ELEPHANT NOMADS OF THE NAMIB DESERT
For BBC Natural World :: Series Editor Tim Martin
Narrated by Russ Boulter
A film for BBC2 documenting for the first time the intimate lives of a unique family of endangered elephants in one of the last true wildernesses today.
Programme Summary
This is the remarkable story of two baby elephants struggling to survive their critical first six months in the oldest desert on earth. The Desert Elephants of Namibia suffered a poaching holocaust in the 1980s. As the most endangered elephant population in the world recovers, every single calf is vital. Himba and Dusty are born in a boom year, but when the short-lived rivers on which they depend disappear underground, their lives depend on the memories, experience and decisions of the females who lead their tiny families.
Unique Elephants
A little-known and surprising group of desert-dwelling elephants roams the far northwest of the Kunene region of Namibia in South West Africa. Extraordinary in their endurance, the small families make marathon treks between the remote shores of the Skeleton Coast and the high Kabere Mountains of the interior. These animals traverse some of the most dramatic, arid, and austere scenery in the world. The secretive nature of their existence was only revealed recently, when cameraman Martyn Colbeck followed them whilst working on the BBC’s landmark series Planet Earth.
The film takes place in the Northwestern Namib Desert. “Namib” means (“vast”). It’s sixteen hundred kilometres long, fifty thousand kilometres square. These are the harshest conditions in the world for elephants. Twenty-five years ago, out of eighty local desert elephants, poachers killed all but three. Now large-scale poaching has ended. The herd has a chance to recover…
THE STORY TOLD IN THE FILM
It’s May, the cold dry season in Namibia. Two young calves are born in the Hoarusib valley: Himba and Dusty. Himba is an orphan. His mother died within days of giving birth. Rosa, his grandmother, is doing something elephants don’t normally do – she is adopting him. She is in her late 50s, but she can give him a little milk at the moment, as she is still suckling a seven-year old daughter. Dusty is being fed by both his mother - Broken Tusk - and an older sister.
This is an exceptional year. After record rains, the harsh desert is in bloom. Other members of the herd, led by Left Fang, climb into the nearby mountains in search of myrrh bushes. In the 40-degree C heat, they spray themselves with water from hidden pouches in their throats. This has rarely been seen and never filmed before.
A few weeks later, the weather takes a dramatic turn for the worse. Searing winds from the Kalahari Desert arrive to shrivel plants and watercourses. The female leaders, Rosa, Broken Tusk and Left Fang face life-or-death decisions. To escape, Left Fang leads her family on a non-stop 5-day marathon to the coast. Rosa and Broken Tusk can’t leave till Himba and Dusty are strong enough.
When they make their break, Dusty faces the longest journey he has ever undertaken – a day and two nights ordeal without water. Himba, weaker now that Rosa can no longer feed him properly without risking her young daughter, clings to the last waterhole until his inactivity puts all his companions’ lives in danger. Only then do he and Rosa set off.
Finally, Dusty gains safety and a reward – ana pods, a rich food source. At the coast, unencumbered by young, Left Fang’s family relax and recover. Now the females attract a male suitor. In another two years perhaps a new calf will be born.
Producer Mike Birkhead
Photography Martyn Colbeck
Writer Jeremy Evans
Editor Nigel Buck
Music David Mitcham
Sound Graham Wild and Paul Clark
If you need help filming in Namibia I used Namibfilms they were great and made our production possible in difficult times when budgets have to go further. Without a doubt I enjoyed my stays in Namibia more than any other location thanks to Guy Nockels and his team which included some great support people like Richard Berkeley, Axel, Tim and Gerry. They just know what a production needs and never let us down - thanks guys. We'll be back!
