Elephant Hunting in Kenya

This is the final shoot in the series we’re producing for Nat Geo, this will be in Episode 4, Blood Ivory Smugglers . We headed to Kenya to follow the Environmental Investigation Team as they followed a lead on the illegal ivory trade. Here are some behind the scenes photos of the shoot.

Adam Docker in Nairobi

Villagers in Samburu National Park

A young boy herding camels, Samburu National Park

Producer Nick Courcoux and director/camera Adam Docker drove for four hours with the EIA team. They headed north of Nairoibi to Samburu where they met Ian Douglas Hamilton founder of Save the Elephant foundation who have been working tirelessly protecting elephants from poachers in Samburu National Park.

Kenya is an incredible country. The landscape changes every hour. From grasslands, to lush fields of vegetation and fruit trees, reminiscent of Tuscany, to barren dry bush and desert. Samburu is hot and dry. Very little grows there apart from wild thorny bush. Our lodge was situated in the park itself, close to a dry riverbed and surrounded by wildlife. It was an incredible setting.

Save the Elephant had their offices just down the dirt track past the roaming giraffes. We met Ian who straight away took us out to go and see the carcass of Resilience, a matriarch shot by poachers 3 weeks before. She had managed to escape them and stumbled around the bush for two weeks. She was eventually found lying on the ground in convulsions and it was decided the kindest thing to do was put her out of her misery with a gunshot. The poachers never managed to get her tusks which in a twisted way makes her killing even more pointless.

Adam Docker

Adam Docker filming Resilience's carcass

Resilience's carcass

The evening of our second day in Samburu and as we relaxed chatting away to Sir Ian and his staff a message came over the radio that an elephant had been shot. It was too dangerous for any of us to go and find out. KWS were informed and they sent out an armed patrol. Early the next morning we headed deep into the bush and found the mutilated body of “Hope”, a 40 year old matriarch. She was riddled with AK47 bullets and her two front tusks had been hacked off with a machete. David, the head ranger, started asking around the local tribes and they all said the same thing, Somali poachers.

Hope had two small calfs who ran off into the bush during the attack. Luckily they have since attached themselves to another group and fingers crossed they will survive.