Africa's Big Five and Other Wildlife Filmmakers: A Centenary of Wildlife Filming in Kenya

Other Special People

90 Africa’s Big Five and other Wildlife Filmmakers OtherSpecialPeople Joan Root ‘ The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.’ – Mahatma Gandhi I cannot possibly put this book to bed without including my friend Joan Root who was tragically murdered in January 2006. As everyone knows, Joan was married to Alan for more than twenty years, and he isthefirsttoadmitthathecouldnothaveachievedwhathedidwithout her. At her memorial service on the shores of Lake Naivasha, Alan described her as ‘the wind beneath his wings’. She was all that, and more. A quiet and reserved person, Joan did not want anything to do with being in the limelight. She was incredibly capable, and before she met Alan she worked with her father organising safaris. This is something that many Kenya women do in their sleep, packing up the camping equipment, organising the food supplies, making sure the medical kit is fully stocked, planning everything in minute detail. With Alan she did all that automatically, never quite knowing where the next filming trip would take them or how long it would last. In addition, she was Alan’s producer, production assistant, location manager, accountant, and cook. She logged the footage, she handled the shipping of rushes, she paid the bills, she learned to fly, she drove the camera vehicle, and more. When Alan was filming she was beside him, often with a stills camera, climbing trees, scaling cliffs, fording rivers, flying a hot air balloon, diving with hippos, or making tea. She loved the life, and there was nothing that she would not do to help Alan achieve the perfection he sought. Africa’s Big Five and other Wildlife Filmmakers 91 One of the things that had attracted Alan to Joan in the first place, aside from her beauty, was her empathy with animals. When he first met her, she was raising a baby elephant. Over the years, she tended all manner of creatures, birds, reptiles and mammals. When asked how many animals she had cared for, she did not really know but thought it was probably several hundred. It has been said that she tended every species from aardvark to zorilla, and many more in between. On the first occasion when she came to stay with me in Nairobi, she had with her two very small weaver chicks that had fallen out of a nest. They had no feathers and were totally helpless. Instead of sitting Joan down with a drink and something to eat, I found myself onmyhandsandkneesonthelawnforanhourorso, collectinginsects. On subsequent visits, she came with a duiker, a house snake, or a crane. One day we found some very large caterpillars which she judged to be some kind of emperor moth, and she took some with her so that she could identify them when they hatched. WhenAlanandJoanseparated,ittookJoanalongtimeto‘findherself’ again. She retreated to the shores of the lake and concentrated on all the animals that lived there, learning more about the plants and the ecology of thelakeitself.Shebecamepassionatelyinvolvedwithtrying to save the lake, which was being over-fished and whose waters were being contaminated by the proliferation of agriculture on its shores, predominantly the growing of roses and carnations for export. She could see that the balance of nature was out of kilter, and did her best to make it better. Sadly, it was an almost impossible battle, and one which she could never win. She did not deserve to die in such a brutally violent way. My gentle, kind, and loving friend: rest in peace. 92 Africa’s Big Five and other Wildlife Filmmakers Africa’s Big Five and other Wildlife Filmmakers 93 Top: Joan Root and a young crowned crane. Photo Jean Hartley Below: Alan Root filming on Mt Lengai. Photo Reinhard Radke 94 Africa’s Big Five and other Wildlife Filmmakers Top: One of Brian Leith’s lions – the ultimate in madness. Photo Jean Hartley Below left: Mike Herd and Bill Markham filming zebras. Photo Bill Markham. Below right: Hugo van Lawick at the premier of “The Leopard Son”. Photo Alan miller Africa’s Big Five and other Wildlife Filmmakers 95 Top left: Jen Bartlett untangling old Armand Denis film, photo Jean Hartley. Top right: Alan Root, Photo Chryssee Bradley Martin Below: Rudi Kovanic filming elephants. Photo Omni Productions [3.131.13.194] Project MUSE (2024-04-25...