Hi everyone! I thought it was about time to put up another short video/slide show for you as although we’re gradually exiting lockdown globally…we’re still, predominantly, stuck at home wishing of faraway places. As such, let me take you to the far west of Zambia, and a national park that is scarcely visited and accessible by helicopter, Liuwa Plains.
Home to filming last year and this for series two of the BBC’s “Dynasties” (where cheetahs and hyenas will be two of the subjects), this fantastic location is almost absent of visitors, but provides a spectacular backdrop for watching some of the continent’s lesser-fancied predators run through their full range of behaviour. With clans of up to 50, hyenas dominate these wide open plains; plains that are brought to life in October each year as heavy rains head south from the Congo basin to pour their life-giving water into the pans and waterholes, attracting up to 30,000 wildebeest to migrate into the “killing zone”. This is what the hyenas (and the growing lion and cheetah populations) are waiting for, and they make the most of it.
The storms and skies are spectacular; sightings of lesser species and birdlife fantastic too (I’ve never seen so many snakes for example!), and the chance to spend long periods of time watching and working with these highly intelligent and co-operative hunters unsurpassed. If you fancy giving it a go for yourself and in the way that I do it, then get in touch and we can help you set it up.
In the meantime, sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy a slice of a remote corner of Africa…