Customer Reviews

Nature: Echo of the Elephants

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a huge elephant enuthusiast and own several Elephant DVDs. This by far is my favorite. You will follow a family of elephants lead by Echo. You will see how elephants survive in drought conditions, you will see them mate and give birth. You will see how they live and die. The most touching story was of the baby Ely who was born crippled and only able to walk on his knees. This is a must have DVD for any elephant love and you will be helping Cynthia Moss with her work in Kenya by buying this DVD.

This is 2 separate stories each 1 hour long of the elephant family of "Echo" and shows how they communicate , care for each other and shows the great emotions of elephants. It has affected me in such a way that I am now in love with elephants.

Cynthia Moss has taken us into a world that few seldom see. It will enrich you beyond belief to enter this world and fall in love. You will see the love these animals have for each other and how gentle they are. I watched this DVD last night and now am searching on Amazon for books and DVD's related to her research. She truly cares about these animals and I don't believe you can watch this DVD and not end up feeling the same way.

For Nature fans, or elephant fans this is quintessential viewing. Echo of the Elephants follows the life of Echo a matriarch of one of the more prominent herds in Amboseli National Park in Kenya. The footage is compiled over years and shows not only Echo but her family's daily life, from births to deaths, searching for food, teaching their young, and showing an up close look of elephant life, of violence and tenderness I've never seen before.

I have seen dung camera's and hidden cameras used on other shows but there is nothing that compares to the dedication that the scientists and camera people had to study these animals day in and day out, to get enough footage that you really feel you know them as more than just generic elephants but as individuals.

If you are interested in elephants you might want to also see The Unforgettable Elephant, which uses a large bit of this footage, along with footage about African desert and jungle elephants and also Urban Elephant which is sad and wonderful to watch.

5 stars.

I love elephant documentaries, but Nature: Echo of Elephants seems a bit outdated in the age of Planet Earth and blu-ray. The film footage looks old and the narrator is no David Attenborough.

Having said that, there was a touching scene of elephants mourning over the bones of their colleague. All of the elephants in the heard stopped and were silent. One of the elephants lifted the skull, as if trying to identify her friend. I don't recall seeing anything like that in more recent documentaries, and it was really moving.

For a more recent, more entertaining elephant documentary, check out Africa's Elephant Kingdom [Blu-ray].