Can you imagine a world without elephants? The largest land mammal is a staple of zoos and, for a long time, was one of the main draws of traveling circus performances. They’ve even inspired pop-culture phenomena like Babar, Dumbo, and Dr. Seuss’ Horton. Native to parts of Africa and Asia, the sad truth is that the world of these gentle giants is shrinking at an alarming rate. And while viewers will learn a lot they probably didn’t know in National Geographic’s Secrets of the Elephants, the biggest secret revealed is that they need our help.
(National Geographic for Disney/Freddie Claire)
A follow-up series to Secrets of the Whales from executive producer James Cameron, Secrets of the Elephants is a four-part series that splits its time between the four types of elephants (savanna, desert, African forest, and Asian). The format follows in the wake of Whales, which featured a celebrity narrator (Sigourney Weaver) and Nat Geo Explorer (Brian Skerry) and spent each episode with a different species. Elephants is a worthy follow-up, shining a spotlight on another giant animal who thrived on Earth for 6 million years, beginning to fall into decline when the largest apex predator of all arrived… humans.
National Geographic Explorer Dr. Paula Kahumbu is your guide this season; who is to elephants what Dr. Jane Goodall is to chimpanzees. Her passion for these beautiful creatures is undeniable, and viewers will share in her wonder as she encounters forest elephants for the first time in the wild. Moreso than Whales, Elephants showcase just how much the livelihood of these animals has changed due to human intervention. But the series isn’t grim, offering an optimistic path through which future generations know elephants not just through the stories of Babar, Dumbo, and Horton, but through protected spaces where they can continue to live the way nature intended them to.
Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman narrates this series, having once dressed up as an elephant with Elmo on an episode of Sesame Street. Her star power might bring some additional viewers in, and her vocal warmth suits the subject. But with Dr. Paula Kahumbu as an on-camera guide this season, the narrator’s importance feels somewhat diminished here in comparison to Whales. But when it comes to a series of this type, the real star isn’t the celebrity narrator, but the animals at the center of the story.
(National Geographic for Disney/Robbie Labanowski)
As one would expect from anything bearing James Cameron’s name, the cinematography is breathtaking, and viewers will find themselves marveling at how some of the shots were achieved. With so many herds having good reason to fear humans, the fact that footage of both the beginnings and ends of life are captured in such seemingly close proximity is a marvel.
A series six million years in the making, Secrets of the Elephants is an excellent addition to the franchise. After giants of the sea, giants of land feel like a worthy follow-up. Next year’s series, Secrets of the Octopus, will take audiences back to the ocean, and future installments will include Secrets of the Bees and Secrets of Penguins. For the foreseeable future, you can make Nat Geo’s Secrets of… series part of your Earth Day tradition.
Celebrate Earth Day with Secrets of the Elephants, premiering on Friday, April 21st, at 10/9c. All four episodes will be available to stream on Disney+ on Saturday, April 22nd.