Big Cat Week
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Big Cat Week | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Genre | Documentary |
| Starring | Jonathan Scott
Saba Douglas-Hamilton (2002-present) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 15 (since rebranding)
1 Special |
| Production | |
| Running time | 25 mins |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One |
| Original run | July 1996 – Present |
| Links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
Big Cat Week is a documentary film that has been running for ten years on BBC television. It started under the name Big Cat Diary but changed in 2004 to give the documentary a new image. The documentary is set in the Masai Mara and follows the adventures of big cats. Normally each year they have a lion pride, a cheetah and a leopard.
Big Cat Diary was first filmed in 1996 and shown on BBC One. Updates followed, and new characters were introduced every two years or so on BBC Two. In 2002, the two original presenters, Jonathan Scott and Simon King, were joined by Saba Douglas-Hamilton.
In 2004, there was a change of format for the fifth visit to the Mara. BBC One showed nightly programmes over the course of a week instead of over several months. In 2005, for the first time, they were able to put exclusive broadband footage on the website adding context and detail to the TV experience.
In 2006, there were new programmes with a BBC Three spin-off, Big Cat Uncut and a 10th anniversary special. The first video field reports from the 2006 filming trip were a new addition to the website. The show is expected to return next year.
Contents |
[edit] The cats
[edit] The lion prides
- The Marsh Pride
They have been the most successful group to be filmed for Big Cat Week. They have appeared on the show every year since the show started. The longest-standing member of the pride is Khali. Khali leads the pride and is one of the greatest hunters the show has followed.
- The Ridge Pride
This pride has only appeared in the more recent Big Cat Weeks. The main lions in this pride are Cheza and Sala. These two are young cubs that are growing up together despite having different parents. They were one of the main features of the 2005 Big Cat Week.
[edit] The cheetahs
- Fundi and Cubs
In the first Big cat Diaries, the show followed Fundi and her adventures trying to protect her cubs. There were two cubs. One of the cubs was a mischievous cheetah and the other always followed her brother. This usually led to trouble.
- Amber
Amber was first seen as mother to three small cheetah cubs, one later named Kike. She had a distinctive notch in her right ear. Amber was one of the first cheetahs to jump onto the jeeps and use them as advantage points to spot prey. She was last seen and filmed in 1999.
- Kidogo and cub
Kidogo was also part of the first Big Cat Diaries and continued for many years onwards. A first-time mother, Kidogo hunted regularly to keep her cubs well-fed; this led to her being a very entertaining cat.
- Kike and her three cubs
Kike made her debut in the first Big Cat Week in 2004. Discovered at Rhino Ridge, Kike was mother to three small cubs. This was Kike's fourth litter but she hadn't succeeded in raising even a single cub successfully before. Like her mother Amber had done, Kike used the jeeps as advantage points for prey and even occasionally as toilets. The three cubs went onto appear in the 2005 Big Cat Week.
Toto was probably the most-loved cat on Big Cat Week ever and made his appearance in 2006. The main reason he was so loved was because he was the youngest big cat they had ever filmed, roughly about 6-8 weeks old. This also meant he was the most vulnerable. During his week, he faced hairraising encounters with Lions and Babboons. In the final episode of 2006, Toto went missing overnight after a storm, and was not found. It was reported a few days later that Toto's mother was found living alone. Nobody knows what exactly happened, but little Toto didn't survive. The end credits at the end of Big Cat Week 2006, consisted entirely of footage of Toto.
[edit] The leopards
- The leopard family
Big Cat Diaries only followed one leopard family through each generation. This family started with Half-Tail. Half-Tail was one of the most famous big cats and appeared on the show for quite a few years. She was named Half-Tail after a babboon chase in which she lost half of her tail. Half-Tail only ever managed to raise two cubs, called Shadow and Beauty. Half-Tail had her sixth and final litter of cubs in 1998 but was sadly killed when she attacked the livestock. As her cubs were too young to fend for themselves they died shortly afterwards. Shadow was to be the next leopard they followed and she went on to have a cub herself called Safi. When Big cat Week returned in 2004 a new family was chosen ending the line.
- Bella and Chui
Bella and Chui have appeared on the show together for two years. They first appeared in 2004, when Bella was mum to two small three month old cubs, Chui and his sister. Months after filming ended, Chui's sister vanished. It later became clear she was dead, most likely killed by Lions. In 2005, the public and crew said goodbye to Chui and saw what should have been the final shots of them together, as he'd leave Bella's side and protection sometime after filming. In 2006, however, they turned into a dysfunctional family, due to the fact that Chui was still hanging around and still hadn't left. Chui had started stealing Bella's food and the public began to dislike Chui. In October 2006, It was announced on their website that Chui had now been chased away by the resident male and Bella was now mating again. Chui has now been reported to have moved to a new territory down river, where he was seen a month ago mating with a new female in Bella's adjacent territory.
[edit] The location
The series Big Cat Week is set in the Masai Mara. The range of habitats, unique weather system, and supply of fresh water from its three rivers makes Kenya's Masai Mara a fertile wildlife haven. Vast numbers of wildebeest and other grazers follow the annual rains here in search of fresh grass, creating an abundant larder for predators such as big cats. It also means that some of the smaller cats, such as leopards and cheetahs, will be under threat all the time.
The Maasai Mara is a large park reserve in south-western Kenya, which is effectively the northern continuation of the Serengeti National Park game reserve in Tanzania. Named for the Maasai tribespeople and the Mara River which divides it, it is famous for its exceptional population of game and the annual migration of the wildebeest every September and October, a migration so immense to be called the Great Migration.
With an area of 1510 km² the Masai Mara is not the largest game park in Kenya, but it is probably the most famous. The entire area of the park is nestled within the enormous Great Rift Valley that extends from the Mediterranean Sea to South Africa. The terrain of the reserve is primarily open grassland, with clusters of the distinctive acacia tree in the south-east region. The western border is the Esoit Oloololo Escarpment of the Rift Valley, and wildlife tends to be most concentrated here, as the swampy ground means that access to water is always good and tourist disruption is minimal. The easternmost border is 224 km from Nairobi, and hence it is the eastern regions which are most visited by tourists.
The reason the Mara is such a great place for a documentary is because of the great migration. This means there will be a lot of hunting for the animals they film and also a greater chance of survival.
