Page 114 - BBC Wildlife Volume 36 #11

VIEWPOINT
GORDON BUCHANAN
In our series about people with a passion for a species, we ask ilm-maker
Gordon Buchanan why he has chosen to champion the African elephant.
When did you first become
interested in elephants?
The African elephant is one of the most
recognisable animals on the planet, but
it wasn’t until I made the mini-series
Elephant Family & Me in 2016 that I’d
really focused on them. With a lot of the
predators I’ve filmed, their behaviour
is mainly about finding enough food
to survive, whereas the relationships
elephants have with one another and
the love and care they show each other
are really quite remarkable. Once you
start to get to know these giants, it’s
impossible not to fall for them.
What is so special about
the elephant?
They live together in matriarchal
groups, which are generally very
harmonious, and communicate
information that has been passed
down the generations for thousands
of years in ways that we don’t really
understand. They hear through their
feet and can communicate with other
herds that are several miles away.
They also play a very important role in
the ecosystem – many trees and plants
depend on them for seed dispersal
WILDLIFE CHAMPION
S The love and
care elephants
show each
other is
and they excavate really quite
water holes that remarkable.
other species rely
on. In areas where
elephants have been
hunted out, there is a huge knock-
on effect on other species.
Aside from ivory poaching,
what are the challenges?
Elephants need large territories to
roam around and these are hugely
impacted by human activity. Towns
and villages that sprung up,
say, 20 years ago may be on a
route that elephants only need
to use once every 50 years. An
older elephant may remember
a place where they found water
under certain conditions, and the
herd finds itself walking through a
settlement that wasn’t there the last
time they used that route.
Do zoos and wildlife parks
have any role to play?
This is a difficult one. Keeping
certain animals in captivity is not
too problematic. If a tarantula or a
snake, for example, has shelter, along
with a food supply, no predators and
access to veterinary care, then its life
expectancy can be much longer than
in the wild. But an elephant’s life
span, once it’s in captivity, becomes
considerably shorter. Elephants
need to be able to roam around;
they’re intelligent and have complex
emotional needs, too. I don’t like to
see elephants in captivity.
Do you feel there is hope for
the future of elephants?
I do. More is being done now than
ever before to tackle the problem of
the ivory trade, and there is generally
more understanding about the way
elephants live and their needs. But we
all need to take responsibility for the
T fact that we share our planet with
other species. We need to really think
about the things we buy and have in
our homes – where they come from
and how they are produced and reach
us, as well as the effect this has on
environments and habitats around
the world. Jill Shearer
GORDON BUCHANAN is touring the UK from 5 to
22 November with his Animal Families and Me talk,
which is about his 25-year career in film-making.
The expert view
“Elephants are the largest land
mammals and are vital to the survival
of ecosystems. They require vast
areas of land to live, which means
they are increasingly competing for resources
with humans. Along with the thirst for ivory, this
is driving the species to extinction. Halting the
ivory trade and empowering rural communities to Elephants: Andy Rouse/naturepl.com
coexist with wildlife will secure a brighter future.”
Dr Kate Evans is founder and director of
Elephants for Africa
November 2018