Charles Wandero is a Kicheche fixture. Charles Wandero is also man blessed with almost superhuman perception, vitality and indeed skill, so when a violent storm drills his Conservancy for hours he is not put off. However, the Ntiaktiak has swollen to a turbulent and terrifying torrent but unbowed he slides his 4WD with impossible skill to gain a view of an alpha male in the sunrise before negotiating more floodwaters (the stream had risen nine feet) to watch the two boys reluctantly cross the river.
Even the New York Times has recently featured poor predators being corralled by legions of noisy vehicles and social media is full of these crime scenes. Not in Charles’ reign, not in any Conservancy – the maximum is five, that morning this watery drama was viewed by a crowd … of two. No one would ever see Charles harry any animal, predator or otherwise.
Crossings only happen from July to September … the hell they do, Charles then summoned 5000 striped subjects across the same river towards him.
The following day Betsey Lucas filmed these males’ family.
Many rivers to cross, many magnificent memories: conservancy safaris at their imperial best.
