Last week we considered various ways of “experiencing” an indigenous culture in the wilderness: 1) through a report by John Muir on a journey in Alaska, 2) through my touristy visit to the Hazda in Tanzania, and 3) in Joel Bushcraft’s much more immersive experience with the Hazda. Many of you raised the question of the degree to which outside reporters influenced these observed behaviors. OK, now let’s ask the same questions in terms of observations of animals in the wild. Is there a way of observing wild animals while they are simply being themselves — in no way encouraged by humans to put on a show.” My answer is yes, and fortunately I was able to visit such a place last summer. In the film that follows I have spliced together just a few of the many animal sightings from my family’s safari in Tanzania in August 2021. — By the way, for perspective, have a look at the Gary Larson cow cartoon posted just below this Talk My initial goal this week was to create a little film with lots of informative titles providing all sorts of information, but somewhere in my thirtieth hour of course grading and preparation for the week, as well as working on the Africa wildlife film, time constraints have made me settle on a more modest, but hopefully, equally useful goal: I created the film below by piecing together a few dozen film clips from the hundreds I have. I do not add in narration, and there is no musical score. I simply invite you to join me and my family as we journey through northern Tanzania in two Toyota 4x4s. Hopefully the film speaks for itself as we journey along a road past an urban market into the lands of the animals. Most of the film shows the animals we encountered during the multi-day journey. (One of the animals is a leopard in a tree. Can you see it? I must have looked at this film clip a dozen times before I could!) Occasionally you will see our vehicles and my family and hear their voices and our guide Moses’s as we encounter these marvelous birds and beasts by the hundreds and hundreds. Was this the real deal in terms of the animals being themselves. Spoiler alert, I say yes. Look carefully: you will not see a single animal approaching us for a handout or a chance to feast on us. They are as much in their own world as if we were dropped down in their midst inside invisible pods. At least that’s how I experienced it. How about you?!
Tanzania: Wildlife Encounters — 8 Minutes of Safari
