Tigers Clients, Oh My!Tigers Clients, Oh My!Kalpana Mohan - PDF document

Tigers Clients, Oh My!Tigers Clients, Oh My!Kalpana Mohan 1099PROFILEStoriesofBOSS-FREEPEOPLEPLEItÕs a dry dusty afternoon in the pit ofthe NgorongoroCrater in northern Tanzania.A safari truck splutters to astop by the bank ofa long patchy lake.ÒThere,do you see thelioness and her cubs?Óasks guide Royal Marcher,pointingtoward a mass ofreddish-brown rocks.His clients stare hard,but they canÕt see anything.Suddenly,one ofthe rocks stirs,stretches,and yawns,baring its giant teeth.Marcher definitely knows a lion when he sees one.After 25years as an independent safari guide,he can spot a leopardÕstelltale tail high in the branches ofan acacia tree 100 feetaway.And his conversation is filled with facts heÕs picked upover the years:Did you know,for example,that hippos killmore people in the African savanna than any other animal?That a leopard can carry a carcass its own weight up into atree to protect its kill from other predators? That animalsrarely attack Masai tribesmen?TheyÕve lived together forthousands ofyears,and have learned to coexist peacefully.)Marcher,76,didnÕt start out as a safari guide.HeÕs been ajewelry salesman,an agent in the film industry,a restaura-teur,and a sailor Ñ jobs that often had him traveling aroundAmerica and the world.ÒBut I always wanted to work with animals,ÓMarcher says.As a child in New York City,he would bring home mice,snakes,and birds.As an adult,he housed and fed a couple ofbaby lions and a monkey for a local pet store.ÒIt was legal inthe 1950s,Óhe explains.Marcher didnÕt make his first trip to Africa until he was inhis thirties.But after that first visit,he ended up in Africawhenever he had time offfrom work.In time,he startedbringing his friends along so they could see the continentthrough his eyes.And before he knew it,his passion hadbecome his profession. PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOE MARUCA What was the worst project you everworked on,and why?The guy in the office who had all themoney to make the reservations stole themoney.So I would get to places where Ihad no reservation.It happened four SPRING2001Marcher is quick to point out that heÕs a trueprofessional.HeÕs proud ofthe badge he received from theKenya Professional Safari Guide Association Ñ proofthat heÕs acertified guide.ÒThere are too many travel agents in Africa pre-tending to be guides when theyÕre not,Óhe says.To earn certifi-cation,guides have to pass a comprehensive exam on wildlifeand its protection,and on Kenya,its history,and its tribes. SPRING 2001 Field:Travel guide Specialty:African safarisHours per week: clients from South Africa north into Namibia,Botswana,orZimbabwe,and from there to Zambia,Tanzania,or Kenya.From June through October,Marcher is hot on the trail ofmigrating animals in East Africa.Each year,2 million wilde-beests,500,000 zebras,and 100,000 gazelles,buffalo,andwarthogs make their way from the Serengeti Plain in Tanzaniainto the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya.ÒThe viewing isspectacular,Óhe says.ItÕs even better in a hot-air bal-loon:ÒYou can see all ofAfricafrom up there.ÓFrom highabove the plains,a long lineofwildebeests looks like a