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SABCTV3; Sunday 6PM-11th May 2008 & replay 17th May, 9:30 AM.
Making this film has been a wonderful way to document our experiences with distant cousins – Chacma Baboons. Baboons and their more direct kith and kin, split from the great ape line of evolution – the line that led to us, gorillas and chimpanzees and others, the so-called Great Apes – some 25 million years ago. Our relationship with them started during 2002 in Pringle Bay on the eastern tip of the False Bay coast, below Cape Hangklip. I (Bryan) am a retired zoologist with a life-long love of the natural world, its’ ecology and the vast diversity of organisms that has evolved and which inhabits that world. Kate is a retired counselor, disability rights activist, artist and naturalist and, as such we have shared that love of nature together for 19 years. And as a person who has been disabled for well over 35 years, has been unable directly to access the environment she so loves. Now, a special part of that environment, in the form of social Chacma Baboons has, fortuitously come to her (us). As our relationship with the Pringle Bay baboon troop developed, I began photographically to document it, both as an aid memoire, with a book in mind, and also in order to share our exciting and special experiences with the troop as a whole and its’ many different individuals. During 2003, Kate was diagnosed with a terminal kidney condition, primarily caused by her disability (quadriplegia) and was given a pretty short time to live (for the second time in her life!). However, during the process of our interactions and close encounters with the troop, she has blossomed; I am sure that her love for them has given her extra life. The experiences we share in this film are unique and have most certainly enriched my life immeasurably both as a zoologist and as a husband, lover and best friend. As I finish writing this, the baboons are on our stoep and we are preparing to go out to join them. Join us on our journey as we explore these exceptionally important animals, responsible for much of the distribution of the plant communities that inhabit our immediate environment, the internationally recognized Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve.
Bryan Davies
Kate Jagoe-Davies |