Holiday in the Wild

GRI is thrilled to announce our involvement in the Netflix conservation film Holiday in the Wild!

This touching story was inspired by the real-life events of the film’s lead actress Kristin Davis who developed a deep connection to elephants over 12 years ago when she helped rescue an orphaned elephant in Kenya. She became a Patron to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and has been avidly advocating elephant and wildlife conservation for many years. GRI has been incredibly fortunate to develop a relationship with Kristin, who has passionately supported and promoted our work in Zambia.

GRI supported the making of the film, allowing the crew into Lilayi Elephant Nursery where they utilised our facilities as their set, and spent time observing the young elephants to inform the movie. The story of a young orphan elephant who's mother has been killed by poachers, is not just on the movies. The compelling tale of young Manu, is all but real life for GRI who have been caring for orphaned elephants calves since its inception in 2011.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How much filming was done in Zambia?

The production was only with GRI for 4 days of filming at Lilayi Elephant Nursery. They also coordinated other scenes around Lusaka including Cairo Road and the Southern Sun hotel.

How much filming was done with the elephant orphans?

Surprisingly very little! Over the four days of filming at the Nursery, there were only 6 scenes that actually involved the orphans. These scenes required the cameramen to capture normal daily routine for the elephants with the addition of 1 or 2 actors accompanying their keepers. There were no ‘re-takes’ when it came to the elephants schedule and the crew were incredibly well prepared to ensure the one-off opportunities were maximised.

How can they have filmed so little of the orphans when there are elephants throughout the film?

Because they used puppets and animatronic elephants to film the majority of scenes that involved handling or close ups of the elephants! They also worked with an elephant sanctuary in South Africa for all scenes involving larger elephants.

 How did you maintain high welfare standards for the elephants?

GRI management including the Wildlife Rescue Director and Veterinary & Welfare Advisor were present to supervise every aspect of filming and had pre-agreed the ground rules with the crew in having access to the orphans. They were limited to minimal personnel allowed in the boma area when elephants were present and had to remain at respectful distances. Any crew present wore GRI Keeper jackets to blend in and were accompanied by keepers to ensure the elephants were reassured – most of the time they were eating and not even paying any attention. Netflix ensured governing officers from the American Humane Associationand the South African Animal Anti-Cruelty League were present throughout filming to ensure the elephants welfare was a focus at all times. In addition GRI’s Research team set up a focused behaviour observation study looking for ‘Self-Directed Behaviours’, which can be very subtle indicators of stress. Had any worrying signs been observed the behaviour specialist was in place throughout to halt filming (this was not deemed necessary as all preventative measures were in place, but was a good back up).

How many crew were present?

There was approximately 85 personnel within the Nursery grounds throughout filming! Most of these were stationed in the car park, the volunteer kitchen and behind the milk kitchen. Only a skeleton crew remained in the boma vicinity when the elephants were present at their usual times of day, 18:00-06:00 and 11:45-14:00hrs. During this time the crew used sign-language and whispered into handheld radio’s to communicate. We were very impressed with the respect shown towards protecting the orphans against the presence of the crew and kit. Once the elephants were safely out in the bush the boma became overrun with crew setting up lighting systems and puppet elephants.

Who was the focal elephant of the film?

Mkaliva was selected as the focal elephant for the film as she was the most calm and settled elephant within the herd at the time. A number of life-like body doubles were created of Mkaliva using photos, skin moulds and body measurements, to ensure the audience would not be able to tell if the elephants on screen were real or puppet.

Why was Kristin allowed to get close to Mkaliva?

Kristin has spent the past 12 years focused on supporting elephant conservation and understanding elephant behaviour through her extensive experience at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. In order to support the vision of the film GRI made ‘exceptions’ to the usual no visitors rule and allowed her in a few shots to move with the keepers in a similar manner to the real-life vets who support her rehabilitation.

How will this film benefit GRI and elephant conservation?

Having an ambassador such as Kristin support our work here and promote GRI and Zambia into a far-reaching audience will be hugely beneficial in gaining an increased support and funding base for wildlife conservation and tourism in Zambia.

Why do you have minimal impact rules?

The orphans in our care at GRI are all part of a dedicated long-term release programme which usually takes at least 10 years per elephant. The aim is to reintroduce them back into the wild and to live amongst wild elephants. Therefore we aim to minimise human exposure to the orphans throughout the rehabilitation process. At the Nursery the orphans are with their human carers (Keepers) all day every day and this is essential in order to support them on their journey of recovery from the horrific traumas of brutally losing their mothers at a young age. The elephants bond with their keepers and trust them and this is important in their development. We limit the presence of all other human interaction around them in order that they focus on their ‘human family’ only and not every other person that they see. However the elephants are also exposed to vets and senior members of the team to ensure that they are well and healthy and standards are being kept high. So whilst we aim to minimise human exposure, by the method of rehabilitation some human exposure is essential, especially the younger they are.

Why do you allow filming at the Elephant Orphanage?

Over the years GRI has facilitated a number of filming projects around the orphans as we understand that one of their greatest values to conservation is the awareness they generate. These orphans are ambassadors for their species and for the plight of elephants who suffer as victims of the ivory trade. For this reason it is essential that their story is told through film and photo worldwide and also importantly through the daily viewing experience to support local education and understanding. By limiting the number and frequency of such exposures (and the utilisation of a viewing deck where we are high above the elephants and not amongst them) we hope to minimise the long term impact of humans upon the elephants but still ensuring their play their vital role in awareness, inspiration of the masses and fundraising, in order to support the bigger picture of conservation. To keep these orphans safe long-term (and their wild counterparts) we must invest in adequate Protection (anti-poaching law enforcement) as well as Community programmes that encourage and support the co-existence of wildlife and people in the wild spaces they share.

Holiday in the Wild is a family favourite, combining a fun and feel-good factor in a new and exciting environment, with all the hard-hitting realities of real-life elephant conservation.

We hope that through its production many more viewers worldwide will better understand the challenges being faced here in Zambia, and will be inspired to support our work, because every donation can help make the change! Kirstin Davies very kindly supported GRI in this video.

​Every donation makes a difference to these young elephant's lives. Just £30 will feed an elephant a specialised milk formula for a week. Please consider donating today to support the real life "Manu's".

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