John Varty
John Varty filming with a tigress in 2009
Born
John Varty

(1950-11-27) 27 November 1950[1]
Johannesburg, South Africa
Occupation(s)Film maker, conservationist
Spouse
Gillian van Houten (TV news anchor)
​
​
(m. 1995)​
[2]
Children3: Daughter Savannah and twin boys, Sean and Tao.[1]
Websitewww.johnvarty.com [3]

John Varty (born 27 November 1950) is a South African wildlife filmmaker[4] who has made more than 30 documentaries and one feature film. Varty is an author, singer-songwriter and activist.[5] He co-owns Londolozi Game Reserve and Tiger Canyon – A project which aims to create a free-ranging, self-sustaining tiger population outside of Asia.[6]

Early life

John Varty attended Parktown Boys' High School in Johannesburg. As a child, John learned about hunting[7] 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.[8] 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 four times in the late 1990s and early 2000s.[9][10]

In the news

2012 – John Varty mauled by a tiger[11][12]

2014 – January 2014 KIA South Africa released a TV commercial, Tiger in Africa, with John Varty's footage shot at Tiger Canyons.[13]

2019 – John Varty offered Johannesburg zoo R1m to release an elephant[14]

2019 – Wildlife filmmaker Varty joins protest to close East London's zoo[5]

Awards

John made several documentaries that were widely distributed: Living with Tigers, Shingalana,[15] Jamu, the Orphaned Leopard.[16] Swift and silent won an American Cable TV award in 1993[17] and The Silent Hunter won The New York Gold Award.[18]

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

*Leopard Queen, appeared in,[19] **A Secret Life, with Gillian van Houten and Elmon Mhlongo,[20] ***Running Wild, appeared in, with Brooke Shields[21]

Tiger Rewilding project

John Varty and Tigress Julie at Tiger Canyons, South Africa

In 2000, John started a Bengal tiger re-wilding project near Philippolis in the Free State.[22] 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.[23] In 2019, Getaway reported there were 18 Bengal tigers at Tiger Canyon.[24]

Singer and Songwriter

John Varty writes and performs conservation songs with titles "Big Cat Love", "Celebrate the Big Cats", The Tracker", "Rolling Thunder", "Masai Man" etc.[25]

Controversy

2012 – Varty stated a one-off auction might help to preserve rhinos.[26]

2004 – The tiger rewilding project was the subject of some controversy in 2004 between investors Stuart Bray and wife, Li Quan following the Discovery release of Living with Tigers. John Varty was granted a court interdict on March 17 from the Bloemfontein High Court restraining Quan and Bray from harassment.[27]

Bibliography

  • Nine Lives - Memoirs of a Maverick (2011) [28]
  • In the Jaws of the Tiger (2013) [29]

Other articles/books

  • Varty, Boyd. Cathedral of the Wild: An African Journey Home, Random House (2014).

References

  1. 1 2 "John Varty, JV, conservationist and film maker, Tiger Canyons".
  2. ↑ "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.
  3. ↑ "John Varty, Tiger Canyon, Londolozi, Activist, Singer, Moviemaker, JV".
  4. ↑ "Nine Lives, author John Varty". Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  5. 1 2 "Wildlife filmmaker Varty joins protest to close East London's zoo". HeraldLIVE. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Free State tiger rehabilitation project is earning its stripes". The Citizen. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Takealot.com: Online Shopping | SA's leading online store".
  8. ↑ Communications, Emmis (September 1984). "Cincinnati Magazine".
  9. ↑ Matteoli, Francisca (15 June 2002). "Starry starry nights". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  10. ↑ "Local Experts". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  11. ↑ "John Varty's ex tells of tiger attack". Channel. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "John Varty: I felt like a rag doll". Channel24. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  13. ↑ Video on YouTube
  14. ↑ "John Varty offers Joburg Zoo R1m for freedom of elephants". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Robot Check". Amazon.
  16. ↑ "Television". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "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.
  18. ↑ "John Varty | Biography | Safari Live | National Geographic Channel". Archived from the original on 5 July 2011. Retrieved 25 July 2011.
  19. ↑ "About Leopard Queen Show - National Geographic Channel - Sub-Saharan Africa". natgeotv.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  20. ↑ Secret Life (TV Series 1999) - IMDb, retrieved 11 April 2021
  21. ↑ "John Varty". IMDb. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  22. ↑ Tiger man of Africa
  23. ↑ "Tiger Man of Africa". Fox News. 8 April 2011.
  24. ↑ "Tiger Canyon: Africa's Bengal tiger conservation project". Getaway Magazine. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  25. ↑ "John Varty | Recordings". John Varty, Tiger Canyon, Activist, Singer, Moviemaker. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  26. ↑ "'Tiger man' Varty issues rhino horn challenge". The Mail & Guardian. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  27. ↑ "Vartys 'misused' tiger funds". news24. 18 March 2003. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
  28. ↑ 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.
  29. ↑ "In the Jaws of the Tiger". www.jvbigcats.co.za. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
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