Gordon Buchanan, [now quite famous from his TV nature documentaries] is so much more than a wildlife photographer and cameraman. He is a highly intelligent, personable, hugely passionate and articulate naturalist with lots of personality. By going to the remotest and wildest of places on earth with an ecologically minimal team to spend time with, live with, gain the trust of and learn from some of earth's fiercest and revered species, his latest tour gives you almost first-hand experience of his time getting to know just five of these special creatures.
Buchanan, with the aid of a large screen behind him, spends a little over 90 minutes taking us through his experiences with black bears in Minnesota (North America), polar bears in Svalbard (Norway), snow wolves in northern Canada, gorillas in The Congo, and finally elephants in Kenya. In each of the five sections it is particular mother or mothers with their babies that are of particular interest to him, and he follows the mother and her brood for as long as possible documenting all the time her relationship with her child or children as well as the way the pack or herd interact and relate to her and her new-born. The photos on the screen as well as short sections of film from each of these occasions brings it all vividly to life.
The evening takes you through his times with each in a way the TV shows did not. He adds personal anecdotes, tells us things that he wasn't allowed to mention on the BBC, and shows more personal footage of him and even his family enjoying the wildlife around them.
Buchanan is also a great conservationist and spoke out about 'trophy hunting' saying that that is something he can neither understand nor reconcile himself with. But he is also a realist and understands that poaching, shooting, and human lack of understanding and caring will undoubtedly continue - but he has hopes that things are getting better. People are slowly beginning to realise that humans are the greatest threat to this planet's survival and we all need to respond to make change happen. Banning the use of palm oil for example would help enormously, as would finding eco-friendly ways of recycling and disposing of waste.
Yes, there were some rather sad and dis-spiriting moments in his talk, when he mentioned that without the help of a dedicated few the Congo's gorilla population would undoubtedly have been disseminated by now, and finding a gorilla that hadn't been mutilated in some way by humans was not easy. The laying of thick wire ankle traps for the elephants is also very common, and again, without medics and naturalists on call to help them, they would also die. There are fewer than 20 'super-tuskers' still living in the wild. And instead of being the most feared and free from danger of all elephants, they are in the most danger as their tusks are highly prized commodities for humans.
It was easy to see though how Buchanan has become so well known and loved. His work with the animals and his passion for telling the world about them - his mission to make us care about the natural world around us, for if we care we are more likely to protect and preserve - as well as his obvious talent at wildlife photography and his dedication to conservation and preservation make him stand out from the crowd.
His talk is not downbeat and doom and gloom though, please don't think that. Buchanan (who actually was born not that far away from myself as he comes from the Isle Of Mull!) has spent the last 25 years travelling to the world's most inaccessible and inhospitable locations and getting to know the wildlife there in a way that a very privileged few have ever done; and as he shares these experiences with us, his obvious delight in recounting his travels and our interest in hearing them inspires him. There were quite a few young children in the audience this evening, and as he invited the audience to ask questions he took time to answer the youngsters' questions too.
The whole talk started by him showing footage of an experiment with Capuchin monkeys to see if they understood the human notion of 'fairness'. Two monkeys were placed side by side and each time they gave the scientist a stone, they were rewarded. One was given cucumber the other a much tastier and sweeter grape. It was fascinating to watch how the one who was given the cucumber understood what was going on and threw the cucumber back at the scientist and starting ranting and raving because he was being treated unfairly. Buchanan ended with his thoughts on his time with the elephants saying that they are very vulnerable - they need a lot of care and attention, and they need love. After watching them and being so close with them they really do love each other and care for each other. They feel pain, they feel and understand loss and they mourn loss just like we do. "Humans", said Buchanan, "should learn from them. If we were all a bit more elephant then the world would be a better place."
For anyone who loves animals, cares about our planet, and wants to learn something about nature - because the learning process is a two-way thing. The animals can learn from us, but we have an awful lot to learn from them - this talk is much more real than watching his programme on BBC i-player!
Reportage - Matthew Dougall
on - 5/11/18
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