I never met my maternal grandfather, Rupert Fothergill. He died ten years before I was born. But I grew up watching him chase rhinos, nurse baby kudu, hold eight-foot pythons and coax porcupines out of their burrows.Grandpa Rupert was the head game ranger in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), one of only a handful employed by the government's National Parks and Wildlife Department. In the late 1950s, when the final gaps were closing in the walls of Kariba Dam, he was assigned to lead a team of fifty men on a wildlife rescue operation of the native animals who called the Zambezi Valley home.
Operation Noah lasted five years, and saw over 6000 animals - from anteaters to zebras and everything in between - relocated from the shrinking islands of Lake Kariba to the mainland. The men lived out of bush camps and had only the most rudimentary of equipment - dinghies, ropes, nets, boxes and sacks - to carry out their mammoth task.
Grandpa Rupert owned a 16mm film camera and documented their efforts. For almost half a century, his footage of charging rhinos, drowning monkeys, netted antelope and caged lions sat in boxes in our family home. Mum and Dad used to dig out the four half-hour episodes edited by the Rhodesian Government in the 60s, and project them against a white board at our childhood birthday parties, or invite the neighbours over for screenings in the garage on rainy Sunday afternoons. But the bulk of the raw footage has not been seen for almost fifty years.As I write this, I'm digitising Reel 9: it shows Grandpa Rupert feeding two orphaned baby elephants powdered milk from a bucket. By the end of the day, all fifteen reels will have been safely transferred to digital video tape, and backed up on a hard drive. The original acetate film will eventually decay, but the amazing images it holds will be preserved forever.
His photo albums are being scanned as well, and hopefully, some day, I'll be able to put all these assets together and tell the full story of Operation Noah and its heroes.
For now, I'll use this blog as a place to give you a taste of a life less ordinary...
12 comments:
You definately picked up a few genes from Rupert :) I love that last pic where that little baby...leopard? Is just sitting there watching like a domestic kitten, amazing! And that you have access to all the dubbing equipment, that's mighty convenient. So what's the setup, playback on the reel to reel and a camcorder recording the screen?
I'm not sure exactly what type of cat that is... I'll have to check with mum, but I don't think it's a leopard, I think it's something smaller? But amazing isn't it! Mum grew up with all sorts of orphaned baby animals that Rupert would send home for my Granny to nurse back to health - baby hyenas, crocodiles, monkeys...
As for the set-up - yep that's pretty much it! But because the camera is on the reverse side of the projection, you have to then bring the video into editing software to 'flip' the image back the right way around before dubbing it back out to tape, DVD or whatever you want to watch it off. We usually do a little bit of colour grading at that point too.
My uncle has just informed me it's actually a genet cat... they don't get much bigger than that! They're apparently sort of like a possum.
Check this link out:
http://www.kostich.com/large_spotted_genet_cat.htm
My hero, too. This blog is a wonderful tribute and a worthy undertaking. Best wishes, Tim
Like a dream coming true , as a child I used to read about Operation Noah.........this is amazing , thank you so much for sharing
Alix
ex Northern Rhodesia/Zambia
Just reading a book now called "Kariba - Into the mellennium". has sections on it right from the construction days up until today. have a look for old copies on amazon or Abebooks.com
This is important work! I grew up in Zim (and only left recently) and Operation Noah was part of the national narrative of Zimbabwe as well as Rhodesia. But Rupert Fothergill and his team were more important even to be only national heroes - they operated at a time when modern conservation was born globally, and were undoubtedly important to this. I'm not sure if anyone has ever placed your grandfather and his team into an international context - but this needs to be done. They were pioneers - with Rachel Carson and others - of the modern conservation movement, and they deserve wider recognition.
It is heart-breaking to learn that some of the footage has been destroyed but excellent to learn that you are saving the rest for future generations - the fascinating time in which your grandfather lived has gone forever, but your work will save some of the record of that time to help others to come understand a bit about what it was like. Bravo!
Amazed to read this. The Fothergill family are old friends of ours as far back as their Umtali days, and I grew up with all the stories associated with Rupert. As a boy I would visit their home and remember all the photos, animals and birds in the back yard. remember walking down the drive way once and came across this huge Batleur eagle, scared the pants off me, and the Wild Dogs that were kept in the back yard along with the odd hyena and crocodile. My young son is also named Rupert for obvious reasons. Would like to stay in touch
regards
Graham Patterson - Perth
gpa was a wildlife fanatic and was also my gpa he was a magnificent grandfather until he turned to hitler the dark lord and went to a physo word i loved him with all of my might... then i went to find my roots and i found out he died before i was born.. what a devastating day for me and my family. esp. my dpa cuz he was a great pop pop wat my papa called him.. i love himand pleeaasse e here me out .. i wanna find my root patoot toot toot lke alex my good cousin and i loved her she was a little gassy but he got over it and lived.. not becuz he was dead and i cried/ sobed wateva u may call it and i coudnt live on with an incomplete part of my heart empty and uncompleted forever on.. i love u gpa rupert... may u rest in peace (rubb jens head)
Hi
I am researching an article on lake kariba and came across your Blog.
Do you have a list of animals that they recorded as being rescued ?
Also I think you are Tim what is your surname
Please respond to zimirish@mweb.co.zw
Many thanks
Peter Irish
Well done to you for preserving this spectacular and original event in world wildlife! I found your site by trying to see if there was a connection between Alistair Fothergill of Planet Earth fame, and your granddad. Through my dad's involvement in the Forestory Commission and then the National Museums, I was very much involved in wildlife as a youngster in Rhodesia, and I found the happenings of Operation Noah fascinating. Rupert was a man of vision, huge courage and physical endurance and strength. You have good reason to be proud of him.
Thanks for doing this. I will be back for a closer look. John G.
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