TRACKER
A documentary film by Courtney Quirin
Students at a premier wildlife tracking academy in South Africa transform their minds to read the language of nature.
Support our film!
We’re nearing the end of production, and could use your help to finish the film!
All donations go through our fiscal sponsor, The Center for Independent Documentary, and are tax deductible!
Tracking is a universal language.
By stringing together clues in the landscape, akin to letters and words, trackers can find animals-including humans- from details as nuanced as grains of sand on blades of grass.
Tracking enabled our species to evolve, developing scientific thought and creative conjecture.
All humans are trackers, though most of us have forgotten how.
“The process of tracking a lion is in no way different to tracking anything in your life.” — Alex van den Heever, Tracker Academy Co-Founder
Tracking serves both conservation efforts and human development.
“In Southern Africa alone, 90% of wildlife tracking skills have been lost in the last 40 years.”
— Alex van den Heever, Tracker Academy co-founder
THE ISSUES
The decline of tracking is complex and interwoven.
Youth are abandoning the trade after generations of exploitation and a bleak career outlook; historically trackers have received little recognition for their contributions to science and have been paid meager wages. This inequity is fueled by regimes of racism and segregation, the perspective that Western science is the only science, and barriers of literacy and formal education.
Shifts from rural to urban living, and the decimation of wildlife and its habitat have also left trackers with fewer places to apply their skills.
Photo from Tracker Academy
“We are born to track. We keep track of time, weather, family, finances. Sometimes we lose track of ourselves and our relationships, and then we get back on track. The art of tracking is also the art of living.”
— Ian McCallum, psychiatrist and author
IMPACT
Tracking is a mindset embedded in the history of our species.
By shining a light on the birth of a new generation of ecological leaders, who find power in their pasts as a means to reshape their future, our film will also inspire viewers to rediscover their own innate ability to connect with nature, finding respect and empathy in our everyday encounters.
The lessons taught at Tracker Academy are lessons for all of humanity.
“We have much to learn to learn from the world’s finest wildlife trackers . . .
Detail and big-picture thinking is foundational to their mastery.
From a single track, they are able to speculate what
the animal is doing. With remarkable accuracy.
They are constantly gathering information. Tracks on the ground, bird
alarm calls, scents, and the presence of other animals, to name a few . . .
This allows them to link seemingly unrelated pieces of information in a single picture.
Losing the track does not derail them. It
represents a fresh opportunity to learn.
Their mindset is one of purpose, intention, and quiet determination.”
— Alex van den Heever, selected passages from his blog
Photo from Alex & Renias/Motivationalspeaker.co.za
THE TEAM
Director Courtney Quirin is a former wildlife biologist turned journalist and documentary filmmaker.
She is joined by seasoned producers in the U.S. and South Africa trained in conservation and science communication.
Take Action
Help us inspire new generations of ecological leaders.
Our film is midway through production and needs your support to get us to the finish line.
All donations are tax deductible through our fiscal sponsor, Center for Independent Documentary.
Net proceeds of the film will sponsor a future Tracker Academy student.