0:00:11 > 0:00:1520 years ago I met and was filmed with
0:00:15 > 0:00:19a remarkable elephant called Echo.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22Since then many other films have been made about her
0:00:22 > 0:00:27and, not unexpectedly, she's found her way into the hearts
0:00:27 > 0:00:29of millions of viewers.
0:00:29 > 0:00:35A lot of what we know about elephant characters has been learnt from Echo,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38about their survival strategies and leadership and loyalty,
0:00:38 > 0:00:41as well as many other characteristics which
0:00:41 > 0:00:46scientists are more reluctant to attribute to animals, like love,
0:00:46 > 0:00:48and foresight, and wisdom.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53A group of remarkably dedicated women
0:00:53 > 0:00:55studied Echo for over 40 years,
0:00:55 > 0:01:03following her every day until she died at the age of 65, of old age.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09They and millions of viewers will miss her,
0:01:09 > 0:01:12and indeed, so do I.
0:01:27 > 0:01:29I touch her.
0:01:29 > 0:01:35I touch her, the temperature was going down, and then
0:01:35 > 0:01:38she was snoring.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42And then I can tell those are signs of she's dying.
0:01:57 > 0:02:00I touch her, she was going, slowly by slowly.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05As I was touching her she was looking at me and blinking her eyes like this, just blinking.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08And then she,
0:02:08 > 0:02:10she just looked at me,
0:02:10 > 0:02:16the last minute she blinked her eyes like this and looked at me
0:02:16 > 0:02:19and...and then she died.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32It's good one of us was there, yeah.
0:02:44 > 0:02:49What is the legacy that Echo is passing on to her own family
0:02:49 > 0:02:51and the people that loved her?
0:03:03 > 0:03:07I met Echo in 1973. It's 36 years.
0:03:13 > 0:03:15Who else do you know for 36 years?
0:03:15 > 0:03:20No pet you ever had you knew for that long. That's a long time.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35Echo is a very, very special elephant
0:03:35 > 0:03:40She is a leader, you know, they trusted her so well.
0:03:49 > 0:03:50I miss her a lot, a lot.
0:03:55 > 0:03:56I miss her a lot, a lot.
0:04:11 > 0:04:12As head of her family,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Echo carried immense experience
0:04:15 > 0:04:18gained by her forebears over centuries.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20But the final test of a matriarch
0:04:20 > 0:04:23is whether she passes on that knowledge.
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Her family have lost a strong leader and a wise mother.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50What lasting gifts has she given to her children?
0:04:50 > 0:04:53And now they are alone, will they remember her lessons?
0:04:57 > 0:05:01The glands at their temples stream with emotion.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04Echo guided this family for almost half a century.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Now the 39-strong band of relatives and descendants
0:05:08 > 0:05:12face their greatest challenge, without her.
0:05:37 > 0:05:4220 years ago, Echo was already teaching us important lessons.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Through daily observation of her family in the wild,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49scientists were gaining insights into elephant behaviour,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53leadership, intelligence, communication and social relations.
0:06:05 > 0:06:10The world's longest-running study of a land mammal was well underway.
0:06:10 > 0:06:11I went to Kenya
0:06:11 > 0:06:16hoping to film some of the major events in elephant life,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19and to do that we needed an expert guide.
0:06:25 > 0:06:30By then Cynthia Moss had already been following the elephants of Amboseli for 17 years.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33She could tell each individual apart.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35How do you recognize them?
0:06:35 > 0:06:39By their ears, first of all, that's the main characteristic.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43Their ears are never absolutely smooth along the edge,
0:06:43 > 0:06:46there's usually little nicks or holes, or whatever.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49But after a while you get so used to them,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52and you recognise the whole elephant.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56We can recognise them you know, maybe sometimes 100, 200 metres away
0:06:56 > 0:07:00by just the body, the way it walks, the way it holds its head,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02just as if you were walking along a street,
0:07:02 > 0:07:07and a friend of yours is walking away from you, you know that that's Jack, and the same with elephants.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09Do you have favourites among them?
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Yes, I do, I'm embarrassed to say.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Echo was one of those favourites.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26The matriarch was easy to recognise
0:07:26 > 0:07:30because her long graceful tusks almost crossed at the tips.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38She would turn out to be the star of many films,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41but the beginning was fraught with uncertainty.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53We had gone out you know like for a week or so, or ten days
0:07:53 > 0:07:57and then we got panicky, we thought nothing's happening.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59What are we going to do a film about?
0:07:59 > 0:08:05Because elephants' lives unroll very, very slowly you know?
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Echo's life had already unrolled to the age of 28
0:08:09 > 0:08:12by the time Cynthia first met her.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17Echo's early days are shrouded in mystery, and no film exists.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20She was probably born around the end of the Second World War,
0:08:20 > 0:08:24and knowing now what she's taught us about family life,
0:08:24 > 0:08:26she must have had a wise and caring mother.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38Every day baby Echo would follow her mother back and forth
0:08:38 > 0:08:40along well-trodden trails...
0:08:40 > 0:08:45Paths remembered by her family for generation after generation...
0:08:45 > 0:08:47Learning where to go when food was short
0:08:47 > 0:08:49and times were dangerous.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59In her early days these journeys were great fun.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Only when she was older did she discover how important they were.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17Echo too was to learn these paths by heart.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21When eventually she became a matriarch, she saw Cynthia watching
0:09:21 > 0:09:26her for the first time, as she began to teach her own young calves.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37But Cynthia also wanted to learn from Echo and so found a device that
0:09:37 > 0:09:41would eventually bond the two of them together for a very long time.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47We decided we needed to find out where the elephants were going.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50So we found a small family,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53darted the matriarch,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56and put the collar on.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00And then, because she was making this, you know, this beep, beep
0:10:00 > 0:10:02noise, we called her Echo.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08And these were the traditional old collars, where you had to go round
0:10:08 > 0:10:13with this aerial and a little, little box that ticked. It was very fiddly.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17I always found radio tracking in that way a lot of work
0:10:17 > 0:10:20for a little tiny bit of information.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24Echo turned out to be a homebody
0:10:24 > 0:10:27and barely moved the whole time her collar worked.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31So she didn't give us an awful lot of information, but we did
0:10:31 > 0:10:34get to know her then, we started to get to know her and her family.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Echo discovered an area that contained all the food, water
0:10:40 > 0:10:44and the safety she needed to keep her family out of harm's way.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47She would only venture further when she absolutely had to.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56It was this sensible and stubborn attitude
0:10:56 > 0:11:01that helped double the size of her family to 14 in only 17 years.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06Cynthia kept detailed records of all the elephants visiting her base
0:11:06 > 0:11:08at Amboseli National Park.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11She gave them names.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15All Echo's sons and daughters, nieces and nephews, all the members
0:11:15 > 0:11:21of Echo's family, the EBs, they all begin with the same letter, E.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27She published two books containing research never before recorded in the wild.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30It was this fresh and exciting science
0:11:30 > 0:11:33that first brought me to her camp.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36But we still needed a good story.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41It was after we were already starting, that I said,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45"Let me go and look at the oestrus records, the mating records,
0:11:45 > 0:11:48"and see if anyone's pregnant in the family."
0:11:48 > 0:11:52So I went and looked it up, and lo and behold
0:11:52 > 0:11:55Echo herself was going to have a calf.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00An important day dawned in Echo's life.
0:12:00 > 0:12:0422 months earlier Cynthia had seen her mating.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07The calf was due any time now.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17- Oh, excuse me, it was that dust! - Cameraman Martyn Colbeck
0:12:17 > 0:12:21has been filming Echo and Cynthia from the early days.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Now they travel together on a trip back in time.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35There was a group of vultures on the ground in the far distance.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38The birds were squabbling over the remains
0:12:38 > 0:12:40of what could be an elephant's placenta.
0:12:47 > 0:12:49Well, 19 years ago...
0:12:49 > 0:12:53..We came out here and we were so excited.
0:12:53 > 0:12:59Only 30 metres away stood Echo and some of her family...
0:12:59 > 0:13:01And under Echo, the new baby.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11That changed everything, really, didn't it?
0:13:11 > 0:13:14Really did because there was this...
0:13:14 > 0:13:18- Oh, yes. - This wonderful great big baby.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22Echo looked tired but in good health.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26Her calf was male, and perhaps only two hours old.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33- And then... - ..You'd suddenly gone very quiet.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37- Yes.- and then you said, "There's something wrong with this baby."
0:13:39 > 0:13:44Although Echo had given birth to at least four other healthy calves,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47something looked wrong with this one.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50He seemed unable to straighten his legs.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52This was most unusual.
0:13:52 > 0:13:58Cynthia had seen dozens of calves and they could all stand within half an hour of being born.
0:14:07 > 0:14:12She kept putting her trunk under his stomach and trying to lift him,
0:14:12 > 0:14:16and his carpal joints were completely seized.
0:14:21 > 0:14:28Other elephants might have abandoned the baby, but Echo did not leave her son for a minute.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32Again and again, she tried to help him to his feet.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39Ely was sort of crumpled underneath Echo and he couldn't move at all.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44- No, no.- And Enid, who was eight then,
0:14:44 > 0:14:49Echo's daughter Enid, just stuck by Echo and Ely.
0:14:49 > 0:14:50Yes, yes.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59And the others had been around at the beginning and then they sort of
0:14:59 > 0:15:01wandered off and Enid was very torn...
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Yes, she kept listening and calling to the others, and then she,
0:15:04 > 0:15:06she walked away, and at one point
0:15:06 > 0:15:09she walked about 15 metres away or something.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12- Yes.- It was very hot.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15The rest of the family had gone to bathe.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Enid was thirsty and hungry.
0:15:21 > 0:15:25Echo had found a small waterhole and was cooling herself with mud.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30The stranded calf was clearly suffering in the heat.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35And then at that point, Echo tried again to lift
0:15:35 > 0:15:39Ely and he screamed, he let out a really awful scream...
0:15:39 > 0:15:42- Terrible scream, wasn't it? - ..A deep, deep baby scream.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45HE SCREAMS
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Enid just spun around and came tearing back.
0:16:01 > 0:16:03Enid never left him again.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09The following morning at dawn, Echo,
0:16:09 > 0:16:14her daughter Enid and Echo's new calf had not travelled far.
0:16:17 > 0:16:23The calf looked surprisingly strong and had learned to shuffle along on his crippled legs.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27Echo and Enid were walking very slowly alongside him,
0:16:27 > 0:16:31adjusting their pace to ensure that he wasn't left behind.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51He wouldn't be able to hobble around like this for very long
0:16:51 > 0:16:55without his legs rubbing raw and becoming infected.
0:17:02 > 0:17:07We were tempted to help, but the scientist's role is to observe.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10His survival depended on Echo.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16As Martyn will tell you, many times I told him to stop filming.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19I said, "You can't film this, this is too horrible!
0:17:19 > 0:17:21"The audience won't want to see this."
0:17:21 > 0:17:24And luckily he didn't stop filming.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30One day later, the family had hardly moved.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33They appeared to be resting.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36The calf was sheltering beneath Echo.
0:17:36 > 0:17:42He was still crippled, but he was also still trying to rise.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45This was a special baby.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36It was only when Echo's new calf was standing properly
0:18:36 > 0:18:38that we could see what a big calf he was.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41Ely, as he was later named,
0:18:41 > 0:18:45was larger than any other newborn Cynthia had ever seen.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49That turned out to be what his problem was.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53- He couldn't move at all in the womb, and so. - He couldn't stretch like that.
0:18:53 > 0:18:54And that happens in horses
0:18:54 > 0:18:58where the female is disproportionately smaller than
0:18:58 > 0:19:00the stallion.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03Yeah, but it taught us a lot about Echo, didn't it?
0:19:03 > 0:19:06That taught us a lot about Enid. It was just remarkable, her patience,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08she never looked flustered.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Enid was right there all the time,
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- and no, it was, it was extraordinary behaviour.- Yes.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19We expected the three day long struggle
0:19:19 > 0:19:21to have exhausted the young calf,
0:19:21 > 0:19:25but Ely amazed us all with his determination.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37He just wouldn't give up...
0:19:42 > 0:19:46and his reward was his first meal.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02- Now we don't know where he is. - No, he disappeared in.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05He's gone off, he's gone off to be independent and...
0:20:05 > 0:20:09- He went off in 2000, was the last time we saw him, wasn't it?- Yeah.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14So he could have gone off to another bull area and not come back or he could potentially come back as a
0:20:14 > 0:20:16- much older male. - Oh, yeah. Mmm, he could.
0:20:23 > 0:20:28Echo's loyalty and perseverance had helped save her son.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36It was an intimate glimpse into the caring world of Echo's family.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40And over the coming years she would give us many more.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52As Echo followed the paths to food and water
0:20:52 > 0:20:56she had learnt from her mother, she and Enid showed us how
0:20:56 > 0:21:00helpless youngsters are protected and educated by mothers
0:21:00 > 0:21:02and babysitting sisters.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Amboseli is a special place.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17Rain on Kilimanjaro usually waters it all year long.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22Underground rivers reach out into the plain, where freshwater springs
0:21:22 > 0:21:24form welcoming swamps,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27drawing animals in to bathe and drink each day.
0:21:42 > 0:21:47But when little rain falls on the plain itself, little grass grows,
0:21:47 > 0:21:50and without grazing the elephants go hungry.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03Six weeks after Echo's death,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06the lack of rain for five months is taking its toll.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09In two previous droughts,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12Echo had shown her daughters and their offspring
0:22:12 > 0:22:15where to eat and drink in difficult times.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Echo's 39-strong family splits into two.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24Echo's sister Ella and eight others have gone off alone.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Cynthia and the women of the Amboseli Trust
0:22:40 > 0:22:43try to keep track of those remaining.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Echo's remaining family members
0:22:52 > 0:22:56are following the routes she taught them,
0:22:56 > 0:22:59but the drought is lasting longer than anyone can remember.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Many of the grazing animals weaken and die.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Only the toughest will survive this drought.
0:23:17 > 0:23:21There's growing concern for Echo's daughter, Enid.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24She helped Echo look after Ely when he was born crippled.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27The 27 year old was particularly close to her mother,
0:23:27 > 0:23:32she's abandoned her sisters to haunt the place where Echo lies.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39Poor Enid, she's, she's completely by herself with just her two calves and
0:23:39 > 0:23:45every day she goes back into the area of the fence where Echo's carcass is.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49And these days she's the only one who goes back in there.
0:23:49 > 0:23:56And I suspect she just is still so loyal to Echo and Echo's routine,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59that she's, she's not changed.
0:23:59 > 0:24:03All, the whole family is broken up into small sub-groups,
0:24:03 > 0:24:05but Enid's really
0:24:05 > 0:24:09completely on her own, and I just feel so sorry for her.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11She's obviously still...
0:24:13 > 0:24:16..very, very traumatised by losing Echo.
0:24:27 > 0:24:33I think it's going to take a long time for her to recover, if ever.
0:24:36 > 0:24:40Enid's reluctance to move is harming her calf.
0:24:52 > 0:24:57The thing is that a calf this age should be eating
0:24:57 > 0:25:02quite a bit of grass and food, and there really just is nothing for
0:25:02 > 0:25:03her to eat.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09Not all animals are short of food.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14Those that prey on others can find plenty of meat.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22Poor fellow.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29It's a young buffalo, who seems to be on his last legs.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32It's not just the elephants, it's everything.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Well, everything that eats grass is suffering terribly.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Oh, So frustrating, there's just nothing we can do.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02Good grass is vital too for the Maasai around Amboseli.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Their lives revolve around their cattle and goats.
0:26:14 > 0:26:15If the drought continues
0:26:15 > 0:26:18they will bring their herds into the Park for water,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21and clash with the elephants.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Trouble lies ahead.
0:26:26 > 0:26:31For Cynthia and cameraman Martyn Colbeck, the question is has a new
0:26:31 > 0:26:36leader emerged, or has the drought further fragmented Echo's family?
0:26:39 > 0:26:43There they are. Look at Eudora acting really matriarchal.
0:26:43 > 0:26:45She's leading her family.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Now Elaine is one of the best and most ardent babysitters
0:26:52 > 0:26:55of all the females in the EBs.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58She loves babies, and she left her own mother
0:26:58 > 0:27:02just to come and spend time with, with this baby.
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Hi there. How are you?
0:27:06 > 0:27:10How are you? Oh, silly, silly.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Bit of a play-trumpet that one.
0:27:13 > 0:27:18- Yeah, a little bit. - She's getting excited, look! Ha ha.
0:27:18 > 0:27:24Theoretically Eudora should lead the others, because she's older than
0:27:24 > 0:27:28Enid, say, who's only 27, she's ten years older.
0:27:28 > 0:27:35But then she's not as closely related to Echo's immediate daughters as...
0:27:35 > 0:27:37so it may all split into three,
0:27:37 > 0:27:42with Enid and Eliot going in one, and making one family and...
0:27:42 > 0:27:46- It's like she's listening to you. - I know, I know she is.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Hello, Eudora, hello.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52It's OK. I know there's funny people in the car, but it's OK.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58I was really worried she was going to die, because she went off by herself.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02- Eudora?- Oh, yeah. But I think she's better now.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06But she's still painfully thin.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10I'm sorry Eudora. I know it's been a terrible time, hasn't it?
0:28:10 > 0:28:13And there's your baby, your big baby.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18Hi, Essien,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21going to come see us?
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Do you remember us? You remember this car.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28But smelly people are in here today, aren't they? Ha ha!
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Over the years Martyn and his camera car
0:28:36 > 0:28:39became a familiar sight to Echo's family.
0:28:39 > 0:28:45Filming and talking to them for thousands of hours helped develop a close relationship.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48Now, this elephant coming up behind me now is Eliot,
0:28:48 > 0:28:50another one of Echo's daughters.
0:28:50 > 0:28:53And she was, she's a lovely female and when she was younger,
0:28:53 > 0:28:55when she was an adolescent,
0:28:55 > 0:28:58she always used to come right up to the car like this,
0:28:58 > 0:29:01and we had dents on the Land Rover with her tusks.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05Look she's almost touching, Ooh, she's touching the camera now.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07Eliot, Eliot, Eliot.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09It's not very clever.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11It's a very expensive camera. It's all right.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17And she, ever since she was quite young, as an adolescent,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21she was always leading the family, even though Echo was still alive.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23She's a bit of a leader.
0:29:23 > 0:29:27So it will be interesting to see now what happens with Echo gone.
0:29:29 > 0:29:33And this elephant that's just passing me here is Ebony.
0:29:33 > 0:29:38And I'm particularly fond of Ebony, because I filmed her being born, 14 years ago.
0:29:38 > 0:29:40Hi Ebony.
0:29:49 > 0:29:54The time was fast approaching for Echo to give birth again.
0:29:54 > 0:30:00It was 21 and a half months since she had mated and she looked absolutely huge.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08As usual, most of the elephants
0:30:08 > 0:30:10were moving away from the swamp for the night.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17Just after sunset, Echo went into labour.
0:30:17 > 0:30:20She was clearly having strong contractions.
0:30:20 > 0:30:23She'd given birth to at least five other calves,
0:30:23 > 0:30:27but after the near-tragic birth of Ely with his crippled legs,
0:30:27 > 0:30:29we didn't know what to expect.
0:30:33 > 0:30:37Cynthia was ready for another all night vigil.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40Having seen only three other births
0:30:40 > 0:30:43she was determined to be present at this one.
0:30:43 > 0:30:46So can you remember where it was?
0:30:46 > 0:30:50Well, it was just out from that little row of palms.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54And it was an open
0:30:54 > 0:30:57I think it was that pan over there.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17Yep, I think this was roughly where it was.
0:31:17 > 0:31:19Yeah, I think so.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23The rest of Echo's family became excited as well
0:31:23 > 0:31:25and quickly converged on her.
0:31:34 > 0:31:39A curtain of legs suddenly swung back to reveal the new baby.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52The three-ton mother caressed her baby tenderly with her foot.
0:32:00 > 0:32:06The new calf was unusually strong, but the birth fluids made the ground slippery.
0:32:06 > 0:32:09It was very difficult for her to keep her feet.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14She kept on trying to stand up and then she just up-ended, didn't she?
0:32:14 > 0:32:16- I know. It was so.- It was very funny.
0:32:16 > 0:32:17It was very funny. You had to laugh,
0:32:17 > 0:32:21but just also felt sorry because every time she tried, she'd slip.
0:32:23 > 0:32:27They were streaming with temporal glands and they were lifting their
0:32:27 > 0:32:31heads and going "Whoooo", remember that, like Ella, Ella was just...
0:32:31 > 0:32:34- Yeah, Ella was amazing. And Eudora. I remember Eudora as well.- Yes.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37Echo gently pushed her daughter
0:32:37 > 0:32:40Enid away to give her new calf the space it needed.
0:32:40 > 0:32:46The young female sucked her trunk like a baby sucking its thumb.
0:32:52 > 0:32:59Ebony, Echo's new calf, turned out to be a real character.
0:32:59 > 0:33:03She was a joy to film and extremely playful with Martyn.
0:33:13 > 0:33:19His camera car was one of the first things she saw, and she behaved as if it was one of the family.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21And so every day we went out,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24she would then come running up and greet us.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26Run, run to the cars, hit her head on the.
0:33:26 > 0:33:29and she hit her head one day on my camera mount.
0:33:29 > 0:33:32Oh, quite frequently. She would come and butt the side of the car.
0:33:32 > 0:33:34And you can still see at age 14,
0:33:34 > 0:33:37a little bump on her forehead. I feel guilty every time I see that.
0:33:44 > 0:33:46She was always getting into scrapes.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49Once, to our disbelief, she was actually stolen.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54Astonishingly, Ebony was kidnapped.
0:33:56 > 0:34:00Echo was driven off by another family's matriarch,
0:34:00 > 0:34:04leaving Ebony captive behind the strangers' legs.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10Kidnapping was not something we'd ever filmed before
0:34:10 > 0:34:12and it was a rare occurrence.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15Kidnapping isn't about wanting to have the baby.
0:34:15 > 0:34:20It's about saying we can take your baby and you'd better, you know,
0:34:20 > 0:34:22just understand that we're the dominant family.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27What happened next was extraordinary.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30Echo gathered her family's big females.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34Together they ploughed into the kidnappers.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37Echo's aim was to recover her daughter.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41Her plan showed forethought and the ability to inspire teamwork.
0:34:49 > 0:34:54Finally, she led Ebony away, now flanked by members of her family.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58Echo's daughter was rescued and safe once again.
0:35:15 > 0:35:20Four years before the drought, Ebony became a mother herself.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23But the lack of food has killed both her calves,
0:35:23 > 0:35:25one only a few months old.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30Yes, she was
0:35:30 > 0:35:3411 when she had her first calf and then she successfully raised him,
0:35:34 > 0:35:36which is good for an 11-year old.
0:35:36 > 0:35:38And then she had another calf
0:35:38 > 0:35:40and that one died in the drought and then the,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43- the little, little Etienne died too.- Yeah.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45In this drought. That's a shame.
0:35:45 > 0:35:46Sad, very, very sad.
0:35:46 > 0:35:50And she'd been a good mother, it's not, it wasn't her fault.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53No, no it wasn't. I mean, she'll have another one.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55Yes. She's only 15 now, so she'll,
0:35:55 > 0:35:59she can have many more calves, but it's a shame her first two have gone.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08Over the last three years, Amboseli's droughts have been worsening.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12Ebony's calves will not be the only losses.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16Young elephants need more than dried-up roots to sustain them.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19But their mothers can barely feed themselves.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23And the most costly deaths are those of older, experienced females.
0:36:23 > 0:36:2820 Amboseli matriarchs will die.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31Each such death puts an entire family at risk.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47As Cynthia searches for Echo's family,
0:36:47 > 0:36:51a report comes in that a mature female elephant is down.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05Cynthia fears it could be Echo's missing sister, Ella,
0:37:05 > 0:37:09the next in line to take over Echo's position as matriarch.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38Wow big tusks.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43With relief mixed with sadness,
0:37:43 > 0:37:48she recognises the dying elephant as Bess of the BB family.
0:37:49 > 0:37:53No, she's not old, but she's got big tusks for a female.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57Right now we're coming across them every day.
0:37:57 > 0:38:00Sometimes two, three.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04They're dying from the drought and also from, er, poaching.
0:38:09 > 0:38:14The drawn-out death of an elephant from natural causes is distressing.
0:38:14 > 0:38:19It's worse still when elephants die from wounds inflicted by humans.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34The Maasai elders remember a severe drought in 1961,
0:38:34 > 0:38:36when they lost almost all their cattle.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48This famine is far more destructive.
0:38:58 > 0:39:02Water is becoming scarce outside Amboseli.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Conflicts at waterholes are worsening.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17Clashes between young male elephants and cattle-herders at waterholes
0:39:17 > 0:39:18are leading to spearings.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Little Ely, his crippled legs fully recovered,
0:39:39 > 0:39:43nearly died in one such incident when he was only seven.
0:39:54 > 0:39:57A Maasai spear lodged in his back.
0:40:05 > 0:40:11With the help of the Amboseli vets, Ely recovered.
0:40:13 > 0:40:16He tested his growing strength in the family
0:40:16 > 0:40:20and enjoyed their warmth and affection until he was 10.
0:40:20 > 0:40:24Then, like the other young males from Echo's family before him,
0:40:24 > 0:40:26he left to join other bulls.
0:40:26 > 0:40:32He returned from time to time for a few months, then he disappeared.
0:40:44 > 0:40:46A few years after Ely's attack,
0:40:46 > 0:40:51Echo's eldest daughter Erin was also speared, high in the shoulder.
0:40:57 > 0:41:02Email, her 18 month old son, depended on her for vital milk.
0:41:02 > 0:41:07Here Echo showed her true strength of character.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Her 34 year old daughter was in serious trouble.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13Blood poisoning flooded through her body.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17Email's suckling caused Erin agony.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Cameraman Martyn followed events closely.
0:41:26 > 0:41:30As Erin's suffering grew worse in front of his eyes,
0:41:30 > 0:41:34he became more and more deeply involved.
0:41:37 > 0:41:39Now, because it was inflicted by people,
0:41:39 > 0:41:42she was treated by the Kenya Wildlife Service vets,
0:41:42 > 0:41:48but she became more and more sick, and less and less mobile.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50The infection was spreading down her leg.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54She found it increasingly painful to walk.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06Echo had to balance her grandson Email's survival and her daughter
0:42:06 > 0:42:10Erin's suffering against the needs of the rest of the family.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19Echo during this period was remarkable,
0:42:19 > 0:42:22because Erin was unable to move very far at all.
0:42:22 > 0:42:28And we know that Echo didn't go more than about a kilometre and a half,
0:42:28 > 0:42:31two kilometres away from her the whole time.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34So she basically did a circle around Erin.
0:42:34 > 0:42:37And one of the most touching moments I remember
0:42:37 > 0:42:40was Echo came back and rejoined Erin
0:42:40 > 0:42:44and they had this wonderful greeting ceremony.
0:42:44 > 0:42:46The two of them lifted their heads
0:42:46 > 0:42:48and they clanked their tusks together.
0:42:54 > 0:42:59It's a very strong greeting between very closely-related individuals.
0:42:59 > 0:43:02And that was an amazing moment to see.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05But she wouldn't leave Erin, she wouldn't leave her.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15It's hard to know what these elephants are thinking.
0:43:15 > 0:43:20It's trying to, to work out exactly what is going on.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25And we can only use our human experiences
0:43:25 > 0:43:29to try and work that out. But the fact that she didn't leave more than
0:43:29 > 0:43:33about two kilometres and came back regularly to check her
0:43:33 > 0:43:36just shows an extraordinary mother daughter bond.
0:43:38 > 0:43:41We can only imagine what it meant to Erin
0:43:41 > 0:43:43to have her mother express her love.
0:43:43 > 0:43:47This intense loyalty and deep caring makes elephants
0:43:47 > 0:43:50particularly special.
0:43:58 > 0:44:02As for Email, no other male orphaned under the age of two
0:44:02 > 0:44:04had ever survived here.
0:44:28 > 0:44:33Echo had to take the young calf away to find food he could manage.
0:44:33 > 0:44:37This meant she would never see her daughter alive again.
0:44:37 > 0:44:41But Echo's young grandson might survive.
0:44:56 > 0:44:59At least she's, er, she's not in pain any more.
0:45:07 > 0:45:09I never...
0:45:10 > 0:45:12..get used to this.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26I've known Erin since she was four years old.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35So, I...
0:45:35 > 0:45:37guess it's like losing a friend.
0:45:40 > 0:45:44Certainly going to be, it'll be devastating for the family.
0:45:44 > 0:45:49They are all going to feel the loss tremendously, and the calf
0:45:49 > 0:45:52is only 20 months old, so,
0:45:52 > 0:45:53um...
0:45:53 > 0:45:58I'm not sure he is going to make it, or not.
0:46:14 > 0:46:17Echo's actions did save her grandson, Email.
0:46:17 > 0:46:21Two weeks later, Echo returned to the place
0:46:21 > 0:46:23where she had last seen her daughter.
0:46:31 > 0:46:35Elephants react strongly to the carcasses of other elephants.
0:46:35 > 0:46:38It certainly seemed that Echo knew
0:46:38 > 0:46:41that these were her daughter's bones.
0:46:41 > 0:46:43But what was she thinking?
0:46:43 > 0:46:44Did she grieve?
0:46:44 > 0:46:48It was as if she was trying to understand what had happened.
0:47:07 > 0:47:11Echo had been forced to abandon her daughter,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14for the sake of her grandson.
0:47:20 > 0:47:23Where had she taken Email and the rest of her family?
0:47:23 > 0:47:28Cynthia believed that she led them on a journey to Tanzania
0:47:28 > 0:47:32to find food suitable for the young orphan.
0:47:32 > 0:47:36Had Ella now taken her group of eight there?
0:47:36 > 0:47:38She too had young mouths to feed.
0:47:49 > 0:47:52Young trunks, teeth and tongues take time
0:47:52 > 0:47:55to learn to handle thorns or tough vegetation.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02But both time and food are short in the terrible drought.
0:48:23 > 0:48:28Echo's family face a new threat from an unexpected source.
0:48:28 > 0:48:31Maasai do not eat elephants,
0:48:31 > 0:48:35but some are turning to poaching ivory for money.
0:48:35 > 0:48:40This year at least 15 elephants have been poached already.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43Now the women are called to a butchered corpse -
0:48:43 > 0:48:46an unidentifiable young male.
0:48:59 > 0:49:02So there must be another carcass around here.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05Yeah, has to be. Well, they must know where they got that.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10Oh, this. It's this.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13- What's all this, oh?- It's fresh.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16Oh, my god yes, this is fresh.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Ooh, even the ears. There's no ears.
0:49:25 > 0:49:26Oh, my God.
0:49:29 > 0:49:31Twelve? Fourteen?
0:49:31 > 0:49:34Yeah, yeah, something like that.
0:49:34 > 0:49:37Oh, God, poor guy, he never got a chance to grow up.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39I don't understand... You know like,
0:49:39 > 0:49:42ivory for such a young elephant.
0:49:42 > 0:49:45You know much it weighs? But anyway.
0:49:45 > 0:49:48- But if you have no money at all, if you have no cows left.- Yeah.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53The price of ivory is about 2,500 shillings a kilo here
0:49:53 > 0:49:57and maybe more across the border in Tanzania.
0:49:57 > 0:50:01And that means if each of these tusks
0:50:01 > 0:50:05weighed five to 10 kilos, that could be as much as
0:50:05 > 0:50:1045-50,000 shillings, which is almost like a year's wages for somebody,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14for a casual worker, so it's no wonder.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18Unfortunately, the demand is out there, there are people willing
0:50:18 > 0:50:23to pay, and you know, and people are going to fulfil that demand.
0:50:25 > 0:50:28Nearby Maasai plead ignorance...
0:50:28 > 0:50:30and innocence.
0:50:30 > 0:50:32The small tusks are never found.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41They are desperate, but it's got to be stopped somehow.
0:50:43 > 0:50:48Whoever this mutilated carcass is, other elephants, his family and
0:50:48 > 0:50:52friends, will come to visit in the next few weeks.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56They will feel his bones and remember him.
0:51:12 > 0:51:15Soon the elephants may no longer go hungry.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26Three years of increasing droughts are finally drawing to an end.
0:52:08 > 0:52:13The lessons Echo passed on kept 34 of her family alive.
0:52:13 > 0:52:19Not one of the family's valuable adults died in the worst recorded drought.
0:52:19 > 0:52:24That is a remarkable achievement and Echo's greatest legacy.
0:52:42 > 0:52:46Elephants that scattered to search for food outside the Park, return.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Among them the women of the Amboseli Trust
0:53:10 > 0:53:14gratefully spot Echo's sister, Ella.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17She has put Echo's teachings into practice...
0:53:17 > 0:53:20she's saved all eight of her charges.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27Echo's other relations run to greet her.
0:53:37 > 0:53:39Ella is the natural leader of the family
0:53:39 > 0:53:44and Cynthia believes her return is a sign the family will flourish again.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Among them is the orphan, Email, who so nearly starved to death when
0:53:50 > 0:53:54his mother died, but was saved by Echo's wise actions.
0:53:58 > 0:54:04The number of females now here draw a growing number of bulls.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08The rains bring on celebrations, and mating.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19The females that lost calves will come into season again.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23There will soon be new brothers and sisters for the youngsters.
0:54:36 > 0:54:40Among the hundreds that congregate in the shadow of Kilimanjaro,
0:54:40 > 0:54:43a distant figure puzzles the women of the Trust.
0:54:50 > 0:54:55An adult male who, for once, they cannot instantly identify.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58His back bears the scars of an old wound,
0:54:58 > 0:55:01yet there's something familiar about him.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19To their delight the women recognise an old friend.
0:55:19 > 0:55:23Almost 20 years ago their hearts went out to him
0:55:23 > 0:55:25as a brave little newborn.
0:55:25 > 0:55:27It's Echo's son, Ely.
0:55:28 > 0:55:31For three days he battled his crippled legs to get to his feet.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44Now his determination has seen him through eight and a half years
0:55:44 > 0:55:45away from the family.
0:55:45 > 0:55:49He must still remember the time he was speared before leaving Amboseli,
0:55:49 > 0:55:52but this does not stop him returning.
0:55:58 > 0:56:02Searching amongst the hundreds of elephants about him,
0:56:02 > 0:56:03he finds his family.
0:56:15 > 0:56:16Not everyone he left is here.
0:56:18 > 0:56:21He's too late to touch tusks with his mother.
0:56:26 > 0:56:29For him and others who loved her,
0:56:29 > 0:56:32her bones keep her alive.
0:56:40 > 0:56:44Well, I've seen the carcass many, many times,
0:56:44 > 0:56:45but it still makes me sad,
0:56:45 > 0:56:50especially seeing the key things that just made her Echo,
0:56:50 > 0:56:51like the knobbly bits
0:56:51 > 0:56:56on her head, and the knobbly bits on her back. This still says Echo to me.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58it doesn't say carcass.
0:57:06 > 0:57:09And what I loved about her was the way she walked.
0:57:09 > 0:57:11She had this wonderful, swinging walk.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21And to think that we're never going to see that again...
0:57:22 > 0:57:24..that's what hurts.
0:57:36 > 0:57:37Ahhh.
0:57:37 > 0:57:39From your friends...
0:57:39 > 0:57:41Beloved Echo.
0:57:43 > 0:57:45That was very sweet.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49Echo lives on in the wisdom
0:57:49 > 0:57:52she has passed on to her sons and daughters...
0:57:52 > 0:57:59an enduring gift, which they in turn will hand on to generations to come.
0:57:59 > 0:58:02And she was a special elephant, there's no doubt about it.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06She was, she was just a lovely being.
0:58:07 > 0:58:12And she gave us a lot of joy and she filled us with wonder.
0:58:36 > 0:58:39Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:39 > 0:58:42Email subtitling@bbc.co.uk