2024 01 Spring with bleed V4 - Flipbook - Page 6
The orphaned otters of Kingsnympton are about to get international
exposure thanks to a tv crew from Canada.
When I met them, the crew were just about
to tuck into a starter of Robert9s Scotch Eggs
at the Grove. `We still miss the food at The
Grove Inn,9 says presenter Claudia Gilbert.
8And especially the ciders!9 Claudia is a
biologist and vet by trade, as well as being
the presenter of the Canadian tv show
`Connexion Sauvage9 (Wild Connection).
The
programme explores relationships
between humans and animals across
the globe. Series 1 took her all over
Africa, as well as to the Bahamas and
South America, featuring iconic species
such as lions, rhinos, elephants, sharks,
stingrays and sloths (!), alongside the
people who care for them, study them
and in some cases bring them back
from the brink of extinction. Season 2 is
no less itinerant4Australia and the USA feature4along with Dave Webb9s
Wild Otter Trust in Kingsnympton! `The series is about the exceptional
bonds between people and wild animals,9 says Claudia, emailing from
her Montreal base. `A simple encounter
between Dave, Katherine and a wild otter led
the couple to completely change their lives, to
devote themselves to this too often persecuted
animal species and to do it in an exceptional
way. Such self-sacrifice to save wild animals
without trying to get anything out of it is
spectacular.9 Claudia was led to Dave by Anneka
Svenska, an actress, animal activist and founder
of online channel Green World TV, who is also a
patron of the trust. `We choose Dave because
of his impeccable ethics in what he does for
otters,9 says Claudia. `He impressed me greatly with his level of
knowledge, his professionalism and the quality of his work. I had the
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