the BBC. I am told there is a petition doing the rounds to bring Big Cat back – so lets see what people power can do and find out just how much people really want more Big Cat. If they don’t then of course it means that Disney and other independent production companies may well see this as an opening for more of their own Big Cat programmes. At the end of the day it will be great publicity for Kenya, the Mara and the big cats of Africa. No question we would love to be involved in more BCD.

What do you think?

Lai

**littlewid** Wed Aug 25, 2010 4:04 pm

It's good to know that Jonathan is right behind some more BCD and he is right it would be so silly of the Beeb not to capitalise on the Disney film. I presume the petition was the one we all signed a little while ago scratch

littlewid-x-

**Laikipia** Thu Aug 26, 2010 10:51 am

More from J & A on the Disney film

The Disney/BCD connection is an interesting one and very easy to answer. Keith Scholey was the originator of BCD in 1996 aided by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol and calling on its best resources – Keith was Head of the NHU then and is an old friend of ours going back to the late 1970s at Mara River Camp – he visited one year and I gave him a helping hand in figuring out where the best place was to see good river crossings. In fact I just stayed overnight with him and his family when I was in Bristol to talk to the BBC about Lions: The Truth and BCD. Keith was a ‘Wing Commander’ for most of the BCD series but he then moved from the NHU to move up the ladder and become a Controller of Factual at BBC. Then a couple of years ago he decided to leave and start his own production company. Disney Nature wanted to make some threatrical releases for the cinema featuring wildlife and Keith landed the contract to make Africa’s Great/Big Cats. Having worked in the Mara on BCD he knew his way around and decided to feature lions and cheetahs. Notch and his Boys have been filmed for the past 3 years along with another pride of lions and Shakira/Sita the cheetah and her cubs – three of which (all girls) survived since Big Cat Live. So same area same cats – but big screen and big impact. Should be amazing on the big screen – not sure yet who the Actor will be to narrate it but no doubt a big name (remember Morgan Freeman and March of the Penguins).

Lai

**Laikipia** Thu Aug 26, 2010 11:00 am

And more .........

Last day in town before heading for the Mara on Friday. My Work Permit approval came through for another two years while we were in UK so that is good – but means that I need to get Security Bond sorted tomorrow, collect a Bankers Cheque for Ksh 100,000 (GBP 800) to pay to Immigration Dept., hand in my Original Permit, renew my Re-Entry Pass, and renew my Aliens Certificate/ID Card. Most of that can be done by a secreterial service on my behalf while we are in the Mara which is lucky as the permit expires on 9 Sept and I will in Mara until afternoon of 18 Sept before catching the daylight flight to UK again on 19 Sept.

Have to pack the two vehicles – tripods, mounts, camera doors, bean bags, door covers (rainproof), plus all the cameras and other stuff. We prepacked our clothes and things before we went to the UK. Will need to check in with the Senior Warden at Sekenani Gate/Headquarters on our way in and then drive via Talek Gate and Intrepids past Rhino Ridge to Governors. Just hope the Double Crossings are not too wet as sometimes they can be tricky.

We will have our Safaricom dongle with us in Mara to download emails but may not be able to Blog while we are there. But will get you up to date whenever we can.

Stay safe!

Lai

**Doogs** Thu Aug 26, 2010 3:51 pm

Many thanks Lai cheers

Having read the responses to their posts J&A point out that the BBC would be mad not to film BCD next year - on the back of the new Disney film - it would be such a huge advertising tool for them to go and follow up on the 'stars' of African Cats - TOTALLY AGREE !!!! Jonathan & Angela Scott's Blog - Page 2 112330

Glad to hear they are returning to the Mara tomorrow, hopefully we'll get some updates from them about our 'cats'.

**Doogs** Wed Oct 06, 2010 2:08 pm

Update from J&A :-

Hi Everyone – yes, we are still in the land of the living – in fact we are in the Mara! So sorry to all of you for the long delay – things can only get better. Been doing all kinds of fun things – filming Lions: The Truth – the final shoot was great – Warren Samuels our ace cameraman got some gorgeous footage of the Marsh Pride – playing in water, climbing up on to dead trees, and a great sequence with four of the five sub-adult males from the Marsh Pride killing a cow buffalo.

The pride are all doing well – the Three Graces joined up with the older lionesses White Eye and Bibi (Lispy is still hanging out with the four sub-adult females and was mating yesterday and today up near Rhino Ridge with two young males in tow (3.5 years old). Tamu’s Boy and his companion are looking in good shape though the older one (not Tamu’s) has been in the wars so they are obviously getting in to scraps at times). The reason for the pride allowing the Three Graces to join them is due to the abundance of food in their territory with the migration flooding in to the area. But one of the TG’s is now an outsider – the smaller more nervous one who had two young males cubs – now subadults – and who has been seen to the north of the pride territory up beyond the windmill above the spring that feeds the Marsh. She is no longer welcome in the Pride and White Eye in particular is very aggressive with her – probably because she is not her daughter.

Claude is looking much better – the bite in his back left leg is healing slowly – and he has been feasting along with the rest of the pride even though his teeth are worn down and he often eats the soft parts of a kill and sifts the intestines (not a pretty sight!). Romeo is getting the lions share – he is the only one we see mating and hangs out with the females following them closely a lot of the time – and he checks on the 4 young sub-adult females too – though right now they are being courted by the nomadic males up near the Ridge. Will be interesting what happens to these 4 females – will they be able to form a new pride at the edge of the Marsh Pride territory?

We went to Photokina in Cologne which was awesome – made lots of good contacts and tested some of the new Canon gear. We will certainly be getting the new fisheye zoom 8-15mm which will be a lot of fun to have – and the new 300mm f2.8 and 400mm f2.8 are lighter and so quick on autofocus with the new generation of cameras – and the image stabilisation system is equivalent to 4 stops!! We will also get the new Powershot G12 as our pocket cameras.

Right now we are on safari at Little Governors with a group – we took over the whole camp and have had 6 wonderful days. The rains have kicked in and everywhere looks lovely and green. Great lion action and the cheetahs have been good too – mother with two year-old male cubs plus Honey’s Boys in fine fettle. Great river crossings too.

Next is Rekero on the 10 Oct for our week long annual photosafari.

I will be at the Canon Pro Solutions event on 26 and 27 Oct in London so would love to see any of you who can make that – I will be showing our work and talking about photography over those two days. Then back to Kenya and off to Zambia on 2 Nov.

We cannot say how thrilled we are to now have our own base at Governor’s Camp in the Mara – we have a view over the plains looking up towards Rhino Ridge and it is such a relief to be able to leave all our gear in our rondavall and come and go as we please. We would love to see some of you at Governor’s over the coming years and are looking forward to some great photography – we will leave one of our Toyota’s at camp so we can fly down from our home in Nairobi whenever we have a free moment or hear that there are cheetah cubs – or leopard cubs to work with. And talking of leopards – Olive have been seen – and Binty – and we hope to see more of the leopards when we get to Rekero on 10 Oct.

That is it for now – but good to be back in contact.

And we do hope lots of you will be able to come to our lecture at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 14 December when we will be talking about Lions: The Truth – and a special treat – we will have Keith Scholey to introduce us at the RGS. Keith was the originator of Big Cat Diary in 1996 when he was head of the Natural History Unit – he has since gone on to produce as an independent the Disney Nature epic which premiers next year in April called Africa’s Big Cats which will feature Shakira and her five cubs (originally 6) and Notch and his Boys. Keith will hopefully show a clip of the big screen feature at the RGS when he introduces us. The evening will be on behalf of the Mara – we are raising funds for a vehicle for anti-harassment and predator surveillance – so all in a good cause. Please put it in your Diaries!!!

cheers

**Laikipia** Wed Oct 06, 2010 2:41 pm

thanks Doogs - that's made my day

Lai Jonathan & Angela Scott's Blog - Page 2 853843

**Laikipia** Sat Oct 09, 2010 4:37 pm

Update from J & A - 7th October

Such a treat to see Little Cat and the dogs – LC has been wondering what is going on these past few weeks with us home one day and gone the next. But she is still as independent as ever and lives a double life – a bit like us! She was sitting on the bonnet of a taxi in our driveway that was waiting to take us to a final goodbye to our friends from Celebration of Wildlife and Cultural Life which we run each year at Little Governors Camp – six nights – and what a wonderful safari we had. The Marsh Pride were the stars – just so much going on right now. The sub-adults are proving a fascinating insight into life as a lion – the 5 Boys are doing well though one has been in the wars and is showing the scars on his face. Lipsy has been mating with two young nomads – they are different ages – look to be 3 to 3.5 years old or there abouts. And the four young sub-adult females are hanging out to the south of the Airstrip Lugga and up on the plains leading to Rhino Ridge – they have been getting themselves in all kinds of scrapes (learning the ropes of what it takes to be an adult lioness) and are trying to hang out with Lispy and the her consorts – one of the youngsters has been mating too. So it is all go…..

Honey’s Boys are still a class act and are feasting on the wildebeest – they even took an adult female zebra the other evening! And the mother with a scar on her face that just doesn’t want to heal has been with her year-old sons around Double Crossing.

We are delighted to be hosting a Celebration of Indian Wildlife and Cultural Life from 5 to 12 March in 2011 with Prestige Promotions – the same event company that has done such a good job for us in the Mara. We will be staying one night Delhi, 4 nights at Vanyavillas in Ranthambhore (same as we did last year – and what a great time we had then!), 2 nights in Jaipur (venue of our latest children’s book A Day In India) at Rajvillas and 1 night at the Tah Mahal staying at Amravillas – so all Oberoi properties (except for one night at the Taj in Delhi) who are simply the best in the service industry and a really class act. More info on that will be posted on our website shortly.
One day in Nairobi and then back to Mara tomorrow to prepare for our week long safari to Rekero – we are hoping for good leopard sightings of Olive and her offspring – maybe even one of those magnificent Talek male leopards – and we will be keeping tabs on the Marsh Pride (of course!) and Honey’s Boys (yes, them too!) throughout.

The rains have started – a bit early – but everywhere looks stunning – so lovely to see all the green on the plains and it makes for great photoghraphy and some stunning sunrises too.

Got to go – will check your posts later.

**Laikipia** Sat Oct 09, 2010 4:39 pm

Update from J & A - 8th October

We are delighted to be hosting a Celebration of Indian Wildlife and Cultural Life with Prestige Promotions in March 2011. The blend of the old and new, the traditional and the modern, gives India a very distinctive flavour. Here are some of our thoughts from our previous safaris to India:

‘We once again find ourselves in that heady state of excitement as we contemplate the sights and sounds of India, marveling at the rich mix of emotions that the sub-continent arouses – the colours and the history, the people and the wildlife, the tigers and temples. During one of our most recent visits we realized something unexpected was happening – not once did we find ourselves yearning for Africa. We were so engaged in the moment, in being present to everything around us that we barely gave a thought to our beautiful home in Nairobi. We were simply too engrossed in trying to capture what we were feeling, whether searching for tigers in Ranthambhore National Park or roaming the streets of Jaipur – Rajasthan’s fabled pink city in search of the unusual. India offers the photographer and storyteller in all of us an infinite number of possibilities. And it is that sense of wonder and excitement that we hope to share with you in March 2011.’

We deliberated for a long time with Clive Thomas of Prestige Promotions over the itinerary for the 2011 Celebration of Indian Wildlife and Cultural Life. We met with Clive in Ranthambhore and Delhi in March 2010 to try to and ensure that we could capture the spirit of India at an affordable price. We wanted to add value – something that Prestige Promotions has made its hallmark with its ‘Celebrations of Wildlife’ in Africa each year in the Masai Mara. India had to be different – and that is part of its charm.

The Celebration of Indian Wildlife and Cultural Life begins in Delhi on the 5 March 2011 and ends a week later on the 12 March. We are staying in some of the finest hotels in the world – not just in India –and we have personally experienced all of the Oberoi properties we will be staying at en route. Ranthambhore National Park is one of our favourite tiger reserves and we first visited the Park in 1997 while working on a wildlife documentary: the mixture of wildlife and old palace ruins, the lakes and the shrines is irresistible. We spend four nights in Ranthambhore before continuing on our journey to Jaipur in Rajasthan, the location of our latest children’s book A Day In India. Jaipur is one of the most colourful venues in India and we will spend two nights there. We end our safari with a visit to the Taj Mahal at Agra, somewhere that we never tire of visiting. This promises to be a spectacular week long safari.

Dates: 5 to 12 March 2011

For more details please contact us on: scottfree@jonathanangelascott.com

Sounds fantastic

Lai Jonathan & Angela Scott's Blog - Page 2 853843

**Laikipia** Sat Oct 09, 2010 4:47 pm

Details of Jonathan's talk at the RGS in December.

Lions: The Truth
- One Species' Struggle for Survival
A talk by Jonathan Scott
at the Royal Geographical Society
on Tuesday, December 14th 2010
Celebrated wildlife presenter, Jonathan Scott, talks about the challenges facing this increasingly vulnerable Big Cat, featured in his upcoming TV series. With award-winning photography by Jonathan and Angela Scott, Jonathan will speak about his time in Kenya's renowned Masai Mara region observing The `Marsh Pride' - familiar to many from the BBC's Big Cat Diary.

Location: 1 Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AR. Underground: South Kensington

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tickets: £18.00 Pre-talk Reception including glass of wine. Doors open 6.45 pm
£15.00 Talk only - Starts at 7.15 pm

http://www.foc-uk.com/events/scott2010.asp

Lai

**whitestarling** Sat Oct 09, 2010 10:50 pm

Its to far away Sad

WS

**Laikipia** Sun Oct 10, 2010 7:29 am

Don't worry WS I'll be sure to tell you all about it - I've been online to get some tickets.

Lai albino

Sponsored content