My wild life on lockdown
Presenter is going live with nature show in the African bush
Which might go some way towards explaining why naturalist Lauren Arthur’s daily broadcasts from an African safari have mesmerised thousands of people around the globe.
The Edinburgh-born wildlife fanatic has fallen into a career as a TV presenter, specialising in live transmissions from weird and wonderful locations.
Now on Wild Earth, a live streaming programme on YouTube, she is bringing scenes from the African bush to viewers twice a day, where she seeks out incredible wildlife to educate audiences and promote conservation efforts.
Before the lockdown, the average live feed had about 2000 viewers – but figures have since gone through the roof, averaging 10,000, with thousands more watching it later online.
Lauren, 33, said: “Lockdown in the African bush is not that different to before.
“Although South Africa is on lockdown, legally we have been given permission to keep operating and, because so many people are stuck at home, we feel we’re doing something positive to help.
“The live industry is booming and becoming more popular than standard documentaries because people love watching stuff as it happens.”
Each live show is three hours long, from 5am-8am then again from 2.30pm5.30pm British time, from the Djuma Private Game Reserve in the Sabi Sand greater Kruger National Park area.
The area is famous for the big five – lions, buffalos, elephants, rhinos and leopards, the usually elusive a n ima l s Lau ren and her cameraman have caught on film.
If the animals on the safari remain in hiding, the show cuts to Lauren’s co- presenter on another safari location in the national park.
But not everything always goes to plan.
Lauren added: “The show is supposed to be fast- paced, engaging and have humour but things can go wrong – I’ve crashed
into a tree live and thrown a cameraman off the back when we hit a bump.
“When you make these mistakes and it’s live, you just have to laugh about it.”
This daily adventure is a far cry from her upbringing in Edinburgh, where every weekend the family would head for their caravan in Pease Bay.
But it was here that Lauren became fascinated with the natural world.
She said: “I developed a love for the ocean. Basking sharks would come cruising through, dead sperm whales washed up on the beach and we’d find all sorts of things in rock pools.”
Her degree in zoology at Glasgow University took Lauren to the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest – her first taste of a life of extremes. But it was a small fib that helped her get the trip.
Lauren said: “During the interview, I was asked if I had a phobia and I lied about my severe arachnophobia but, I felt so guilty, I came clean on the plane.”
Spiders “bigger than your face” were just one of the issues in the heart of the Amazon, where there was no fresh water and no electricity.
After this, Lauren headed to Fiji to work on a marine conservation servation project, then went on to qual i f y as a marr ine biologist, based in the tropical paradise of the Maldives.
She’s now one of the he world ’ s exper ts on n Manta rays and turtles. es.
But Lauren waa s devastated when her work on coral preservation ation and regeneration was largely destroyed after the 201616 El Nino.
The weather phenomenonomenon caused sea temperatures to rise to record levels, bleaching and killing most of the coral in the area.
She said: “I saw it all happen and it was horrible. The Maldives lost 80 per cent of their coral cover, which was devas devastating to see in front of my eyes.” However, hher efforts in marine conversation brought her to the attention of the producers of Dive Live – an underwater safari similar to the Wild Earth show from Africa. A natural in front of the camera, where her passion for the details of the natural world are obvious, Lauren was spotted by Wild Earth and asked to join the show in Africa as a safari presenter 18 months ago.
She said: “I had to undergo training first because I’d never seen a leopard, lion or hyena and I had to learn all the bird calls and get to know the trees. It was overwhelming and I doubted if I could make the transition into Africa but I did and it’s been an incredible experience.”
Now Lauren lives in the bush with her partner, South African cameraman Norman Eastaugh. And when they are not filming the show, they are working on their own documentary Too Wild, about endangered wolves in Ethiopia.
She added: “My whole life has been dedicated to animals. I just can’t see life any other way.
“If I can do anything to get people to care, I will – I’m trying to get the message out that it’s now or never.
“We’re on the brink of a mass extinction. It’s not just about the pandas and polar bears. I’ve seen coral die in front of me, animals die in front of me, wolves struggling to survive and glorious birds that are on their last feather.
“The death and hardship is difficult. But we can save these animals. There is still time.”