Although the elephant is declared an endangered species, there are island populations crowded into small parks. Hence, culling, or controled killing, has become policy in several southern African countries. In our special, Iain Douglas-Hamilton takes us to Kenya's Amboseli National Park where he introduces us to Joyce Poole, Kenya Wildlife Service's advisor on elephant conservation. Here, we witness a unique display of male elephant aggression as two large musth bulls fight for a female in estrus. Iain explains elephant family infrastructure and their fascinating utilization of body parts as tools.
Learned behavior is passed on from mother to child in a near-human symbiotic relationship.
Scientists have recently discovered that the elephant is a species with a close family structure. They can communicate with one another from miles away. Using state of the art sound recording equipment, Joyce records the inaudible infrasound communication among elephant families. Conservationist Ian Redmond then takes us deep into the caves of Kenya's Mount Elgon National Park where elephants literally mine for minerals that they are unable to get elsewhere. Struggling to survive in a highly poached area, Mount Elgon's elephants make their last stand in an inhospitable environment.