Going Ape

It’s a great pity that once highly respected National Geographic channel has degenerated into a purveyor of low brow entertainment with sensationalist programmes with titles like “Africa’s Most Dangerous Killers” and "Cat Wars".

Why, I wonder, do they find it necessary to trivialize our wonderful natural world and to pump up the drama of the various animal interactions. Is it to drum up viewership?
What’s happened to the excellent educational and informative communicator that National Geographic used to be?
It’s sadly been my experience that film-makers and researchers, generally, seem to hell bent on getting the shot or collecting the data and care little for how this is achieved. They seem not to be bothered about the well being of the wildlife they are researching or photographing. So, I’m really not surprised that National Geographic are being accused of a big set-up here in Pringle Bay to get dramatic footage of baboons raiding a house and to anthropomorphise the whole sequence..
Baboons that raid houses are an ever escalating problem here and it’s naïve or disingenuous for National Geographic to claim they were only attempting to get to portray how and when the baboons raid houses. The bottom line is that they have successfully reinforced the perception amongst the baboon troops here that a house that is not heavily fortified is an open invitation for a free lunch. 
Cape Times Editorial 5th July :- “ ……….….it is clear that the film-makers deliberately made food available to a troop of wild baboons to lure them into a house so they could film their behaviour”. “ We join CapeNature in voicing our disgust at this anthropomorphic and unscientific series that violates almost every established principle of ethical wildlife film-making”.

Shame on you National Geographic. You’ve become part of the problem instead of becoming part of the solution!