Saba Douglas-Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Saba Iassa Douglas-Hamilton (born 7 June 1970) is a Kenya
n wildlife conservationist
and television presenter.
in the Great Rift Valley
in Kenya
, she is the daughter of zoologist
, Iain Douglas-Hamilton
and Oria Douglas-Hamilton née Rocco. Saba means "seven" in Swahili
. She was named by Maasai women because she was born on 7 June at 7 o’clock in the evening, and was also the 7th grandchild. Her first language was Swahili
and she grew up playing with the local Kenyan children. Her father came to Africa as a young man to study and conserve elephant
populations. Her white African ancestry comes from her mother who is the daughter of Italians who originally settled in Kenya in the 1920s. Her mother still farms at Lake Naivasha
in the Great Rift Valley
.
She is a great-granddaughter of Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, the 13th Duke of Hamilton
. Her sister Mara Moon Douglas-Hamilton, known as "Dudu" (which means 'insect'), is a film producer.
to study for the International Baccalaureate. She gained a place at St Andrews University in Scotland
and was awarded a Masters degree in Social Anthropology
with a thesis on 'Concepts of Love and Sexuality amongst the Bajuni People of Kiwaiyu Island, Kenya'.
this was identified as a carpet viper. Small and aggressive, carpet vipers have an extremely virulent hemotoxic
venom. Bites from them are possibly responsible for more deaths than from any other species. Friends made a pressure bandage and gave her electric shocks to keep her awake until they reached help.
in a traditional Kenyan ceremony. They live in a small cottage outside Nairobi
that was once an animal sanctuary. In March 2009, their first daughter Sielke was born. Her name is a variation of the selkie
s of Scottish
legends of the Orkney and Shetland islands which are half seal and half human and said to be able to change into beautiful women. The baby was born outdoors in a birthing pool in a friend's garden in Cape Town
, South Africa
.
In June 2011, Douglas-Hamilton gave birth to twin daughters in hospital in Cape Town. The baby girls were given the temporary names, Moja and Mbili (meaning ‘one’ and ‘two’ in Swahili).
she worked for the Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia
, mentored by conservationist Blythe Loutit
. Saba is a trustee of Save the Elephants
, a charity founded by her father. Based in Samburu National Reserve
in the Great Rift Valley
of Kenya
, Save the Elephants carries out rigorous studies of elephants, including elephant collaring and more recently, sophisticated elephant tracking techniques. Through the charity Douglas-Hamilton has worked to support and protect African elephant populations and increase awareness of issues which threaten to erode elephant populations and the habitats in which they live.
In 2008 Douglas-Hamilton supported Merlin (Medical Emergency Relief International), the UK medical aid agency, to raise money for emergency health services following post-election violence when some 500 people were killed and more than 300,000 Kenyans left without homes or clean water.
and others. Many of these have been set in Africa
and have featured elephant
s — an animal with which she became very familiar during her childhood. Since 2002, she has been co-presenter of the Big Cat Diary
series, with Jonathan Scott
and Simon King
. She has also appeared in wildlife programmes set in other countries and regions, such as India
, Lapland
and in the Arctic
, where she filmed polar bear
s. Since 2004, Saba has presented a number of short pieces featuring vacation destinations in the BBC Holiday series. In 2006, she appeared alongside Nigel Marven
in one episode of Prehistoric Park
in which she traveled back 10,000 years to study sabre-toothed cats. One particularly interesting documentary she produced and narrated was called Heart of a Lioness. It was about a wild lioness called Kamunyak
, "the blessed one," who acted as a maternal guardian for the lion's natural prey: an antelope. In 2008 she produced and presented "Rhino Nights" for Animal Planet, using night-time cinematography to capture a previously unrecorded aspect of black rhino behaviour.
In March 2008 she presented a three part BBC documentary, Unknown Africa, reporting on the state of wildlife in Comoros
, Central African Republic
and Angola
.
In 2009 Douglas-Hamilton presented a three part BBC documentary series, The Secret Life of Elephants
with her father Iain which explored the lives of elephants in Kenya's Samburu reserve and the work of the 'Save the Elephants' research team. The series was also produced by the BBC as a successful DVD.
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
n wildlife conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
and television presenter.
Early life
Born on a farm near NaivashaNaivasha
Naivasha is a market town in Rift Valley Province, Kenya, lying north west of Nairobi. It is located on the shore of Lake Naivasha and along the Nairobi - Nakuru highway and Uganda Railway.Naivasha is part of the Nakuru District...
in the Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, she is the daughter of zoologist
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
, Iain Douglas-Hamilton
Iain Douglas-Hamilton
Iain Douglas-Hamilton, OBE, is a zoologist known for his study of elephants.He earned both a B.Sc. and a D.Phil. in zoology from Oriel College, Oxford, and he is the recipient of the 2010 Indianapolis Prize for his work on elephant conservation.His chief research interest is to understand elephant...
and Oria Douglas-Hamilton née Rocco. Saba means "seven" in Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
. She was named by Maasai women because she was born on 7 June at 7 o’clock in the evening, and was also the 7th grandchild. Her first language was Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
and she grew up playing with the local Kenyan children. Her father came to Africa as a young man to study and conserve elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
populations. Her white African ancestry comes from her mother who is the daughter of Italians who originally settled in Kenya in the 1920s. Her mother still farms at Lake Naivasha
Lake Naivasha
Lake Naivasha is a freshwater lake in Kenya, lying north west of Nairobi, outside the town of Naivasha. It is part of the Great Rift Valley. The name derives from the local Maasai name Nai'posha, meaning "rough water" because of the sudden storms which can arise...
in the Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
.
She is a great-granddaughter of Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, the 13th Duke of Hamilton
Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton
Lieutenant Alfred Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton and 10th Duke of Brandon TD, DL was a Scottish nobleman and sailor.-Life and Succession:...
. Her sister Mara Moon Douglas-Hamilton, known as "Dudu" (which means 'insect'), is a film producer.
Education
Douglas-Hamilton did not start school in Kenya until she was seven, then went to the UK to an all-girls boarding school for three years which she later described as 'like a prison'. She went on to attend the United World College of the Atlantic in South WalesWales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
to study for the International Baccalaureate. She gained a place at St Andrews University in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and was awarded a Masters degree in Social Anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
with a thesis on 'Concepts of Love and Sexuality amongst the Bajuni People of Kiwaiyu Island, Kenya'.
Snake bite
When she was 18, Douglas-Hamilton was on a camel safari when she was bitten on her leg by a venomous snake. Sometimes misreported as an AspAsp (reptile)
Asp is the modern Anglicisation of the word aspis, which in antiquity referred to any one of several venomous snake species found in the Nile region. It is believed that the aspis referred to in Egyptian mythology is the modern Egyptian cobra....
this was identified as a carpet viper. Small and aggressive, carpet vipers have an extremely virulent hemotoxic
Hemotoxin
Hemotoxins, haemotoxins or hematotoxins are toxins that destroy red blood cells , disrupt blood clotting, and/or cause organ degeneration and generalized tissue damage. The term hemotoxin is to some degree a misnomer since toxins that damage the blood also damage other tissues...
venom. Bites from them are possibly responsible for more deaths than from any other species. Friends made a pressure bandage and gave her electric shocks to keep her awake until they reached help.
Marriage and Children
On 4 February 2006, Douglas-Hamilton married maritime archaeologist and author Frank PopeFrank Pope
Frank Pope is the Ocean Correspondent for The Times newspaper, author and television presenter. He is the world's only Ocean Correspondent working for a national newspaper.-Biography:...
in a traditional Kenyan ceremony. They live in a small cottage outside Nairobi
Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
that was once an animal sanctuary. In March 2009, their first daughter Sielke was born. Her name is a variation of the selkie
Selkie
Selkies are mythological creatures that are found in Faroese, Icelandic, Irish, and Scottish folklore....
s of Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
legends of the Orkney and Shetland islands which are half seal and half human and said to be able to change into beautiful women. The baby was born outdoors in a birthing pool in a friend's garden in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
In June 2011, Douglas-Hamilton gave birth to twin daughters in hospital in Cape Town. The baby girls were given the temporary names, Moja and Mbili (meaning ‘one’ and ‘two’ in Swahili).
Charity work
When she returned to Africa from her studies in the UKUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
she worked for the Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
, mentored by conservationist Blythe Loutit
Blythe Loutit
Blythe Loutit née Pascoe , was a founder member of the , an artist and a respected conservationist....
. Saba is a trustee of Save the Elephants
Save the Elephants
Save the Elephants is a London-headquartered nonprofit organization founded in September 1993 by Iain Douglas-Hamilton. Save the Elephants works to sustain elephant populations and preserve the habitats in which elephants are found, while at the same time fostering a heightened appreciation and...
, a charity founded by her father. Based in Samburu National Reserve
Samburu National Reserve
The Samburu National Reserve is located on the banks of the Ewaso Ng'iro river in Kenya; on the other side of the river is the Buffalo Springs National Reserve in Northern Kenya. It is 165 km² in size and 350 kilometers from Nairobi and ranges in altitude from 800 to 1230m above sea level...
in the Great Rift Valley
Great Rift Valley
The Great Rift Valley is a name given in the late 19th century by British explorer John Walter Gregory to the continuous geographic trench, approximately in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in South East Africa...
of Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Save the Elephants carries out rigorous studies of elephants, including elephant collaring and more recently, sophisticated elephant tracking techniques. Through the charity Douglas-Hamilton has worked to support and protect African elephant populations and increase awareness of issues which threaten to erode elephant populations and the habitats in which they live.
In 2008 Douglas-Hamilton supported Merlin (Medical Emergency Relief International), the UK medical aid agency, to raise money for emergency health services following post-election violence when some 500 people were killed and more than 300,000 Kenyans left without homes or clean water.
Television career
Since 2000, Douglas-Hamilton has appeared in a number of wildlife documentaries produced by the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and others. Many of these have been set in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and have featured elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s — an animal with which she became very familiar during her childhood. Since 2002, she has been co-presenter of the Big Cat Diary
Big Cat Diary
Big Cat Diary, also known as Big Cat Week or Big Cat Live, is a long-running nature documentary series on BBC television which follows the lives of African big cats in Kenya's Maasai Mara. The first series, broadcast on BBC One in 1996, was developed and jointly produced by Keith Scholey, who would...
series, with Jonathan Scott
Jonathan Scott (zoologist)
Jonathan Scott is an English zoologist and wildlife photographer specializing in African wildlife. He spends much of his time in the Masai Mara National Game Reserve in southwest Kenya and the Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania.He and his wife Angie, who is also a wildlife photographer,...
and Simon King
Simon King (television)
Simon Henry King OBE is a British television presenter and cameraman, specialising in nature documentaries.King has been working in the field of natural history film making for over 30 years...
. She has also appeared in wildlife programmes set in other countries and regions, such as India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Lapland
Lapland (region)
Lapland is a region in northern Fennoscandia, largely within the Arctic Circle. It streches across Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Kola Peninsula . On the North it is bounded by the Barents Sea, on the West by the Norwegian Sea and on the East by the White Sea...
and in the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
, where she filmed polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
s. Since 2004, Saba has presented a number of short pieces featuring vacation destinations in the BBC Holiday series. In 2006, she appeared alongside Nigel Marven
Nigel Marven
Nigel Marven is a British wildlife presenter, television producer, author, and ornithologist.-Career:Marven studied botany at Bristol University until the age of 22 when he left to begin his career at the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol...
in one episode of Prehistoric Park
Prehistoric Park
Prehistoric Park is a six-episode mockumentary television mini-series that premiered on ITV on 22 July 2006 and on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006. The program was produced by Impossible Pictures, who also created Walking with Dinosaurs. In 2007, ITV cancelled Prehistoric Park, but introduced the...
in which she traveled back 10,000 years to study sabre-toothed cats. One particularly interesting documentary she produced and narrated was called Heart of a Lioness. It was about a wild lioness called Kamunyak
Kamuniak
Kamunyak , is a lioness in the Samburu National Reserve, in Northern Kenya.She is famous for having adopted at least 6 oryx calves, and fighting off predators and lion prides which attempted to eat her charges...
, "the blessed one," who acted as a maternal guardian for the lion's natural prey: an antelope. In 2008 she produced and presented "Rhino Nights" for Animal Planet, using night-time cinematography to capture a previously unrecorded aspect of black rhino behaviour.
In March 2008 she presented a three part BBC documentary, Unknown Africa, reporting on the state of wildlife in Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
, Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
and Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
.
In 2009 Douglas-Hamilton presented a three part BBC documentary series, The Secret Life of Elephants
The Secret Life of Elephants
The Secret Life of Elephants is a BBC nature documentary series following the lives of elephants and the work of the conservation charity Save the Elephants in Samburu National Reserve, Kenya...
with her father Iain which explored the lives of elephants in Kenya's Samburu reserve and the work of the 'Save the Elephants' research team. The series was also produced by the BBC as a successful DVD.