02x02 - Elephants 2: Wild Elephants Can't Drag Me Away

[bunniefuu]

We just spent yesterday
and last night

At the sheldrick nursery
for orphaned elephants...

[Martin]
where we helped take care

Of emily, aitong, and imenti

And tried to teach them things
that will prepare them

For life in the wild.

[Chris]
emily will be the first one

To return to the wild,

So we're going to find out

Exactly what she can expect
to find when she does.

The key to finding out

How elephants live
in the wilderness is...

Finding the elephants!

[Chris]
this time on kratts' creatures!

Iarriba!

Iandale, andale!

We want to find out
how life will be

For the baby animals who live
in sheldrick wildlife trust

Once they're released
into the wild.

Seems pretty simple, right?

We have to find out how other
elephants live in the wild.

Africa's a pretty big place.

There's thousands of miles
of woodlands,

Savannas, and deserts,

And in these vast,
unspoiled areas,

You can find an amazing
variety of animals,

All living totally wild.

Africa is the ultimate
creature stomping ground.

There's a lot to explore,
so the question is,

How do you find elephants?

The best places
to find elephants

Are areas
like the edges

Between forest
and grassland.

And near
sources of water,

Like rivers
and water holes.

Elephants also like
woodlands...

Wet marshes...

Open savanna...

Thornbush
and semidesert scrub.

Hey! I guess that
means elephants

Could be
just about anywhere.

Yeah, but the good thing
about elephants

Is that they leave
great signs.

It looks like elephants
have been nibbling

At these leaves
and branches.

And they've
pulled up this grass

And bitten the tops
right off.

Elephants are herbivores,

Which means
they're vegetarians.

They chow down on everything
from grasses and roots

To leaves, bark,
and fruit off trees.

[Martin]
smaller animals

Mainly get to food
low on the ground.

[Chris]
but the elephant
has a certain advantage

When it comes to
getting at higher stuff.

[Martin]
the advantage is as plain

As the nose on his face.

[Chris]
his trunk lets him get to food

[Martin]
he moves his trunk

With the help
of over 40,000 muscles,

Which really gives him
fine control

When it comes to grabbing up
small bits of chow.

[Chris]
he doesn't just use it
to grab food.

He also uses it
to clean food.

This elephant's whipping
grass against his head,

Knocking out soil
from the roots.

[Martin]
thanks to his trunk,

The elephant can eat
grass and leaves by the bushel.

Are elephants
the biggest eaters?

Nope. The blue whale
holds that title.

[Chris]
but scurrying around
the savanna,

There's a mammal
who eats even more

Than the blue whale
and the elephant.

It's the elephant shrew!

[Martin]
fact check.

You're telling me this
hypercharged little guy

Eats more than
a huge elephant?

[Chris]
absolutely. In proportion
to his weight,

The elephant shrew eats more
than his giant namesake.

Maybe that's how
he got his name.

[Martin]
maybe, but I think

It's because of his schnoz.

[Chris]
yeah!

It does look like
an elephant's trunk.

But what about
the rest of his face?

Their eyes and ears
are different.

[Martin]
they're not even
remotely related.

Sometimes there seems to be
a connection between these guys,

But besides the shrew's
trunklike nose,

There isn't any.

[Chris]
the elephant shrew's
an insectivore,

Which means he eats stuff like
flies, beetles, and worms.

That's where his nose comes in.

He tracks down meals

With the help
of nostril power.

[Martin]
and while in one day

The elephant eats 4%
of his body weight,

The elephant shrew
may eat around 30%!

[Chris]
but the elephant

Spends a lot more time
eating--

About 16 hours a day.

We're talking
a lot of food.

[Martin]
how much is a lot?

[Chris]
a lot--up to 600 pounds.



That's not possible.
There must be a mistake.


Seems a lot of food.

[Ttark]
masticating mastodons!

These guys really know
how to scarf it down!

I'm not just talking shrubs--
I'm talking bushes.

I'm talking trees.

I'm talking
a four-forest meal!

Elephants have always had
a lot of size to support.

Not always. The first elephant,
moeritherium,

Was just 3 feet high.

No trunk,
tiny little tusks--

Who knew whatit was?

That's weird. An early elephant
was the size of a tapir.

What happened to him?

Beats the tusk
out of me.

All I know is,
they got bigger.

There was phiomia,
then gompho.

Then came the one and only,
not from the mountain--

He wasthe mountain!

The crusher of creatures,
the treetop tusker--

Deinotherium!

He was one big guy.

How about the stegodon,

Hoe-tusker,

Shovel-tusker,

Imperial and woolly mammoths,

American mastodon,

Plains mastodon,

Paleomastodon,

Trilophodon,

Straight-tusked elephant!

[Martin]
there have been 350 species
of elephants.

Now there's only two--
the asian and the african.

With only two species left,

Finding them won't be easy.

Martin, I think we're
getting closer.

You're right.
This looks like

It was knocked down
by an elephant.

Do you realize how much
strength it takes

To knock down a tree?

[Chris]
sure--a lot.

[Martin]
knocking down trees

Is one way
elephants get at leaves

Too high to reach
with their trunk.

[Chris]
it seems much easier

To just eat fresh grass.

Knocking down trees
takes a lot of effort.

This isn't as easy
as it looks.

Try your head.

That's how
the elephants do it.

Youtry your head.

Aah!

[Allison]
for peaceful herbivores,
elephants are powerful.

Did you know
some of africa's

Most powerful creatures
aren't predators?

Take hippos.

These guys weigh
up to 7,000 pounds

And are strict vegetarians.

They eat only grass.

They use their size
not to catch dinner

But as protection
from predators like crocs.

With the hippos'
incredible jaw power,

Crocs should steer
clear of them.

A male hippo can bite
a 10-foot croc in two.

[Martin]
and female hippos

Aren't exactly slackers.

New moms
are extremely protective.

They'll do what they must
to keep others away.

[Chris]
what she really has to
watch out for are lions,

Who'd love to
catch her baby.

[Allison]
how about a gentler giant?

The rhino.
It may sound unbelievable,

But this massive, horned,
dinosaur-looking creature

Isn't as dangerous
as you'd think.

They spend most of their lives
alone, avoiding even rhinos.

[Martin]
there's no better way

For a rhino to spend the day

Than chowing down
on vegetation

And taking lots of naps
during the midday heat.

[Chris]
although they'd rather
run from predators,

They will use their strength
and horns to defend themselves.

[Martin]
if you want to find

Another powerful,
peaceful african creature,

Look up--way up!

[Chris]
giraffes!

These leaf-eaters are
the tallest creatures on earth.

That's part of their strength.

Being 18 feet tall
is pretty good insurance

That you won't
turn into lion food.

[Martin]
that's why giraffe babies
grow so fast,

Because one of the times

A giraffe is very vulnerable
to predators

Is when they're
young and small.

If lions do try,
they'd better watch out for mom.

Mother giraffes can
deliver a fatal kick.

[Chris]
elephants aren't
the only giants.

[Martin]
one thing giraffes and elephants

Have in common is that they
both have the advantage

Of being able
to get at high leaves.

The giraffe has
the advantage of a long neck.

The elephant has the advantage
of a long trunk.

[Chris]
that trunk has been an advantage

For both african
and asian elephants.

[Allison]
you know what's hard?

Figuring out
the differences

Between asian
and african elephants.

We have some clues. Look.

First--
the ears are different.

An african elephant's
are larger

Than an asian elephant's.

Both species flap their ears
to cool down--

A weird form
of air conditioning.

I just noticed something!

This is wild.

Look closely. It looks like
african elephants have ears

Shaped like africa

And asian elephants
have ears shaped like india.

There's another way to tell
them apart--their trunk.

The african has two fingerlike
projections at the tip.

The asian has only one.

I guess only the elephants
know why.

Hey, martin!

Elephants have been digging
for minerals over here.

Every animal needs minerals
in their system to survive,

And if an elephant can't
find minerals above ground,

He'll dig for it.

They use their feet,
tusks, and trunk

To get at the minerals.

Minerals aren't the only thing
elephants dig for.

They also go mining
for water,

And that's
what they've done here.

Elephants create huge holes

In dried-up
sandy river bottoms

To get at the water
in the ground below.

For any creature,

Finding water is a matter
of life and death.

If an elephant
can't find water,

She'll dig for it.

[Chris]
and to do it,

She uses
some special equipment.

She uses her tusks
to pierce the soil

And then her trunk
to shovel dirt out.

[Martin]
elephants can go for days

Without drinking water,

But when they do
hit a water source,

They really fill up,
drinking up to 50 gallons.

[Chris]
that's enough water to fill

A small wading pool.

[Martin]
finding water can be difficult

At the best of times.

[Chris]
during the dry seasons,

It becomes
nearly impossible.

[Martin]
it's during these rough periods

That elephants
play a key part

In keeping
other animals alive.

[Chris]
baboons, flocks of birds,

Antelopes, and many other
savanna creatures

Depend on the water holes
created by elephants.

[Martin]
this well-digging service

Is so important
during the dry season.

If elephants weren't around,

It could spell disaster
for others.

We found chewed leaves,
branches,

Trees that were
knocked over.

Where are the elephants?

How will we know what emily
will face in the wild

If we can't find elephants
in the wild?

[Martin]
we're getting closer!

What makes you
so sure?

Elephant tracks.

[Martin]
you'd think

An elephant's footprints would
be a lot deeper than this.

We're talking
heavy creatures, right?

But their feet
are specially designed

To spread out their weight.

The undersides
of an elephant's feet

Are soft and cushioned
to absorb impact.

They actually carry

Their 4-6 tons of weight

On spongy pads.

The soles of their feet
expand when they step down

And shrink back
when they step up.

That lets the elephant

Pull his legs
out of thick mud easily.

[Martin]
and it's not just footprints

That tell you
where an elephant's been.

Many, many elephants
have walked down this path

And stopped here
at this old tree stump,

Which they use
as a rubbing post.

Whoa! Feels good.

Look how they've worn it down.

It's like polished wood.

[Chris]
you may ask why elephants

Would need a rubbing post,

But you know
how annoying bugs can be

When you're out camping
or on a picnic?

Elephants feel the same way.

That's why elephants scratch
and take mud baths.

It gives them relief
from pesky insects.

[Martin]
another form of relief

Comes from covering
their skin with dust.

[Chris]
dust protects an elephant's
skin from bugs

And also from the sun's
harmful rays.

[Martin]
you know, a dust bath

Often makes the elephant
look like he's been painted

The color of his habitat.

Here's another sign that
elephants have been around.

They stripped the bark
off of this tree

So that they could
chew the bark up

And get at the juicy
inner bark layer

Called the cambium.

Chris, we must be getting
pretty close.

I think you're right.

I found another sign.

What's brown and sounds
like a bell?

♪ Dung ♪

They're not going to do this.

I wishthey weren't
going to do this.

[Chris]
why not?

Dung is a perfectly natural
part of the creature world.

[Martin]
elephants digest

Only half of their food.

The rest comes out almost
the same way it went in.

[Chris]
cows, on the other hand,

Chew their food,
cough it up,

And then chew it
again and again,

So they digest a lot more
than elephants do.

[Mooing]

[Martin]
elephants have a one-pass
digestive system.

Food enters the mouth,
gets chewed,

Gets digested
in the stomach,

And then it exits
the elephant's rear as...

Pretty clean dung.

[Chris]
and pretty popular dung, too.

There are so many
undigested nutrients in it

That dung beetle larvae eat it.

[Martin]
look at these jackals!

They're playing with pieces
of elephant dung.

It's like a jackal frisbee!

We're getting close now.

[Elephant trumpets]

I can see them!

You really found
the elephants?

Let's go around
this way.

[Elephant trumpets]

There's babies!

Oh, wow!

That means it's
a herd of females--

A breeding herd.

The herd is usually a group
of 5-15 relatives--

Adult females,
aunts, sisters,

Cousins, daughters,
and babies.

[Chris]
emily, aitong, and imenti
lived in herds like this

Until they were separated
and then orphaned.

These close-knit herds

Are wonderful
for baby elephants.

[Martin]
herds are led by an older female

Called the matriarch.

[Chris]
an elephant mom

Lives for about 50-70 years

And has a new calf
every 4-9 years.

The calf stays in the herd,
close to mom.

If the breeding herd
is all female,

What happens to the males?

Male elephants
stay with the group

Until they hit puberty
and start getting rowdy.

That's about age 12 or 13.

Then they go off
on their own.

But the adult females
band together

In big groups
called breeding herds,

And they all take care
of the young.

[Allison]
is someone as small
and defenseless as emily

Going to make it
in the wild?

[Martin]
emily wouldn't stand
a chance alone.

In a herd, it's different.

I think emily will make it
in a herd like this one.

As long as she can
join the herd,

She'll be fine.

[Martin]
the herd is a close-knit unit,

And the members
are very protective

Of others in the herd,
especially the babies.

[Chris]
if a baby falls while
the herd is moving,

All the elephants stop.

They won't move
until mom picks him up.

[Martin]
elephants are well-known

For helping wounded friends.

Members of the herd will
use their tusks and trunks

To lift an injured member
to his feet.

[Chris]
physical contact

Is really important
to elephants.

They love to touch each other's
ears, mouth, and head

With their trunks.

[Martin]
and if they're
in a playful mood,

Elephants will wrestle
with their trunks.

Talk about playful!

Check out these young calves.

They're so playful,

It's hard for their moms
to keep track of them.

[Chris]
elephant babies seem small

Compared to the adults,

But they weigh
about 600 pounds.

That's a big baby--

A big, playful baby.

[Allison]
I had no idea

That baby elephants
in the wild are so playful.

[Chris]
the question is,

Whyare they
so playful?

That's easy. It's...

I don't know.
Why are they playful?

Playing helps
baby elephants

Learn how to take
care of themselves.

They practice skills

That teach them
to live like adults.

A young elephant's day
isn't all play.

There's another side
to herd life

We haven't looked at yet.

While elephants are
the biggest creatures

On the savanna,

They still have to worry
about predators.

Emily, aitong,
and imenti

Will have to worry
when they're--

[Snarl]

[Martin]
uh-oh.

Lions at 12:00!

This doesn't look good.

An elephant calf
is vulnerable.

A lion could
easily k*ll one.

But if that's what
these lions have in mind,

They've got a whole
herd to deal with.

When full-grown
elephants get angry,

Look out.

[Chris]
the first thing the herd does

When facing a thr*at like lions

Is stand their ground.

[Martin]
the adults circle around
the young to protect them.

But if the lions
don't back down

And start to move in,

The elephants can use
their size advantage.

If they're pressed,
they charge.

[Elephant roars]

[Chris]
the last thing they'll do,

If all else fails,
is get out of there.

A herd of elephants
is an unbeatable team

Because elephants
take care of their own.

Once the young
elephants grow up,

They don't have to worry
about predators anymore.

A predator would have to
be really stupid

To tackle
a full-grown elephant.

Yeah.
The elephant could...

[Allison]
stomp on them.

Throw them in the mud.

Jab them really hard
with their tusks.

Prehistoric elephants had
a lot of predator worries.

Some of the creatures that
went after them were serious.

How about this guy--
smiladon?

Or this guy--
megistotherium?

He's the largest ever
flesh-eating mammal.

His head was twice
the size of a bear's,

And he ate mastodons.

Or the cave bear--

Not the friendliest
creature around.

At least
in prehistoric times,

Elephants were hunted
for food.

Nowadays,
humans are hunting them--

And they're not
going after them for food.

They're hunting them
for their tusks.

This time
I'm not just angry.

[As arnold schwarzenegger]
this time, it's personal!

Ttark, it makes
all of us angry.

[Chris]
it's been going on
for far too long.



Elephants covered
the whole continent of africa.

Today, it's estimated
that 70,000 elephants

Are k*lled each year
for their ivory.

Between 1979 and 1989,

The population of african
elephants was cut in half

To fewer than 600,000,

And they were all k*lled
just for ivory.

[Chris]
the ivory taken from elephants

Is used in sculptures,
trinkets,

Necklaces, g*n handles--
you name it.

Ivory costs humans
a lot of money,

But it costs elephants
their lives.

[Allison]
that's right.

That's how emily was orphaned
in the first place.

Her mother was k*lled
by hunters.

If I wasn't extinct,

I'd show those neanderthals
a thing or two!

But not everybody
is to blame.

Some folks
are good to elephants,

And elephants can even
tolerate and trust them.

Elephants and humans
can get along.

[Martin]
exactly!

Think of the people at
the sheldrick elephant nursery.

They're not only helping
save baby elephants,

They're also setting
a positive example

For the entire community.

Whoo! Whoo!

There are even places
where elephants and humans

Can have fun together
in the wild.

In the savanna,
kids don't just have

Squirrels and birds
in their backyard.

They have
amazing creatures--

Like elephants.

What's your
favorite animal?

Cheetah.

Cheetah's
your favorite?

Yes.

What's your
favorite animal?

Elephants.

[Chris]
this is the wilmont camp.

People come here
for the opportunity

To see elephants,
baboons, and impala.

[Martin]
the best place to see them

Is at the watering hole.

The wilmonts built it

To provide the creatures
with a drinking source

During the dry season.

I put my finger...

Ow!

Ha ha ha!

[Martin]
these water holes

Are an african version
of a birdbath.

[Chris]
there are all sorts of creatures

That hang out
in the wilmonts' backyard.

[People laughing]

[Martin]
but they'll all make way

For the savanna giants
when they come down to drink.

[Chris]
there's a pecking order

For who gets to drink when.

Other creatures will
make way for an elephant.

Who wouldn't?

[Martin]
but we shouldn't
give the wrong idea.

Elephants are actually
very tolerant of other species.

[Chris]
that's right.

Because elephants have
few enemies or competitors,

They're very peaceful.

[Martin]
watering holes are great
for drinking,

But they're also good
for other important activities--

Like horsing around!

The watering hole
is a great place

For people in the area
to interact with elephants.

Elephants leave
so much dung lying around,

You might as well
have fun with it.

Dung fight!

[Martin]
after checking out
elephants in the wild,

What do you think?

I don't think we have to
worry about emily.

If she's lucky,

She'll join a herd
like this one.

They'll care for her.

I'm happy as long as
emily's happy.

I think she will be.

[Chris]
so, it's back to
the sheldrick nursery

To check on emily,
aitong, and imenti.

[Martin]
next week,

They'll be taking emily
to tsavo national park

And start slowly
reintroducing her into the wild.

Jambo.

Hey. Jambo.

[Chris]
how's emily today?

Fine.

Good.

Hey, aitong.

Aitong's got an itch
on her trunk.

[Allison]
"elephants are amazing
and resilient creatures.

"No matter
what they've faced,

"From ice ages to droughts,

"Even to people
hunting them,

"They've managed to survive,

"So, hopefully,

"There'll be no greater example
of a survivor than emily

When she goes out
into the wild."

I think she'll do just fine.

[Martin]
well, guys,

We checked out life
in the wild for you.

[Chris]
and we're here to tell you--

You're going to love it!

[Martin]
you know,

There are a lot of animals
out there on the savanna,

But there's always room
for three more elephants.