BBC cameras focus on Zululand ellies

ZULULAND baby ellie ‘Tom’, who made headlines last month after arriving in the lounge of Thula Thula Game Reserve owner, Françoise Malby-Anthony, has now attracted the international paparazzi to Malby-Anthony’s stoep.

The celebrity elephant formed part of a wildlife documentary when the BBC crew spent four days filming at the exclusive Thula Thula Game Reserve in Ntambanana last week.

The programme, to be aired on BBC1 in October, focuses on the special relationships between elephants within their herds, behavioural patterns and the adventures relating to the famous herd rescued by Zululand adventurer, Lawrence Anthony.

Wandering for almost 18 hours, baby Tom was safely reunited with her mother ET in March, after mysteriously finding her way to the home of the late conservationist.

The amazing emotional connection of elephants was aptly shown when the large mammals, for the third time in a row, visited Lawrence Anthony’s house on the anniversary of his death on 2 February, honouring the man who once saved their lives.

Entitled ‘Animals in Love’, the BBC segment interviewed Françoise Malby-Anthony, Wildlife Consultant David Bozas and Thula Thula Head Ranger Promise Dlamini to gain insight into the intimate ellie relationships.

‘Elephants have a sixth sense and their intelligence is beyond human understanding,’ Malby-Anthony told the Zululand Observer.

‘During the filming of the documentary, I spoke about the unique relationship between elephants and humans, especially their bond with Lawrence since their arrival at Thula Thula in August 1999.

‘Elephants have emotions and feelings and the relationship between ET and baby Tom is strong, they are inseparable. She has been seen drinking from her mother and is doing very well. She has not left her mother’s side.’

Conservation

Bozas, who worked closely with Lawrence, said elephants with their superior emotional intelligence formed lifelong bonds with humans and others in their herds.

‘Lawrence gave us a fantastic platform to lead the way in community conservation. Elephants are next on the hit list after rhinos and, very soon, we will have to provide homes for the orphaned elephants,’ said Bozas.

Lawrence’s unique ability to calm traumatised elephants became a worldwide phenomenon after he published his book, ‘The Elephant Whisperer’ in 2009, documenting his fascinating experience rescuing and socialising a herd of nine wild elephants.

The film crew will be shooting at various wildlife sanctuaries, parks and reserves in South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo until 3 May.

Read more about Baby Tom HERE