AVP newsletter – No. 74 – November 2019
Weesolifanten Worden Wild
“ELEPHANT ORPHANS GO WILD”.
Dutch filmmakers Ko and Ria Augustijn were back in Kenya in October 2018 to capture footage for their new ”elephant film”.
In NAIROBI filming was done at the ”David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust” from 11am to noon and late afternoon. All baby-elephants are orphan. Most of the time, the traumatized elephants do not show any of their suffering. The seriously injured elephant orphan “ENKESHA” is different. She almost lost her entire trunk by a trap. She survived, but she is scarred for life.
Of course the rehabilitation center was also visited in VOI. Head keeper Joseph Sauni showed us the new extension of the shelter and we went to a few “strange little orphans”; NGULIA the zebra, who likes to bite and eland antelope KORE with her newborn calf KARIBU. “Our” KENIA is now in fact independent, but stays in Voi for another 2 years until her younger girlfriend ARABA is also big enough to return to the wild. They are just too much connected to each other to separate them.
ITHUMBA was dry and warm as always. Sheldrick’s water bowsers drove off and on with fresh water. From our old friends Benjamin and Emmanuel we got the latest news about the orphans firsthand. WENDI was already known to be a bad mother for her first daughter WIVA. We made a very nice film about Wiva’s very first day.
Also this time WENDI immediately came to enthusiastically greet her old friend Ko. But Wendi has changed and would even be aggressive against people today. Of course, it is good that WENDI finally behaves like a real wild elephant, that has learned that contact with people usually causes problems.
”ELEPHANT ORPHANS GO WILD” seems to have become a particularly entertaining film, that will NOT be available elsewhere as usual.
Meanwhile AUGUSTIJN VIDEO PRODUCTIONS (AVP) has produced an impressive number of films about elephant orphans in Kenya;
- Moederschap (2009) (Motherhood)
- Achter de Schermen (2009) (Behind the Scenes)
- De Jeugd heeft de Toekomst (2010) (Youth has the future)
- Shooting in Kenya (2010)
- TRUST – weesolifanten in Kenia (2011) (elephant orphans in Kenya)
- Crazy Elephants (2013)
- Foster Parents (2015)
- WIVA – haar eerste dag (2015) (her first day)
- Weesolifanten Worden Wild (2018) (Elephant Orphans Go Wild)
All movies produced by AVP are available on DVD. Full details such as trailer, description, playing time, price, etc. are listed on our website. http://www.augustijnvideoproductions.nl/en/trailers/weesolifanten/
With plenty of footage on the shelf, our film “WEESOLIFANTEN WORDEN WILD” will be the last AVP special about elephant orphans in Kenya.
In view of the upcoming year-end celebrations it seems appropriate to raise awareness again. An outstanding gift, be it that the voice over is for the time being available IN DUTCH ONLY.