Elephants In Motion (DVD)

WALK WITH THE ELEPHANTS This film tells the stories of baby elephants living at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center (TECC) who have been orphaned due to the loss of their mothers and habitats. They discover ways to cope with trauma while living with their adopted mother elephants at the nursery and learn to communicate with their mahouts lifetime trainers and companions. As they mature, these young elephants enter the training school, where they learn the arts of logging and painting to develop dexterity and emotional intelligence. LIFETIME COMPANIONS The film goes on to chronicle the experiences of adult working elephants and their mahouts, dragging logs in the teakwood forests of the north and the rubber plantations of the south. An in-depth look is taken at the fifty-year bond between newly retired logging elephant Boonpradap and her mahout, Uncle Sui, after she is diagnosed with liver failure due to consumption of water contaminated with pesticides. Uncle Sui is heartbroken when Boonpradap dies in his presence. LESSON IN SUSTAINABILITY The film demonstrates an important lesson in sustainability and the true nature of conservation. Aging and illness are explored at the Pang La Sanctuary, a home for retired logging elephants who are elderly or injured. It also tell the stories of early retired or captive elephants who live at TECC and work in ecotourism, assisted by an international team of volunteer mahouts.