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			{{Short description\|South African wildlife filmmaker}}
	{{POV\|date=May 2008}} __NOTOC__
			{{Use dmy dates\|date=September 2020}}
	'''John Varty''' (JV) is a controversial South African filmmaker. JV established Tiger Canyons near the town of Philippolis on the Van der Kloof Lake in the Karoo of South Africa as an experiment to supposed create a free-ranging, self-sustaining hybrid tiger population outside Asia. However experts feel that this is a money making venture by Varty in an attempt to earn money from the tourism industry. This was documented in a film called "Living with Tigers". He successfully introduced a lion cub into a tiger litter to test if a tigress would adopt a cub which is not their own. This way genetic diversity can be increased in populations of wild tigers where inbreeding is occurring.
			{{Use South African English\|date=October 2012}}

			{{pp-semi-blp\|small=yes}}
⚫	==Tiger ~~Canyons~~ project==
			<!-- Note: Some of the references articles that appeared the Afrikaans newspaper, Beeld. The only URLs I could find was links to the IP addresses of the Naspers archive servers. If you need more information, or if you need translations from Afrikaans to English, please ask -->
	]
			{{Infobox person
	However there are controversies to his proposed conservation strategy. One criticism about the project is with the chosen ]. ]s state that the four tigers (Ron, Julie, Seatao and Shadow) involved in the re-wilding ] are not purebred Bengal tigers, and should therefor not be used for breeding. The four ] are not recorded in the Bengal tiger ] and should not be deemed as ] Bengal tigers. Many tigers in the world's zoos are ] impure, a situation which may also apply to these four.<ref></ref> The 1997 International Tiger Studbook lists the current global ] ] of Bengal tigers at 210 tigers. All of the studbook-registered ] ] is maintained in Indian zoos, except for one female Bengal tiger in North America.<ref></ref> It has been pointed out that Ron and Julie (two of the tigers) were bred in the ] and hand-raised at ] in ],<ref></ref> while Seatow and Shadow are two tigers bred in South Africa.<ref></ref>
			\| image = John Varty and Tigress Shine.jpg
			\| caption = Varty filming with a tigress in 2009
			\| birth_date = {{Birth date and age\|df=yes\|1950\|11\|27}}<ref name="jvbigcats.co.za">{{Cite web \| url=http://www.jvbigcats.co.za/johnvarty.htm \|title = John Varty, JV, conservationist and film maker, Tiger Canyons}}</ref>
			\| birth_place = ], South Africa
			\| birth_name =
			\| spouse = {{marriage\|Gillian van Houten (TV news anchor)\|1995\|}}<ref>{{Cite web \|url=http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/1995/01/24/3/10.html \|title=Beeld KALENDER Dinsdag 24 Januarie 1995 Bl. 3: 'n Leeu-verhaal van hoop \|access-date=25 July 2011 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322225428/http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/1995/01/24/3/10.html \|archive-date=22 March 2012 \|url-status=dead }}</ref>
			\| children = 3<ref name="jvbigcats.co.za"/>
			\| occupation = Filmmaker, conservationist
			\| website = {{URL\|johnvarty.com}}

			}}
	The tigers in the Tiger Canyons Project have recently been confirmed to be crossbred Siberian/Bengal tigers. Tigers that are not genetically pure are not allowed to be released into the wild and will not be able to participate in the tiger ], which aims to breed genetically pure tiger specimens and individuals.<ref name="autogenerated1"></ref> It has thus been claimed that these tigers do not have any genetic value,<ref name="autogenerated1" /> and that their release into the wild could result in genetic pollution, besides the extinction of purebred Tigers.
			]

			'''John Varty''' (born 27 November 1950) is a South African wildlife filmmaker<ref>{{cite web \|title=Nine Lives, author John Varty \|url=http://www.jvbigcats.co.za/ninelives.htm \|accessdate=17 August 2011}}</ref> who has made more than 30 documentaries and one feature film. Varty is also leading a controversial project which aims to create a free-ranging, self-sustaining ] population outside of Asia.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.jvbigcats.co.za/mission.htm\|title=Tiger Canyons - to create a tiger population outside Asia\|website=www.jvbigcats.co.za}}</ref>
	==Discovery documentary==
	The ] has been proven to be a fraud.<ref>http://www.wildeye.co.uk/wildlife-film/Wfn/wfn56.htm</ref> The tigers are unable to hunt, and the film crew chased the prey up against the fence and into the path of the tigers just for the sake of dramatic footage. Cory Meacham, a US-based environmental journalist mentioned that "the film has about as much to do with tiger conservation as a Disney cartoon." In addition, the tigers have not been released—and indeed still reside in a small enclosure under constant watch and with frequent ] contact. The Discovery documentary contains footage that its maker, John Varty, has admitted on affidavit to be false.<ref>http://www.nomadtours.co.za/article_2006-6-2_5.html</ref>

			==Early life==
	There are claims that Tiger Canyons' Tigers have no conservation value, and experts question JV's intention of building Tiger Canyons as a ecotourism industry in South Africa. Most experts concluded that it is just a money-minded venture which allows money to be earned through the deception that the tigers there are purebred, but in fact they have no conservation value as they are of mixed ancestry. Conservationists fear that the public will be misled in this cynical fashion.<ref>http://www.nomadtours.co.za/article_2006-6-2_5.html</ref>
			Varty attended ] in Johannesburg. As a child, John learned about hunting<ref>{{Cite book \| url=http://www.kalahari.com/books/Nine-lives/68158/37881750.aspx \| title=Nine Lives \| first=John \| last=Varty \| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402013059/http://www.kalahari.com/books/Nine-lives/68158/37881750.aspx \| archive-date=2012-04-02}}</ref> on the family game farm near the ].

			After his father, Charles, died, John and his brother, Dave Varty, terminated the hunting activities and converted it into a game reserve in 1973.<ref>{{Cite web \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QB4DAAAAMBAJ&dq=londolozi+zulu&pg=PA22 \| title=Cincinnati Magazine\| last1=Communications\| first1=Emmis\| date=September 1984}}</ref> They renamed it Londolozi, which is the Zulu word for "protector of living things". Since then it has become one of the top resorts in the world and was included in ]'s world's best 4 times in the late 90s and early 2000s.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2002/jun/15/hotels.guardiansaturdaytravelsection\|title=Starry starry nights\|last=Matteoli\|first=Francisca\|date=2002-06-15\|website=The Guardian\|language=en\|access-date=2018-11-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news\|url=http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-guide/sabi-sands-game-reserve/hotels/londolozi-private-game-reserve-sabi-sand-game-reserve\|title=Local Experts\|work=Travel + Leisure\|access-date=2018-11-05\|language=en}}</ref>
	==Wildlife films==

	John Varty also made wildlife films. As part of his filming projects, he has supposedly introduced cheetah, a lioness, and two leopards to the wild His films have achieved top ratings on US TV channels and have been seen by millions of people and, he hopes, have resulted in a greater reverence for our planet and all living things. He has won many top documentary honors such as the New York Gold Award, the Film Festival of Montana Best Independent Program and American Cable TV's Ace Award. Major international customers include Walt Disney, The Discovery Channel, Time Life, Reader's Digest and Turner Original Programs (TOP).
			==Career==
			{{expand section\|date=May 2024}}
			Varty made several documentaries that were widely distributed: '']'', ''Shingalana'',<ref>{{Cite web \| url=https://www.amazon.com/Shingalana-Little-Hunter-Part-One/dp/B0033GYES2 \|title = Robot Check\| website=Amazon }}</ref> ''Jamu, the Orphaned Leopard''.<ref>{{Cite web \| url=http://tv.nytimes.com/show/51746/Jamu-The-Orphaned-Leopard/overview \| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117165031/http://tv.nytimes.com/show/51746/Jamu-The-Orphaned-Leopard/overview \| archive-date=2011-01-17 \| title=Jamu The Orphaned Leopard}}</ref> ''Swift and silent'' won an American Cable TV award in 1993<ref>{{Cite web \|url=http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/1993/09/25/5/1.html \|title=Beeld JOHANNESBURG FINAAL Saterdag 25 September 1993 Bl. 5: Shields-prent kan oorsee slag vir Suid-Afrika slaan Londolozi-manne gaan reeks vir Walt Disney maak \|access-date=25 July 2011 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322225440/http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/1993/09/25/5/1.html \|archive-date=22 March 2012 \|url-status=dead }}</ref> and ''The Silent Hunter'' won The New York Gold Award.<ref>{{Cite web \|url=http://wild1.natgeochannel.co.uk/programmes/caught-on-safari-live/presenters/john-varty \|title=John Varty \|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110705192553/http://wild1.natgeochannel.co.uk/programmes/caught-on-safari-live/presenters/john-varty \|archive-date=5 July 2011 \|url-status=dead }}</ref>

			In 1992, he wrote, produced and starred in '']'', a feature film starring ].<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0890264/\|title=John Varty\|website=IMDb\|access-date=2018-11-05}}</ref>

			In 2011, Varty starred in ''Leopard Queen'', a documentary about a leopard he has filmed for 17 years.<ref>{{Cite web \|title=About Leopard Queen Show - National Geographic Channel - Sub-Saharan Africa \|url=http://natgeotv.com/za/leopard-queen/about \|access-date=2018-11-05 \|website=natgeotv.com}}</ref>

		⚫	=== Tiger re-wilding project ===
			In 2000, Varty started a ] re-wilding project near ] in the ].<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv\|title=National Geographic TV Shows, Specials & Documentaries\|website=National Geographic Channel}}</ref> Starting with captive bred tigers, the aim is to establish a wild tiger population outside of ].<!-- Be careful not to call it a conservation project --> In 2003, the progress was documented in a ] production called '']''. In 2011, ] made a second documentary called ''Tiger Man of Africa''.<ref>{{cite news\| url=http://video.foxnews.com/v/4635180/tiger-man-of-africa/ \| work=Fox News \| title=Tiger Man of Africa \| date=8 April 2011}}</ref>

			The project was the subject of controversy after accusations by investors and conservationists of manipulating the behaviour of the tigers for the purpose of the production of the film '']'', with the tigers believed to be unable to hunt.<ref name="Vartys 'misused' tiger funds">{{cite web \|url=http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Vartys-misused-tiger-funds-20030318 \|title=Vartys 'misused' tiger funds \|accessdate=27 August 2011 \|date=18 March 2003 \|publisher=news24}}</ref><ref name="envirolink">{{cite web \|title=Tiger Film a Fraud, says The Chinese Tigers South African Trust \|url=http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/Week-of-Mon-20030901/005990.html \|date=6 September 2003 \|work=PRNewswire \|access-date=27 August 2011 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727084010/http://lists.envirolink.org/pipermail/ar-news/Week-of-Mon-20030901/005990.html \|archive-date=27 July 2011 \|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="wildeye">{{cite web\|title=Discovery Film Proclaimed A Fraud; Broadcaster to be Sued \|url=http://www.wildeye.co.uk/wildlife-film/Wfn/wfn56.htm \|work=Wildlife Film News 56 \|date=February 2004 \|accessdate=27 August 2011 \|url-status=dead \|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090607012741/http://www.wildeye.co.uk/wildlife-film/Wfn/wfn56.htm \|archivedate=7 June 2009 }}</ref> Stuart Bray, who had originally invested a large sum of money in the project, claimed that he and his wife, Li Quan, watched the film crew " the prey up against the fence and into the path of the tigers just for the sake of dramatic footage."<ref name="Vartys 'misused' tiger funds"/><ref name="envirolink" /><ref name="wildeye" /> Quan and Bray also accused them of financial mismanagement after a legal audit uncovered that he had borrowed R5.7-million of the funds for extraneous and personal expenses.<ref>{{cite news \|url=http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Vartys-misused-tiger-funds-20030318 \|title=Vartys 'misused' tiger funds \|accessdate=27 August 2011 \|date=18 March 2003 \|publisher=news24}}</ref> Quan and Bray subsequently established the ] ], also near Philippolis.

			Moreover, scientists have also established that the tigers are not genetically pure, which would imply that the project has no conservation value.<ref>Arrick, A., Mckinney, K. (2007) ''Purrrfect Breed?'' TylerPaper.com, 13 August 2007 {{webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111090603/http://www.tylerpaper.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20070813%2FNEWS01%2F708130305 \|date=11 January 2009 }}</ref><!-- I got this reference from the ] article. I can't verify that is a good reference -->

			On 29 March 2012, Varty was critically injured when one of his tigers attacked him on his farm near Philippolis. He suffered multiple injures and puncture wounds all over his body.<ref>{{Cite news\|url=http://www.channel24.co.za/Movies/News/John-Varty-I-felt-like-a-rag-doll-20120405\|title=John Varty: I felt like a rag doll\|work=Channel24\|access-date=2018-11-05\|language=en}}</ref> He spent approximately one month in hospital.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.jvbigcats.co.za/newsletters54.htm\|title=Corbett's Freedom\|website=www.jvbigcats.co.za\|access-date=2018-11-05}}</ref>

			In January 2014, KIA South Africa released a TV commercial, Tiger in Africa, with Varty's footage shot at Tiger Canyons.<ref>{{YouTube\|vM2S73-ISKg}}</ref>

			In 2019, Getaway reported there were 18 Bengal tigers at Tiger Canyon.<ref>{{Cite web\|date=2019-01-15\|title=Tiger Canyon: Africa's Bengal tiger conservation project\|url=https://www.getaway.co.za/travel-news/tiger-canyon-africas-bengal-tiger-conservation-project/\|access-date=2021-04-11\|website=Getaway Magazine}}</ref>

	==Filmography==		==Filmography==
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	\|		\|
	*]		*]
	*A Secret Life		*A Secret Life
	*Ambush in Paradise		*Ambush in Paradise
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	*Wet and Wild		*Wet and Wild
	\|}		\|}

			==Bibliography==
			* ''Nine Lives'' (2011) <ref>{{Cite book\|last1=Varty\|first1=John\|title=Nine lives: memoirs of a maverick conservationist\|last2=Le Roux\|first2=Dominique\|last3=Hay-Whitton\|first3=Lesley\|date=2010\|publisher=Zebra\|isbn=978-1-77022-132-1\|location=Cape Town\|language=English\|oclc=696106646}}</ref>
			* ''In the Jaws of the Tiger'' (2013) <ref>{{Cite web\|url=http://www.jvbigcats.co.za/newsletters80.htm\|title=In the Jaws of the Tiger\|website=www.jvbigcats.co.za\|access-date=2018-11-05}}</ref>

			==Other articles/books==
			* Varty, Boyd. ''Cathedral of the Wild: An African Journey Home'', Random House (2014).

	==References==		==References==
	{{reflist\|2}}		{{reflist}}

	==See also==
	* ]

	==External links==		==External links==
			* {{YouTube\|T4qMbtFFMRw\|Carte Blanche's Paper Tiger}} documentary
	*
	*		*
			*
	*
	*		* {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070104063223/http://travel.guardian.co.uk/article/2002/jun/15/hotels.guardiansaturdaytravelsection \|date=4 January 2007 }}

	*
			{{authority control}}
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	*
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	*

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Varty, John}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Varty, John}}
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	{{zoologist-stub}}

Latest revision as of 16:34, 27 November 2024

South African wildlife filmmaker

John Varty
Varty filming with a tigress in 2009
Born	(1950-11-27) 27 November 1950 (age 74) Johannesburg, South Africa
Occupation(s)	Filmmaker, conservationist
Spouse	Gillian van Houten (TV news anchor) (m. 1995)
Children	3
Website	johnvarty.com

John Varty (born 27 November 1950) is a South African wildlife filmmaker who has made more than 30 documentaries and one feature film. Varty is also leading a controversial project which aims to create a free-ranging, self-sustaining tiger population outside of Asia.

Early life

Varty attended Parktown Boys' High School in Johannesburg. As a child, John learned about hunting on the family game farm near the Kruger National Park.

After his father, Charles, died, John and his brother, Dave Varty, terminated the hunting activities and converted it into a game reserve in 1973. They renamed it Londolozi, which is the Zulu word for "protector of living things". Since then it has become one of the top resorts in the world and was included in Travel and Leisure's world's best 4 times in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Career

This section needs expansion. You can help by making an edit request adding to it . (May 2024)

Varty made several documentaries that were widely distributed: Living with Tigers, Shingalana, Jamu, the Orphaned Leopard. Swift and silent won an American Cable TV award in 1993 and The Silent Hunter won The New York Gold Award.

In 1992, he wrote, produced and starred in Running Wild, a feature film starring Brooke Shields.

In 2011, Varty starred in Leopard Queen, a documentary about a leopard he has filmed for 17 years.

Tiger re-wilding project

In 2000, Varty started a Bengal tiger re-wilding project near Philippolis in the Free State. Starting with captive bred tigers, the aim is to establish a wild tiger population outside of Asia. In 2003, the progress was documented in a The Discovery Channel production called Living with Tigers. In 2011, National Geographic made a second documentary called Tiger Man of Africa.

The project was the subject of controversy after accusations by investors and conservationists of manipulating the behaviour of the tigers for the purpose of the production of the film Living with Tigers, with the tigers believed to be unable to hunt. Stuart Bray, who had originally invested a large sum of money in the project, claimed that he and his wife, Li Quan, watched the film crew " the prey up against the fence and into the path of the tigers just for the sake of dramatic footage." Quan and Bray also accused them of financial mismanagement after a legal audit uncovered that he had borrowed R5.7-million of the funds for extraneous and personal expenses. Quan and Bray subsequently established the Save China's Tigers Laohu Valley Reserve, also near Philippolis.

Moreover, scientists have also established that the tigers are not genetically pure, which would imply that the project has no conservation value.

On 29 March 2012, Varty was critically injured when one of his tigers attacked him on his farm near Philippolis. He suffered multiple injures and puncture wounds all over his body. He spent approximately one month in hospital.

In January 2014, KIA South Africa released a TV commercial, Tiger in Africa, with Varty's footage shot at Tiger Canyons.

In 2019, Getaway reported there were 18 Bengal tigers at Tiger Canyon.

Filmography

Living with Tigers
A Secret Life
Ambush in Paradise
Brothers in Arms
Cycle of the Seasons
Defining Moments
Horn and Claw
Hunters
Hyaena the Great Opportunist
Jamu the Orphaned Leopard

Londolozi's Africa
Perfect Mothers
Perfect Predators
Return of the Kings
River Dinosaur
Savage Instinct
Savannah Cats
Sense and Scentability
Shingalana
Super Hunts Super Hunters

Survival on the Savannah
Swift and Silent
The Brotherhood
The Mating Game
The Silent Hunter
The Super Predators
The Tracker
Troubled Waters
Wet and Wild

Bibliography

Nine Lives (2011)
In the Jaws of the Tiger (2013)

References

^ "John Varty, JV, conservationist and film maker, Tiger Canyons".
"Beeld KALENDER Dinsdag 24 Januarie 1995 Bl. 3: 'n Leeu-verhaal van hoop". Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
"Nine Lives, author John Varty". Retrieved 17 August 2011.
"Tiger Canyons - to create a tiger population outside Asia". www.jvbigcats.co.za.
Varty, John. Nine Lives. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012.
Communications, Emmis (September 1984). "Cincinnati Magazine".
Matteoli, Francisca (15 June 2002). "Starry starry nights". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
"Local Experts". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
"Robot Check". Amazon.
"Jamu The Orphaned Leopard". Archived from the original on 17 January 2011.
"Beeld JOHANNESBURG FINAAL Saterdag 25 September 1993 Bl. 5: Shields-prent kan oorsee slag vir Suid-Afrika slaan Londolozi-manne gaan reeks vir Walt Disney maak". Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
"John Varty". Archived from the original on 5 July 2011.
"John Varty". IMDb. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
"About Leopard Queen Show - National Geographic Channel - Sub-Saharan Africa". natgeotv.com. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
"National Geographic TV Shows, Specials & Documentaries". National Geographic Channel.
"Tiger Man of Africa". Fox News. 8 April 2011.
^ "Vartys 'misused' tiger funds". news24. 18 March 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
^ "Tiger Film a Fraud, says The Chinese Tigers South African Trust". PRNewswire. 6 September 2003. Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
^ "Discovery Film Proclaimed A Fraud; Broadcaster to be Sued". Wildlife Film News 56. February 2004. Archived from the original on 7 June 2009. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
"Vartys 'misused' tiger funds". news24. 18 March 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
Arrick, A., Mckinney, K. (2007) Purrrfect Breed? TylerPaper.com, 13 August 2007 online Archived 11 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
"John Varty: I felt like a rag doll". Channel24. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
"Corbett's Freedom". www.jvbigcats.co.za. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
Video on YouTube
"Tiger Canyon: Africa's Bengal tiger conservation project". Getaway Magazine. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
Varty, John; Le Roux, Dominique; Hay-Whitton, Lesley (2010). Nine lives: memoirs of a maverick conservationist. Cape Town: Zebra. ISBN 978-1-77022-132-1. OCLC 696106646.
"In the Jaws of the Tiger". www.jvbigcats.co.za. Retrieved 5 November 2018.

External links

Carte Blanche's Paper Tiger on YouTube documentary
Discovery Channel profile
Tiger Man of Africa
Guardian article on Londolozi and Mandela Archived 4 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine

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