For the love of elephants

Nominated for the 26th Gemini Awards

Young African Elephants need their families like a human’s children needs theirs. There is a society of deep emotional bonds that continue even after death. Like humans elephants fall in deep grief when the loved ones dies. But what happens if all adult elephants will die?
A theory is emerging that elephants, like humans, are experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its treatment is complex. This one hour one-off documentary establishes a portrait of the emotional lives and social structures of elephants and contrasts a range of normal and pathological behaviours as we document the diagnosis and treatment of elephant PTSD. We observe as our large and charismatic subjects rebuild their essential social skills and establish new bonds within adoptive herds at two world-renowned sanctuaries in Tennessee and Kenya. For The Love of Elephants is a natural history documentary that focuses on the current elephant crisis and reveals a new approach to healing these creatures who suffer from emotional trauma and behavioural disorders.