Re: Jonathan & Angela Scott's Blog

**Doogs** Mon Apr 23, 2012 1:32 pm

Lai, will have a read once I'm finished posting on here Very Happy

**Laikipia** Tue Apr 24, 2012 8:00 am

Another update from J & A - 23rd April. Seems like the rains are causing havoc.

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

Lai

**whitestarling** Tue Apr 24, 2012 10:57 am

It confirms reports coming in from others. Jackson, Paul, and Aatish. I'm sure its Aatishes fault it always seems to rain when he's there Jonathan & Angela Scott's Blog - Page 12 40683

Jonathan & Angela Scott's Blog - Page 12 40683

, but the land, and wildlife need the rain to sustain them for the future
WS

**Doogs** Tue Apr 24, 2012 11:09 pm

WS lets blame Aatish !!! Seriously though, there does seem to be a lot more Rain

around in the Mara these days, it's not as dry as it used to be.

Good to hear Jonathan (and Angie ?) are heading out to the Mara this weekend.

RMorr50912 Sun May 06, 2012 7:27 pm

Hey everyone! Not sure if you've been following the comments section lately but Bob E, Pepe, and Rich Smith have been posting some good comments lately. Way too much info for me to properly relay. Time to go check it out.

Ronnie

**Laikipia** Mon May 07, 2012 10:11 am

Thanks Ronnie - I try to keep up with the comments, but it's like another forum and hard to get enough time, but you are right, some good comments.

Lai

**whitestarling** Mon May 07, 2012 11:39 pm

Thanks Ronnie. I need to check up on the Blog updates you Guys have put on been a busy weekend for me with my Job, as its a long holiday weekend here. Going to catch up this week
WS

**whitestarling** Tue May 08, 2012 12:13 pm

Just read the next update 7th May, not caught up with the other one yet.
This bit caught my eye straight away. I wonder if it could be you know who

There is a beautiful female leopard that had her two cubs in this area and was often seen on the beautiful rocky outcrops and croton thickets. We caught up with her on 3 occasions and watched her with her 8 month old male cub. It appears as if she may have lost the other cub. She had a Thompson’s gazelle kill in a Boscia tree. There was a big male leopard in the area too. This particular female is young and beautifully marked – in perfect condition with clean ears and no signs of the fights that territory holders of both sexes engage in at times.

The fact that she had two cubs, and one was killed fits in, also the cub is 8 months old, and when Aatish saw the video, he estimated that the cubs then were around 3 months old, and that was in Jan. So add on 4 months, and the age's about right. She was seen around the Pump House area, so I'm not sure how that fits in territory wise

Lai how do you fancy joining Starsky, and Hutch, and emailing our photo of Siri to your friend Johnathan to see if it's Siri

WS

**Doogs** Tue May 08, 2012 1:13 pm

I've definitely not been keeping track of that so time to get on the case . . . . :study:

Ooooh now WS (are you Starsky or Hutch ?) that is all sounding very promising. I'm sure Lai would email J&A and maybe just maybe this mystery may be solved yet ! Cool

**Laikipia** Tue May 08, 2012 1:22 pm

Just checked their blog and caught up on 7th May entry.

I'm happy to email Jonathan WS - can you email me a photo that I can pass on? I will PM you my email address.

I must be Cagney or Lacey then Laughing

or I think I prefer one of Charlie's Angels Very Happy

Lai Pai

**Doogs** Tue May 08, 2012 1:27 pm

Lai

**Laikipia** Sun May 13, 2012 9:42 am

Jonathan has updated twice on 12th May - very interesting comments on PEL and more ....

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

Lai

**Doogs** Tue May 15, 2012 9:55 pm

From J&A dated 14 May 2012

Hi Everyone

Shortly we will be asking all our Facebook ‘big cat followers’ – currently around 5000 people – to transfer to a dedicated Fan Page to allow us to subscribe the many hundreds of people who are waiting to to communicate with us on Facebook. You will still be able to add your comments and thoughts. But my current profile will be shut down in the next few weeks.

Best from us – Jonathan and Angie

Here's the link to their new FB Page:-

https://www.facebook.com/JonathanAngelaScott

Like the Avatar Cool

**whitestarling** Tue May 15, 2012 10:48 pm

Thanks Doogs. Saw this yesterday on their Blog, but forgot to put it on here
WS

**Laikipia** Wed May 16, 2012 8:27 am

Me too WS - so much to remember scratch

Thanks Doogs.

Lai Pai

**Doogs** Wed May 16, 2012 4:41 pm

As long as one of us remembers that's the main thing Wink

**Laikipia** Wed May 16, 2012 5:18 pm

We normally do between us cheers

good bit of teamwork on WAA

Lai

**Doogs** Thu May 17, 2012 12:59 pm

Absolutely Lai Wink

**whitestarling** Thu May 17, 2012 11:00 pm

Some really good new comments on Jonethen & Angies Blog inc from Jonethen himself
Re: PEL. Well worth a read
http://www.jonathanangelascott.com/travel_club/wordpress/2012/05/12/how-big-cat-diarybig-cat-week-survived-1996-2008/#comments
WS

**Doogs** Fri May 18, 2012 1:43 pm

I've also put this on the '3 Cheetah Cubs' thread Embarassed

Wise words from Jonathan. Interesting reply from Pepe about Cheetahs of the Mara, there are some going about and lets hope he is right when he says "So perhaps the cheetahs are currently avoiding the long grass of the reserve, hunting mainly in the northern conservancies and the Loita Plain – around Ol Kinyei Conservancy, where their main prey, the Mara – Loita population of Thomson´s gazelle use to be when conditions are so wet" - I hope so.

Cheetah

**Laikipia** Fri May 18, 2012 3:34 pm

A good couple of updates from Jonathan, I love it when he's writing his blog, it's always so informative and well balanced.

Lai

**Doogs** Wed May 30, 2012 1:59 pm

From J&A Today on FB

"Hi Everyone - met up with our good friend Warren Samuels who shot all that beautiful elephant footage up in Samburu for Planet Earth Live. He came over to the house for one of the Scott's famous Big Breakfasts before we got down to business. More safaris with the A team of Warren, Angie and myself in the pipeline in b...oth Mara - and yes, you guessed it in Serengeti. Got to show you the migration out on the Serengeti Plains when the wildebeest are calving. Warren has filmed a new 3D Migration film in Serengeti and Angie and I have worked there filming too with Alan Root on our Balloon Safari adventure in 1996 and written books on the Serengeti such as The Great Migration and Painted Wolves: Wild Dogs of the Serengeti-Mara. Those were the days when wild dogs denned out at Gol Kopjes and Barafu Kopjes and I slept out in my LandCruiser for weeks at a time following the dogs on their journey as they attempted to raise their pups. Then death and disease struck - as is so often the case when there are so many domestic dogs running wild. How many of you have copies of those books?? You are going to have to be getting on in years that is for sure! Take care - and who said the rains were over here in Kenya?!"

**Laikipia** Wed May 30, 2012 2:24 pm

Thanks Doogs. A great read as ever.
Lai

**Doogs** Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:01 pm

Update from J&A Dated 02/06/2012:-

Cheetah Conservation Fund: Namibia

"Cheetahs are in our minds right now. And sure some of you must be wondering what is all the ‘touchy’ ‘feely’ business going on with the cheetahs at Cheetah Conservation Fund in Namibia???

Angie and I are very proud to be Patrons of CCF – and we have no concerns about interacting with the cheetahs you can see in the pictures shown here – the ones that Dr Laurie Marker is shown interacting with - and that show us as a participating audience in the grassy glade at CCF.

We know and respect that some of our colleagues in the Scientific Establishment do not like – and won’t participate in – touching animals in this kind of context. They – and we know what they are thinking – feel that it does not give out the right message (least I think that is what they believe).

The main criteria to establish at the top of the list is this:

THAT ANY ANIMAL KEPT IN CAPTIVITY – FOR WHATEVER REASON – IS TREATED HUMANELY AND WITH THE UTMOST RESPECT. NO PRISONERS ON THAT ONE!

We know this to be the case at CCF. In fact CCF is currently – and they will be able to update us on this – trying to keep to a minimum the number of cheetahs kept on their property. They are adopting a new approach with Ranchers – either cattle or game farmers – who have issues with predators. The idea is having provided up to date information to the Ranchers who are willing to engage with CCF – and more and more are willing to at least listen as far as we know – that the onus is then on the Rancher to decide the fate of the cheetah (if that is the problem animal). Being forced to shoot the problem animal or to let it remain is not always as easy for the land owner as one might assume.

CCF – like Angie and myself – do believe that some captive cheetahs do act as ambassadors for wild creatures – helping to encourage the general public – all of us included – to respect and marvel at these extraordinary beings.

It is not a perfect world. Human solutions to conservation issues cannot always be neat and tidy. But we have to accept that in the main the fate of the lives of our fellow creatures is increasingly in our hands – particularly the large ones which are so much more visible to us.

So while Angie and I love nothing better than to spend time in the wild – and there are scant few truly wild places still in existence – watching big cats in their natural setting. And that we love the fact that the great cats are what they are – ‘different’ but something of wonder. And that we don’t want to humanize them – that we want them to be what they are – that after all is the fascination for us. The fact is that there are situations – such as when we visit CCF – when we can connect to the cheetahs in a different way – and not feel guilty about doing it.

When Kike the car climbing cheetah of the 2003 Big Cat Week era jumped on our vehicles – the last thing we wanted to do was to reach out and touch her. Why? Because this was a wild cheetah – but one that had developed a ‘No Fear’ and trusting relationship with vehicles and their occupants – who we never for a moment wanted to break that trust with and the obligation that it implied. An obligation that said that to touch Kike would have encouraged a very different relationship with her – one that would have possibly compromised her and might have made her just that touch too ‘people friendly,’. Leading perhaps to an altercation with herdsmen if she approached them too close on the basis that she had become habituated to people in a way that might have led to her being killed"

**Doogs** Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:02 pm

J&A will be speaking and showing images at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the night of 19th September 2012.

Please contact our friend Amanda Bleasby of Friends of Conservation: focinfo@aol.com for details about tickets.

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