Websites (June 2008)

Animals battle in the wild
(violent images)

There is a moment of foreshadowing at the end of ?Battle at Kruger,? the eight-minute African safari video that has drawn more than 30 million views on YouTube. David Budzinski, a tourist from Texas, has just recorded a stunning scene straight out of a wildlife documentary. A small pride of lions and a crocodile have pinned down a cape buffalo calf, prompting an angry herd of buffalo to fight off the predators and save the babe. A fellow traveler remarks, ?You could sell that video!? After returning home, Mr. Budzinski tried, but National Geographic and Animal Planet were not interested. Only after the battle ? alternately terrifying and heart-warming ? became one of the most popular videos in YouTube?s history did the buyers come calling. Last summer the National Geographic Channel purchased the television rights to the video, and on Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern time, it will devote an hour to a documentary deconstructing the drama. Adhering to the short-form spirit of YouTube, the complete tale concludes in slightly more than eight minutes. Mr. Budzinski tried unsuccessfully to sell it to television networks. ?They all told us the same thing ? they don?t accept any footage from amateurs,? he said. For almost three years the film essentially sat on the shelf. But a year ago, when Mr. Schlosberg used YouTube to share the video with a friend ? it was easier than making a DVD copy and mailing it, he said ? ?Battle at Kruger? started spreading virally on the Internet. Before long, National Geographic [called].

Note: To watch this amazing 8-minute clip of a highly unusual battle between lions and water buffalo, click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM      
Forwarded by Vincent D'Amico, PhD