The Big Seven are forever captured in time
The Big Seven covers the lives of these animals (the traditional Big 5 as well as the cheetah and the wild dog) and the authors' adventures in words and photographs to bring the experience of tracking down these animals.
MALA MALA – The Big Seven of the animal kingdom are the most exciting, charismatic and, in some cases, dangerous, of Africa’s wildlife sightings.
For those not privileged to visit big game parks to experience the thrill of watching them, renowned photographers Gerald Hinde and Will Taylor have now produced a book that offers the next best option. That book was launched to the media at the Sable Camp in Mala Mala Game Reserve recently.
The Big Seven covers the lives of these animals (the traditional Big 5 as well as the cheetah and the wild dog) and the authors’ adventures in words and photographs to bring the experience of tracking down these animals.
Filled with magnificent imagery and evocative text, The Big Seven takes the reader on an unforgettable journey through the African bush. It puts the reader into the dappled light of a riverine forest with a lithe spotted cat, and makes you hear the thunder of hooves and smell the dust of a herd of buffaloes fleeing from a pride of hunting lions.
Hinde was born in South Africa into a family that had a passion for wildlife and business. After nearly 30 years as the managing director of a large family motor business, he shed his business cares in 1989 and took up his hobby, and first love, as a new career.
As a highly-skilled wildlife photographer, he produced his first book in 1989, while still a businessman. Over the following years he produced numerous wildlife books and documentaries, many of which received awards. Widely published in magazines, calendars and other publications, he has also won a string of awards in photographic competitions.
Taylor was born in Zimbabwe, where he grew up with an intense love of nature and its conservation, earning advanced degrees in both zoology and botany from the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg. He was awarded the prestigious Beit Fellowship for his Masters studies, but went on to become a wildlife biologist and senior ranger of the MalaMala Game Reserve. In this capacity he guided many luminaries on safari including Margaret Thatcher and FW de Klerk, along with other world leaders and celebrities.
He then founded Khashana Travel, a Dallas-based company that creates luxury and adventure travel experiences with a particular focus on wildlife photographic safaris.
Taylor is still deeply involved in African conservation and tourism and the benefits these pursuits bring to the communities and ecosystems they protect.
Together the two have co-authored four African wildlife books, produced 20 wildlife documentaries, and have had their photographs exhibited and published worldwide.
Shot over 15 years throughout Africa’s big game areas, The Big Seven is a collection of these authors’ best and most exciting work, and an insight into some of the adventures and close calls they had.
• The Big Seven (ISBN 9780639947327) is published by HPH Publishing and costs R650. It can be purchased directly from HPH Publishing’s website and it will be delivered to your doorstep.
