Brad Bestelink
Brad grew up in the Okavango Delta and has filmed there for more than 25 years. He is the co-founder and head of the Natural History Film Unit Botswana (NHFU), which operates out of a specialist film camp in the heart of the Okavango wilderness and trains local camera operators to capture the region’s wildlife. He has been following the individual big cats in this region for years and knows their stories better than anyone. With more than 30 films to his name, including Surviving Paradise (Netflix) and Savage Kingdom (National Geographic), Brad aims to teach people the importance of wild places and remaining connected with nature.
| Question: | Answer: |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Maun, Botswana (The gateway to the Okavango Delta) |
| Favourite Delta animal | Leopard |
| Favourite cat species | Leopard |
| Favourite cat | Xudum |
| Day or night filming? | Day filming |
| Best bush meal | Nuts or biltong |
| Best thing about the Delta | It鈥檚 a constantly changing environment which gives birth to new behaviours. |
“Filming leopards is always a slow burn; it’s about timing and endless patience and it often feels like drip torture waiting for moments of behaviour to play out. You have to pace yourself.”
Brad Bestelink
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Cat spotlight: Xudum the leopard
By Brad Bestelink
A hyena steals a carcass from a leopard
Xudum the leopard loses her meal to a marauding hyena and has to go hungry.
