Knoxville Screening of Disneynature's African Cats

Christina May 18, 2011

[caption id="attachment_1845" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="AWF's own Bernard Kissui at a screening of Disneynature's "African Cats""][/caption]

As part of the African Wildlife Foundation's philanthropy team, traveling throughout the United States visiting with the supporters who make our work possible is the greatest part of my job.  Hearing personal recounts of past African safaris, learning of specific conservation interests, and sharing AWF's critical conservation work with supporters gives me great pride in the accomplishments we achieve, against all odds, on a daily basis.  But, perhaps even greater than that is when I am accompanied by our field staff who work directly on these projects we strive to support.  Two weeks ago, during the opening week of Disneynature's "African Cats", AWF's Research Scientist and Lion specialist, Dr. Bernard Kissui, visited the United States from Tanzania to attend a few film screenings and share his lion conservation work in Tanzania with movie-goers.  I had the pleasure of accompanying Bernard to one such screening in Knoxville, Tennessee, where one of AWF's Board of Trustees, Adrian Jay, hosted a screening and reception in partnership with Regal Cinemas.

[caption id="attachment_1851" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Map of the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor in Kenya"][/caption]

To give you some background, Disneynature has partnered with the African Wildlife Foundation in their newest initiative, "See 'African Cats,' Save the Savanna" to assist in securing critical migratory corridors for Africa's wildlife. During the film's opening week (April 22-28, 2011), a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales were donated to AWF through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.  These funds will be used towards securing and protecting the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor in Kenya, a passage between  Amboseli, Tsavo West, and Chyulu Hills National Parks that is a frequently used by a wide variety of wildlife. As this passage is made up of community land, farmers and pastoralists began to fence their plots of land to keep out wildlife, therefore inhibiting their migration patterns. Through the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor project, AWF is leasing land from these communities to reconnect the critical passageway between these protected areas. All movie-goers during the opening week helped, through the purchase of their ticket, to secure this critical tract of land. Hey - not a bad excuse to go to the movies!

Due to my passion for all things wildlife, I've seen many nature films and as such, didn't have a high expectation that this film would be "earth-shattering" by my standards.  Boy was I wrong!   The cinematography was absolutely stunning and the stories captivated me from start to finish.  Set against the breathtaking backdrop of Kenya's Massai Mara, the film follows a cheetah with her cubs and a pride of lions capturing their real-life stories of love and determination.  Enough said - see the film!

[caption id="attachment_1852" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="AWF's CEO, Dr. Patrick Bergin, and Dr. Bernard Kissui on Knoxville's station WBIR"][/caption]

Prior to the film, Adrian had arranged for Bernard, along with AWF's CEO, Dr. Patrick Bergin, to give a media interview about the film on Knoxville's WBIR.  Take a moment to watch the interview on WBIR.  After the film, courtesy of Regal Entertainment, all of the movie-goers were invited to attend a catered reception.  During the reception, Bernard and Patrick answered questions from the audience about AWF's conservation work.  A young boy, no older than 6, patiently raised his hand and asked, "Why weren't there any tigers in the movie?"  As the rest of us refrained from chuckling at his innocence and courage to speak up, Patrick simply explained that tigers, unlike lions, cheetah and leopards, don't live in Africa.  It was too cute.  But in all seriousness, this Q&A provided the ideal opportunity for Bernard to share some of his lion research and conservation work with the attentive audience.

[caption id="attachment_1855" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bomas have proven to be very effective in keeping livestock safe from lions, reducing human-wildlife conflict"][/caption]

Bernard conveyed that one of the biggest challenges with lion conservation, aside from habitat loss, is human-wildlife conflict.  Lions often times prey on livestock and, in turn, pastoralists retaliate by killing the lions.  Bernard is working closely with the communities surrounding protected areas to convey the importance of lions to the ecological landscape as well and assist them in better protecting their herds against lion predation.  One way of doing this is through the use of simple chain link fencing to secure their bomas, the enclosures that the cattle are kept in at night.  These reinforced bomas have proven to be 100% effective against lion predation, and in turn, are keeping both the lions and livestock safe.  Currently, Bernard has been able to install 100 of these bomas but is hoping through additional funding to expand this initiative, as it is a true win-win for both the communities and wildlife in Tanzania.  You can help Bernard realize this goal by donating to AWF's Lion Conservation and Research program.

To all of you who have seen the film already, thank you for supporting the African Wildlife Foundation!  If you have yet to see the film, what are you waiting for!?