Watching the rerun of the Rwanda episode in the popular docuseries “Marooned with Ed Stafford” on Discovery Channel the other day, two things came to mind: How much has happened at Akagera National Park since the episode first aired in 2014 and, second, whether there might be follow-up plans taking into account developments in the park. Let’s begin with how the part of Akagera depicted in the series that year. A spoiler alert therefore: It’s an attempt to describe the drama as it unfolds, if only for the sake of a friend who doubts another rerun will happen anytime soon for her and others to watch it. The episode starts with Ed Stafford, the affable and daring star of the show, being dropped on the savanna by helicopter. Enacting one of the signature acts of the series, he sheds his clothes as he alights and tosses them into the leaving helicopter. We see him walk buck naked into the wilds of Akagera to face his fortunes, whatever they may turn out to be. The series is built around the idea of surviving for ten days alone in a remote location with no food, other than what he can hunt or forage from the bushes. It is stone age stuff. He has no tools, he therefore must rely on his ingenuity to craft something to hunt with or undertake any task requiring tools, including making fire. We see him only carrying a bag slung on his shoulders containing a camera to film himself and emergency necessities such as a satellite phone and medical kit. First, he has to cover his modesty, not for himself, for the viewer. He pulls a handful of long blades of grass from the ground and fashions them into something resembling a reed skirt. After securing a place to camp, he begins exploring his surroundings. Looking across the savanna, we discover with Ed that the park has a lake nearby—we are not told which, but it presumably is Lake Ihema. Usually, he is one in harmony with the wildlife in whichever remote location his adventures take him. But in Akagera, with 8,000 animal species, he reaches a point at which he admits to the camera that he feels “more in fear of wildlife than in harmony with it.” By this time, he has had to worry about Cape buffaloes browsing among antelopes and zebras nearby. The buffaloes keep morosely eyeing him and, as Ed is quick to remind us, they are famously ill-tempered and can charge at the slightest provocation – real or imagined. Then there are elephants, which you do not mess with and must maintain a respectful distance. A bull elephant can weigh up to six tonnes. There is also the fiercely territorial hippo, which can weigh up to two tonnes and is reputedly one of the most dangerous animals accounting for 500 deaths annually worldwide. He encounters the hippos by the lake as he searches for something to eat. Hunger is the other thing the wilderness throws at him. He does not seem to easily find any kind of food to get his hands on. He comes upon some wild berries which are good for the vitamins, but he craves proteins and fears his body might shut down. He thinks of trapping birds, of which there are 500 species in the park. In the end, he constructs a kind of dam with a narrow opening by the edge of the lake to trap fish. He lands a two-kilogramme catfish that can last him a few days. I run out of space. However, the drama is intense and full of suspense. Of the Big Five animals, he has only encountered two – the elephant and the buffalo. Ed does not sight the secretive leopard, the third of the Five. It therefore does not receive mention. Not until the following year in 2015 would seven lions be reintroduced in Akagera, making it the fourth of the Big Five in the park. Now numbering more than 20, National Geographic aired a documentary in 2017 tracing their survival in a captivating “tale of hope, courage, challenges and rebirth.” It is another must-see docufilm. The black eastern rhino was reintroduced in 2017. And with the set of Big Five complete, they continue to be quite a draw for tourists at Akagera. There are more added attractions still. Much has therefore changed at the park. Ed Stafford’s series appears to have ended with the 2016 season. Still, how might the drama heighten with the lions and the rhinos now in the mix? Perhaps we need another Stafford to find out. But it is also about tourism, adding on to other activities ensuring international holidaymakers keep coming.
