Coquitlam Public Library

Stories of Africa, Elephants in the room

eng

videorecording

NRC

Stories of Africa

electronic resource

50

Elephants in the room

A phenomenon at a luxury lodge in Zambia has the world's elephant experts stumped. Every year, tourists flock to witness an extraordinary event: six wild elephants, led by a matriarch called Wonky Tusk, climb the stairs of the lodge and enter the foyer. Their destination is a 100-year-old mango tree growing in the courtyard and the fruit that falls from its branches. Nathan Pilcher, a wildlife cameraman follows this family for five years and discovers that elephants are far more intelligent, more resourceful, and more like us than you could ever imagine. During the rainy season, he negotiates flooding rivers and churning lagoons to track them in the bush. He is impressed with the way Wonky Tusk commands and protects her family. She gives birth to a baby bull, which the staff at the lodge call Wellington. Over a period of five years, Nathan follows Wonky Tusk and films the unfolding drama of the close-knit family that inspires tourists, survives the threats of predators, evades the wrath of villagers, and teams up to protect and teach Wellington

adult

live action

Elephants in the room