National Geographic Coming of Age with Elephants

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00:00:37 I learned to look at the world through
00:00:43 Some people, other elephant people,
00:00:46 that I think I am an elephant.
00:00:50 In some ways, perhaps they are right.
00:00:56 Like Africa, the elephants
00:01:00 They can possess you and persuades you
00:01:02 to look at the world
00:01:08 There is something so grand about
00:01:12 its great size, strength, and age.
00:01:20 Elephants have so many of the
00:01:25 dignity, loyalty
00:01:29 compassion, and a sense of humor.
00:01:38 Biologist Joyce Poole has taken
00:01:41 without maps, into the heart of
00:01:49 She came to know elephant like family.
00:01:51 She discovered biological forces
00:01:56 and elephant voices
00:02:03 For years, Joyce fought for
00:02:06 never imagining that one day
00:02:19 Joyce Poole would have to give
00:02:32 This is the story of a woman
00:02:34 who loved elephants in a world
00:03:36 Looking back at how it all began,
00:03:38 it seems as if Africa has always been
00:03:44 Joyce Poole's family came to Kenya
00:03:48 when her father worked for
00:03:53 She grew up in Africa.
00:03:59 The family loved wild places
00:04:02 and often camped in
00:04:07 I saw my first elephant as a child
00:04:11 a huge bull in Amboseli.
00:04:14 And I remember asking my father
00:04:16 what would happen
00:04:19 And as my father said,
00:04:22 "He'll squash the car down to
00:04:40 I remember a lot from Amboseli.
00:04:41 It was one of our favorite places,
00:05:04 The swamps were home
00:05:17 But it was always the elephants
00:05:51 At the age of 11,
00:05:52 Joyce knew what she was going to be
00:05:56 a wildlife biologist.
00:06:01 When the time came to leave home, she
00:06:08 Her journey would soon
00:06:10 the rest of the world thought about
00:06:14 But in time,
00:06:17 and turn all her dreams
00:06:25 It began in the shadow of Kilimanjaro
00:06:31 Her new home was
00:06:34 where she had first encountered
00:06:43 Her mentor was Cynthia Moss,
00:06:45 who had already embarked on the most
00:06:48 of elephant society ever attempted.
00:06:52 Using a photo book with pictures of
00:06:56 Cynthia taught Joyce
00:07:02 Just keep your eye on Tuskless.
00:07:03 Now look, here in this picture,
00:07:05 you would say M-57 was older than M-22
00:07:10 Yes, Yes.
00:07:11 He's much younger.
00:07:14 The elephants also got to know
00:07:19 Babies played on camp as if under the
00:07:45 At first, all the elephants looked alike
00:07:49 large and gray with big ears.
00:07:53 But Cynthia taught me how different
00:07:57 Elvira.
00:08:01 Esmeraldo was born in 1948.
00:08:05 Joyce gradually learned to recognize
00:08:12 Vee was named
00:08:19 Tuskless had no ivory.
00:08:23 Joyce was particularly fond of
00:08:28 with one tusk pointing skyward
00:08:38 Each new arrival was given a name
00:08:40 that identified it as part of
00:08:59 Cynthia Moss's work was
00:09:01 that elephant families formed
00:09:06 dominated by females.
00:09:12 But the lives of the males were
00:09:18 Males leave their families
00:09:20 and never again live in stable groups.
00:09:26 Alone in her car,
00:09:29 She was 19 years old and had no idea
00:09:38 To study the males Joyce needed
00:09:48 But the shadow of a bull elephant
00:09:53 A male that seemed placid
00:09:55 could easily turn around
00:10:02 When I first started studying
00:10:04 there were many times when I had
00:10:09 tower over the car,
00:10:10 and I thought it was all over.
00:10:32 Showing who's boss is something
00:10:35 from the time they're youngsters.
00:10:47 Most fights aren't dangerous.
00:10:51 Size normally dictates rank
00:10:54 and every male already knows
00:11:01 But every once in a while,
00:11:09 What was it that changed
00:11:15 Joyce noticed several older males
00:11:23 Glandular secretions darkened the skin
00:11:32 She saw one elephant
00:11:35 from a fungal infection
00:11:39 so she named him Green Penis.
00:11:45 But then other makes turned up
00:11:50 Joyce soon realized there was
00:11:54 Each male had his own time of year
00:11:59 And it appeared at the same time
00:12:09 In Asian elephants,
00:12:10 these symptoms were already recognized
00:12:16 African elephants are
00:12:18 and the experts all said they did not
00:12:24 It took long months of tracking
00:12:26 and recording the behavior
00:12:30 but Joyce proved the experts wrong.
00:12:35 At the age of 23, she had discovered
00:12:40 that every other researcher
00:12:47 Musth is a heightened sexual
00:12:52 And the word musth actually comes
00:12:59 Males start coming into musth on
00:13:05 and their first musth periods
00:13:09 With time,
00:13:13 and by the time they're in their mid
00:13:17 they stay in musth
00:13:25 How do you study six tons of
00:13:29 It takes art as well as science.
00:13:33 They're predictably aggressive
00:13:36 and even though you feel you know
00:13:41 when they're towering over the car
00:13:43 and starting to put their tusk
00:13:48 you don't feel quite so sure
00:14:02 But over time,
00:14:05 and Joyce came to feel
00:14:11 His name is Beach Ball
00:14:15 his ears are round, his head is round,
00:14:21 his body is round
00:14:24 and his penis is round.
00:14:31 Beach ball, you be nice, you be nice.
00:14:39 I hear you've been misbehaving out
00:14:42 knocking down fences and gates.
00:14:48 You be careful with my car.
00:14:49 I've just fixed it.
00:15:00 Each of the males used to have a sort
00:15:04 Um, Agamemnon used to come and put
00:15:11 and then throw his head back and forth
00:15:16 with his front legs up
00:15:21 And Alfred always, you know,
00:15:27 And this one, I mean, he just,
00:15:29 he likes to sort of press up against
00:15:34 He's very sensual.
00:15:53 The old stories of aggressive behavior
00:15:57 suddenly made sense.
00:16:01 Males in musth can be hostile,
00:16:11 These fights captured by Joyce
00:16:14 could end injury or even death.
00:16:24 Who wins? Size is no longer decisive.
00:16:30 The male who is closer to the pea
00:16:39 What they are fighting for
00:16:40 is the right to mate with a female
00:16:50 The dominant male stays close
00:16:55 Hormones in her urine tell him
00:17:09 When the time is right,
00:17:12 while her family surrounds them.
00:17:23 Joyce was intrigued
00:17:27 but by what she heard.
00:17:47 She dubbed it
00:17:50 a sound heard at no other time.
00:18:01 Joyce's discoveries about musth
00:18:04 for the first time, to understand
00:18:08 of elephant mating behavior.
00:18:14 But now the focus of her research
00:18:21 Joyce was about to unlock the secret
00:18:44 The language of elephants was
00:18:54 Sometimes elephants are
00:18:59 Other times they seem to communicate
00:19:04 as if on command
00:19:09 or suddenly racing off together
00:19:26 Even a charging musth male
00:19:33 I kept hearing a sound like, you know,
00:19:36 if you take a thick piece of cardboard
00:19:39 "whop, whop, whop" with it;
00:19:41 and they were flapping their ears
00:19:43 so I thought the sound was the ear
00:19:47 And then I realized afterwards that,
00:19:49 it was vocalization
00:19:52 and the ear flapping was just
00:19:56 In the mid1980s,
00:19:58 Joyce collaborated with
00:20:01 and expert on whale songs.
00:20:04 Together they were determined
00:20:05 to uncover the secrets of
00:20:10 We began making take recordings of
00:20:15 It turned out that we were only
00:20:19 The rest was at a frequency
00:20:26 Sonograms revealed that humans miss
00:20:33 like whales, elephants were using
00:20:36 that was mostly below the range
00:20:47 Joyce slowly learned to decipher
00:20:53 She came to understand 33 different
00:20:59 calls that meant,
00:21:04 or baby saying,
00:21:15 Females comforted their young
00:21:18 that were as specific as saying,
00:21:29 It was a radically new way
00:21:32 What people used to believe was
00:21:35 was actually a complex language.
00:21:39 These were intelligent creatures.
00:21:49 Now that she knew
00:21:52 Joyce knew when to be afraid,
00:21:56 and when it was just play,
00:22:17 Anyone who's watched elephants
00:22:19 you know, what is it that makes
00:22:22 Why do you like elephants so much?"
00:22:23 They're so funny.
00:22:27 Why are they funny?
00:22:29 Well, they're not just funny to look at,
00:22:35 they're clowns; not all of them,
00:22:38 I mean, they've got different
00:22:39 but some are real clowns.
00:23:35 Joyce believed that elephants
00:23:38 a whole range of feelings,
00:23:44 She was moved to witness one family
00:23:46 come across the bones of
00:23:50 And it was very different from the way
00:23:54 They gathered around her bones
00:24:00 and gave a very loud rumble
00:24:04 and they really were standing
00:24:07 as if it was a member of their family.
00:24:19 And this whole, just turning the bones
00:24:26 and, you know,
00:24:38 paying particular attention
00:24:43 and then, you know, backing around
00:25:03 Joyce witnessed the death of
00:25:07 but the loss of one of her favorites
00:25:14 It was the elderly matriarch Jezebel.
00:25:34 By the time Joyce arrived,
00:25:36 Jezebel's tusks had been stolen
00:25:41 Feet have been taken!
00:25:44 She had been ill for a number of weeks
00:25:50 she was tracked and her tusks
00:26:08 The 1980s were ominous times
00:26:17 Amboseli had always been a sanctuary
00:26:22 but throughout the rest of Africa,
00:26:25 elephants were being slaughtered
00:26:33 I just found it devastating that
00:26:36 the more I was learning about
00:26:39 the faster they were being
00:26:41 I just found that I had to
00:26:46 and do something about it.
00:26:50 The world was at war with elephants.
00:26:54 For Joyce Poole, it was time
00:27:09 In the late 1980s,
00:27:11 poachers were killing
00:27:14 to meet the demand for
00:27:21 They targeted the males
00:27:24 and hacked the ivories
00:27:33 When the Amboseli elephants project
00:27:36 there were 167,000 elephants
00:27:41 now there were just 25,000.
00:27:45 In the vast area where the elephants
00:27:49 all that remained were
00:28:03 The social structure of the elephants
00:28:08 Almost all the breeding males
00:28:10 and many families unit
00:28:19 If the killing continued,
00:28:22 Kenya's elephants would go instinct.
00:28:32 To save the country's wild life, the
00:28:36 a third-generation Kenyan who
00:28:42 I am going to do my level best to
00:28:48 In 1989, Leakey took over
00:28:53 and immediately declare war
00:28:57 He got off to a bold and
00:29:00 ...and it would be my hope that
00:29:04 the press will not ask for permission
00:29:08 but will have an opportunities
00:29:14 Leakey turned Kenya's
00:29:17 into a crack antipoachering army.
00:29:23 Now when poachers fire on them,
00:29:30 The first year the rangers killed
00:29:36 ...they unearthed huge caches of ivory
00:29:42 Then Kenya did something
00:29:45 At Leakey's urging
00:29:49 burned three million dollars worth
00:29:54 It was Leakey's way to wake up
00:30:02 It was a very emotional moment
00:30:04 watching the tusks of 1800 elephants
00:30:16 But at the same time,
00:30:21 because I believed that the elephants
00:30:31 A few months later,
00:30:33 banned all trade in Ivory
00:30:44 The next year, instead of losing
00:30:48 Kenya lost fewer than 50.
00:30:56 But like any war ravaged society, the
00:31:03 They weren't going to get that time.
00:31:07 In the very years that elephant
00:31:11 Kenya's human population had doubled.
00:31:16 People and elephants were both hungry
00:31:26 The deal with the inevitably conflict,
00:31:28 Richard Leakey needed someone
00:31:36 He asked Joyce Poole to run
00:31:43 It would mean leaving
00:31:50 It was difficult to leave Amboseli
00:31:55 I was being given the opportunity
00:32:00 I had been so privileged to spend
00:32:06 to have learned so much I felt a sense
00:32:13 of giving them something in return
00:32:15 and I felt that
00:32:18 that perhaps I could make
00:32:24 Joyce was convinced she could help the
00:32:32 She didn't realize how difficult
00:32:41 Joyce Poole had now entered the very
00:32:48 At Kenya's wildlife service,
00:32:49 she recruited a team of
00:32:54 They were eager to develop
00:32:56 that would help people
00:33:04 One of the first tasks that I had
00:33:08 was to survey the country and find out
00:33:18 I would have loved for them
00:33:19 to have been able to return
00:33:22 but there just wasn't
00:33:31 I began to have this horrible vision
00:33:34 where almost all of the land would be
00:33:38 and the only space left for elephants
00:33:47 Other African nations had already
00:33:49 confined their elephants
00:33:54 Joyce hoped that would never happen
00:33:57 She knew it would ultimately mean
00:34:04 Elephants need space.
00:34:07 An adult eats 300 pounds of
00:34:13 As the population grows,
00:34:15 elephants can have a devastating
00:34:23 For other African nations,
00:34:25 the solution is to compute how many
00:34:31 and kill the rest.
00:34:35 It's called culling.
00:34:52 I think culling is totally unethical.
00:34:56 I think it's barbaric.
00:34:59 I suppose I imagine it like taking a
00:35:05 we're going to take out this family
00:35:14 Joyce believed she could avoid culling
00:35:18 But now there was a new problem.
00:35:23 Elephants were beginning
00:35:27 And when they did,
00:35:32 The elephants could no longer go back
00:35:39 Settlers had planted crops everywhere.
00:35:45 Families had staked their entire lives
00:35:47 on what had once been
00:35:53 The elephants were just going back
00:35:56 but from the settlers' viewpoint,
00:36:01 The radio messages came in from
00:36:06 Elephants were on the rampage.
00:36:09 They were eating their way
00:36:11 they were knocking down houses, and
00:36:17 Joyce knew she had to keep people
00:36:22 and it was a matter of life and death
00:36:29 She tried to protect vulnerable farms
00:36:38 But the elephants learned
00:36:46 Elephants broke through here
00:36:48 and they went out into the shambas
00:36:52 Probably, one of the bulls
00:36:55 and he must've broke in
00:36:57 Every day we have to keep repairing
00:37:02 and this is taking up resources.
00:37:09 The elephants were always
00:37:12 Under cover of dark,
00:37:14 they constantly found new ways
00:37:18 In one night,
00:37:20 an elephant could destroy a family's
00:37:25 If you can imagine having to
00:37:30 from some enormous beast
00:37:35 and weighed close to a hundred times
00:37:41 You can't see it.
00:37:43 All you have is a small torch
00:37:48 this beast,
00:37:52 can smell exactly where you are
00:37:56 and you can't see it.
00:37:58 It can crush you
00:38:03 That's what so many people
00:38:12 When the elephants come, the farmers
00:38:15 and the sound of their own voices
00:38:43 In the morning,
00:39:03 As you can see for yourself,
00:39:07 All the crops were destroyed
00:39:10 the beans, the corn, the tomatoes,
00:39:15 The children will sit and keep quite.
00:39:17 They have nothing to eat.
00:39:29 The close contact between people and
00:39:38 Many people are killed in Kenya
00:39:40 It's somewhere, probably between
00:39:45 Some areas are worse than others.
00:39:47 I don't think that in most cases.
00:39:50 I think that the elephant didn't
00:39:53 But in some cases,
00:39:55 tracked down the person
00:39:59 which is usually the way an elephant
00:40:13 The most effective way to control
00:40:17 but local wildlife wardens lacked
00:40:19 and training to do it properly.
00:40:24 Many of the elephants that were
00:40:27 that it wasn't the elephant that
00:40:31 that it wasn't the elephant that had
00:40:36 The elephants that were being shot
00:40:39 it just wasn't right.
00:40:44 Joyce had to face a painful reality.
00:40:48 She'd come of age learning
00:40:52 and she accepted the need
00:40:57 But now she was going to
00:41:02 I realized that elephants were
00:41:06 that we couldn't allow elephants
00:41:08 to go rampaging through people's
00:41:12 But if we had to kill elephants,
00:41:15 I wanted to make sure that we at least,
00:41:19 the ones that were doing the damage.
00:41:23 In 1992, Joyce established
00:41:27 and sent them into military training
00:41:31 Their job was to kill problem
00:41:40 I think the question isn't how we can
00:41:44 I think the question is how can we
00:41:48 I mean, when you've spent the night
00:41:56 who are just having their whole
00:42:01 and then,
00:42:08 Now when villages suffered repeated
00:42:14 They watched by night
00:42:18 We're going to wait for the elephants.
00:42:19 They'll be coming in,
00:42:22 We'll wait for them here.
00:42:23 As soon as we hear them
00:42:26 we'll cut into the maize above them
00:42:29 and try and get in front of them.
00:42:31 So if we can get them
00:42:33 we can then pick out the ringleader
00:42:37 We've got to shoot one out of the
00:42:41 There's no other way we can stop them.
00:43:29 I'm so happy now that
00:43:33 I've been up every night,
00:43:42 The elephants have been bothering us
00:43:45 and destroying our crops.
00:43:47 Some of the farmers actually have not
00:44:00 For now, this village's cornfields
00:44:06 The killing of one elephant should
00:44:11 Tonight the crops would not
00:44:15 but what about all the other villages.
00:44:19 In 1993 alone I gave the order
00:44:26 and each decision was difficult, but
00:44:40 For these villagers, the monster
00:44:44 was now just thousands of pounds
00:44:56 Today, it would fed their families.
00:45:12 All over Kenya, deadly encounters
00:45:15 between people and elephants
00:45:20 Joyce Poole and Richard Leakey
00:45:23 to kill more elephants.
00:45:26 I realized my worst fears were
00:45:32 Kenya was going to have to eliminate
00:45:37 We would have to confine the rest
00:45:40 as other African nations had done.
00:45:44 If elephants had to be
00:45:46 Joyce wanted to find a humane way
00:45:53 She had her team had
00:46:00 They were going to test a form
00:46:12 Make sure you don't let them go back
00:46:19 Critics ridiculed the whole pain.
00:46:23 But Leakey gave her the go ahead.
00:46:28 For the test, Joyce relies on exactly
00:46:33 of individual elephants
00:46:40 Just bring 'em over here.
00:46:42 They are looking for a female
00:46:45 so they can be certain
00:46:54 The marksman brings her down
00:47:00 Once again, Joyce is defying
00:47:05 But this might be a way for elephants
00:47:07 to survive in the crowded world
00:47:17 Once the elephant is down,
00:47:18 Joyce and her team have only
00:47:29 They inject the elephant with an
00:47:33 which should sterilize her.
00:47:40 Then they strap on a radio collar
00:47:55 Joyce believes birth control for
00:48:01 But it will take years to prove that
00:48:10 Then just when they begin to get the
00:48:18 Political infighting puts an end
00:48:22 I have given the best years of my life
00:48:25 In march, 1994 his enemies forced
00:48:31 ...and the stress and the pain of
00:48:34 by senior politicians and others
00:48:36 is more than I think
00:48:39 Under these circumstances I have
00:48:43 the president offering my resignation.
00:48:48 Joyce and several of her colleagues
00:48:58 What was so devastating about it
00:49:05 and my own program... we had built up
00:49:12 and we had really done so much
00:49:20 people were on our side;
00:49:23 but they realized we were
00:49:27 and all of a sudden,
00:49:32 and everything is just left in limbo.
00:49:40 Joyce didn't know yet where her life
00:49:44 But elephants still had a hold
00:49:52 She went back to visit Amboseli.
00:49:56 She now had a daughter
00:50:00 Joyce wanted to introduce her child
00:50:11 We'd gone out one evening
00:50:14 And I saw Vee approaching us
00:50:21 And then an extraordinary thing
00:50:41 It wasn't just any rumble,
00:50:45 And who knows what was going on
00:50:54 I could only guess that
00:50:58 and they were welcoming us
00:51:17 For a few days, Joyce blended in
00:51:26 Her old colleagues were still
00:51:33 Elephants would always be
00:51:37 But back in Nairobi,
00:51:39 someone else was going to have to make
00:51:43 I think in the long term,
00:51:50 that elephants and people will not
00:51:53 that elephants will be confined to
00:51:59 many of them with
00:52:04 And I think between here and now,
00:52:09 it's going to be a very painful
00:52:16 and that there'll be a lot of
00:52:21 To save what she loved most
00:52:25 controlled it, even killed it,
00:52:32 I think that the dreams I had or
00:52:43 There's not enough space anymore.
00:52:47 And what space there
00:52:53 I think all we can do is
00:52:55 and do our best to protect
00:53:02 look for solutions for the conflict.
00:53:07 And where we can't do anything,
00:53:13 It can't all be saved.
00:53:18 It can't.