Western Cape local, wildlife photographer and conservation hero Steve Benjamin recently made ocean lovers and South Africans incredibly proud after he was awarded the Grand Prix Award for his short film ‘Saving Seals’.
The award was part of the International Film Festival Africa’s Documentary and Television category, which honoured Steve’s labour of love.
The film, released in 2022, shines a spotlight on the Two Oceans Aquarium, and the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Foundation and the V&A Waterfront’s Marine Wildlife Management Programme and the SA Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the environment as well as global collaborators, in light of the work they do for the seals in harbour areas like the V&A Waterfront, as per the Two Oceans Aquarium.
The heroes of the seals focused on “breakthrough work” that included ways to tranquilise the seals safely when they are distressed. This aids them in imperative work when the seals need to be disentangled from nets and the like, which are to them nooses, as the Two Oceans Aquarium expresses.
‘Saving Seals’ takes us back to the history of the programme dedicated to disentanglement for the seals, and highlights why the new technology was such a game-changer.
To learn more about the seals or to book a visit, visit its website here.
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Picture: Lesley Rochat