Join renowned wildlife filmmakers Dereck Joubert and Beverly Joubert as they capture the drama of Africa's largest free-roaming elephant herds on their timeless journey across the bush country of northern Botswana. Two years in the making, this remarkable documentary reveals extraordinary elephant behavior never before filmed. You'll see the rare adoption of an abandoned infant, the organized rescue of a calf in danger of drowning, and the haunting way bull elephants mourn the death of an aged companion. You'll also witness an encounter between a young elephant and adolescent lions that even surprised the filmmakers. Come with National Geographic on a journey you'll never forget - to a place where nature still rules and the elephant is king.
The mysteries of the most intriguing creatures in Africa are revealed on screen here. Silent language, gentle demeanor, and a race against the elements to survive the ebb and flow of Northern Botswana's seasons are what seem to make elephants here what they are. While the species is becoming endangered elsewhere in Africa Botswanas herds are thriving and provide the ideal situation for this film; an open range of many thousands of elephants.
The story of two young calves is the hinge for investigating the lives of all elephants as they march for the water they need so desperately each year. For the first time serious contact between lions and elephants appears on film as with the underwater sequences as they swim across the Chobe River.
When an old bull elephant dies, the resulting behavior of other elephants is astounding. A haunting ritual, not unlike ancient burials in our society is displayed, just one of the many facets of discovery in this cinematic exploration of their behavior. Are they even more intelligent than we thought?
Considering the logical rescues of calves stuck in the mud, their language skills, the compassion and caring attitudes between them, and on some occasions, to other species, and the investigations of the dead it is likely. Rituals, and mystery, it is hard to leave them without a certain amount of reflection, not only on their behavior but on ours too.
30 сен 2024
