Elephants Videos - The Documentary Network

Burma’s Last Timber Elephants

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 26 Oct 2013 07:50:02 +0000

Each morning at the break of dawn, Zaw Win and his team herd their elephants across the sweeping forest floor down to the river bank. They scrub and clean the mighty mammals before harnessing them to begin their day's work. Zaw Win, a third-generation oozie [Burmese for elephant handler] keeps a close eye on his animals which are his livelihood. Decades of military dictatorship has meant many aspects of Myanmar are frozen in time. One of those traditions dates back thousands of years - the timber elephant. Myanmar has around 5,000 elephants living in captivity - more than any other Asian country. More than half of them belong to a single government logging agency, the Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE). Elephants are chosen over machines because they do the least damage to the forest. These elephants have survived ancient wars, colonialism and World War II while hard woods extracted by elephants in Myanmar once fed the British naval fleet. Yet today, Myanmar's timber elephant is under threat. Once the richest reservoir for biodiversity in Asia, Myanmar's forest cover is steadily depleting and the government blames it on illegal loggers. The Ministry for Environmental Conservation and Forestry has pledged to reduce its logging by more than 80,000 tonnes this fiscal year. Myanmar will ban raw teak and timber exports by April 1, 2014, allowing only export of high-end finished timber products. MTE says that the private elephant owners contracted by the government will be the first on the chopping block. Saw Moo, a second generation private elephant owner, sees a bleak future for his stable of 20 elephants. He fears the family business will end in his hands and he may have to sell his elephants, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. 101 East follows the oozies deep into Myanmar's forests, gaining unprecedented access to remote elephant logging camps and witnessing the extraordinary communication between elephants and men as they work. But will the elephants and their handlers, who have survived kingdoms and military dictatorships, survive democracy and the open market? Is there a place for them in a changing modern world?

Where have all the Elephants gone?

Documentary.net staff — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:55:11 +0000

Going undercover, this report exposes the devastation wrought by Africa's rampant ivory trade. Fuelled by China's voracious appetite, it could lead to the extinction of elephants within 20 years. "It's absolutely a war. It's an untold war", says the ranger Sean Willmore who's fighting back in the global battle against illegal ivory poaching. In an outdoor cafe in Tanzania's commercial capital Dar Es Salaam, dirty deals are being brokered daily by black-market ivory traders. In the past tree years the country has lost forty per cent of its elephants. Fuelled mainly by China's burgeoning, cash-rich middle class, demand is spiralling out of control. "In the last five years the demand for ivory has just exploded. It's well organised. Syndicates with billions of dollars. It's just like cocaine and heroin", says Pratik Patel, a conservationist and safari leader. Both Kenya and Tanzania have vowed to stamp out poaching but the potential profits are corrupting both politics and law enforcement. "There's an element of corrupt individuals in the government who are also involved with these people", says Pratik, who's been targeted alongside his family. For those on the frontline of animal preservation, time is fast running out to save the herds.

Born To Be Wild

Documentary.net staff — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 13:55:04 +0000

Born to be Wild 3D is an inspired story of love, dedication and the remarkable bond between humans and animals. This film documents orphaned orangutans and elephants and the extraordinary people who rescue and raise them—saving endangered species one life at a time.Stunningly captured in IMAX 3D, Born to be Wild 3D is a heartwarming adventure transporting moviegoers into the lush rainforests of Borneo with world-renowned primatologist Dr. Birute Galdikas, and across the rugged Kenyan savannah with celebrated elephant authority Dame Daphne Sheldrick, as they and their team rescue, rehabilitate and return these incredible animals back to the wild. Narrated by Academy-Award® winner Morgan Freeman, Born to be Wild 3D is directed by David Lickley and written and produced by Drew Fellman. (Text by Warner Bros. Pictures)