Elephant Trunk Tricks

One of the most important lessons I learned over the few years I spent with the Wild Orphans was to never assume I knew anything definitive about elephants. It's at that very moment they seem to know they have you, and presto! the come at you from a perspective you never imagined.

For the new elephant project in Asia I am digging through and surfing into mountains of elephant research, over the coming months as that research expands I'll try and share as much information and links here as I can. This first one is a favorite for it involves elephant trunks - which I am certain are separate creatures from the beasts they are attached to - or at least there is a symbiotic co-dependency relationship. Seriously, watch that trunk for a few minutes and it seems to be doing a whole range of things independent from its host. Trunks are brilliant!

Watch Video Click Here

BBC camerman Mike Holding commented, "I have spent countless days in the company of elephants, and I believe this was a timely reminder that however much we think we know about elephants, they always surprise us with some new and intelligent piece of behaviour."

Watching Wild Orphans from a distance

During the early months of filming at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust I learned my plan, my ideas, were my own - the baby elephants and circumstances of their survival were the true dictators of what would be ultimately accomplish. Sometimes that was extremely frustrating, and painful, especially when it involved the death of an orphan. But ultimately I was a guest, an outsider. As a photographer and writer that's my job - view from the outside, try to understand the view from the inside - the people, places and creatures that live it every day, and then shed light on both with camera and pen. And if it works, you, the reader and viewer see how those two world mix, match, conflict and co-exist.

At the core of this profession is constantly reminding myself to remain open to change, flexible in plans, and receptive to new perspectives. That was critical to the final success of the Wild Orphans project in that first phase, so it seems is the case in Wild Orphans part II.

The orphanage over the past decade has become a mecca for anyone wanting to tell a heart-warming tale of little elies. That attention is partly due to the Wild Orphans book - I know by the number of producers from around the world who have emailed or called me for copies of the book as they prepare to explore the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and baby elephants for their own programming. In that sense what was created a decade ago was more than a book - and I delighted Daphne Sheldrick and the dedicated people of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust have benefited from all the support they gave the Wild Orphans project. As a consequence the Trust and folks that have to keep orphaned baby elephants and rhinos as their first priority have been inundated with requests to access and use the babies as celebrities. In the past 60 Minutes, BBC, and many others have come to tell the Wild Orphan story. Currently National Geographic and IMAX both have projects in the works. (As soon as those two productions are available I'll post them here on the blog.)

Sadly, with so much going on, I won't be returning in the near future to pick up Natumi's story and bridge a decade of being wild in the bush of Tsavo East NP. Instead I'll watch from a distance and continue updates and links here to the Trust's work and the babies, especially Natumi, who I annually adopt. (if you would like to foster and support a Wild Orphan baby or any of the others please link here to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust site.) Instead, I will be focusing my efforts and this blog on another elephant project in SE Asia and India that looks at domesticated elephants and elephant-human conflict issues. The first blog post of that project will be coming shortly linked to a recent visit to India's Kaziranga National Park.

Again, if you have not donated to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust I urge you to do so, and receive their email newsletter updates.