Saturday Morning Documentary: Echo: An Unforgettable Elephant

Alright, this is my last BBC Natural World episode, so no more David Attenborough and nature at least for the time being.  The documentary episode follows the journey and life of Echo, an African elephant and the matriarch of a family of elephants.  Using older footage taken in the ’80s as flashbacks to her earlier life, we get a very intimate and fascinating look at what we discover is a very special elephant.

Echo, named so because of the echo on the tracking device researchers put on her collar many years ago, has been through a lot.  She’s given birth over 5 times and one of the baby elephants has trouble walking for three days.  As David Attenborough explains through his as usual fantastic narration, other elephant mothers would have left their young to die while they went in search for food and water.  But Echo stays with her child, urging him to stand on his legs, and when he does, you can’t help but hold your breath as it looks like he’s about to do it.  Great cinematography and story.

However, Echo is dying.  After her natural death, a new leader needs to take over.  Will the lessons she taught her children and her grandchildren be enough to help them survive one of the worst droughts in area’s history?

More than anything, the episode is and feels like a biography of the legacy of this special, intelligent elephant.  Her death impacts not only her family but the researchers who had spent decades studying, observing, and befriending the animal, and reminds us of humans’ roots to the Earth.

Echo, largest elephant, with Enid, one of her daughters, and her newborn struggling to walk

Saturday Morning Documentary: Attenborough’s Journey

Famously known for narrating wildlife documentaries including BBC Planet Earth and Life, David Attenborough is rarely seen in front of the camera by viewers (or at least I didn’t know what he looked like prior to watching this documentary).  As David sets out to film yet another documentary series called First Life, one that takes a look at the beginning of life on Earth, a documentary crew follows him along on his journeys across the world, providing us with a face of the mysterious man with the passionate, deep voice.

As we see through the documentary, David has a great sense of humor, even about the setbacks he and the crew have on their filming.  Despite this, it is clear to see that he really enjoys nature a lot, and the tender age of 83, he is still adventurous and learning, reading books, being mobile, climbing mountains and walking with his own to feet.

One things for sure (and this is super cheesy, I know): David Attenborough is one rare species.

David on top a mountain on the Rockies