by senior contributor Brendan Kownacki
Photo credit: Brendan Kownacki
As the world mourns the death of Cecil the Lion, struck down by an arrogant hunter, we can’t let one death distract from the larger issue at hand about the dangers facing endangered animals…thus was the message this week on Capitol Hill with actress and advocate Kristin Davis who was in town to screen the film she produced, Gardeners of Eden, a documentary exploring the plight of elephant poaching, the dangers of the ivory trade and the conservation efforts at hand to save these majestic creatures.
Kristin Davis
Many know Davis for her role as Charlotte on HBO’s Sex and the City, a prim and proper character who some might describe as an ‘inside cat’ for the way the character would steer away from conflict, but in real life, Davis is a firm counterpart to that image. Celebrity advocates get a bad reputation in DC at times when artists take up causes temporarily and stutter through the their talking points, but not Kristin Davis. Davis has been a vocal ambassador for animals, conservation and especially elephants since 2009 when she went on a safari in Kenya and her caravan came across a lost and abandoned elephant cub. Some people scoop kittens out of back alleys, but it takes someone special to save an elephant lost in the African Savanna.
Dan Ashe and Rob Brandford
Enter the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The conservation organization based in Kenya was founded in 1977 and has become a world authority on the protection and rehabilitation of the elephants. Davis’ party engaged with the Sheldrick team to rescue the young animal, named Chaimu for the lava flow that it got itself stuck in, and at that moment, it was less about Manolo’s and more about the mammoth mammals that had stolen her heart. When learning that Chaimu was probably alone because her family was likely slaughtered in front of her by poachers, the discussion got a bit more grim.
Kristin Davis
Davis acknowledged her own ignorance about the issues facing elephants, she had heard that poaching was illegal and thought that was the end all, be all of the issue. “I thought elephants were fine and that there was no threat to them and that they were beautiful and wonderful and taken care of,” said Davis when describing her initial encounters in Africa to Hollywood on the Potomac. The innocence in her eyes fluttered away and she continued describing the perilous and disgusting means by which poachers track and kill the grey giants. The demand for ivory unfortunately continues to fuel a need to kill elephants and harvest their tusks to make statues and chests and jewelry and any number of things that many would agree don’t amount to a reason to kill a large and peaceful animal. Ivory sales have been restricted in many parts of the globe to antique ivory past a certain age, but Davis described that falsified records, and even worse, a collective indifference to checking started breathing new life into the criminal trade of ivory around the same time she first got involved with the issue. America is the 2nd largest marketplace for ivory, sometimes traded discreetly in antique shops or online and labeled as other code names like Mammoth, the problem continues to grow.
Kristin Davis
Davis went from passive supporter to vehement advocate as she started to work with Daphne and Angela Sheldrick, who run the Trust in Kenya and have grown their team to become a formidable force to help elephants. Be it the orphanage for the young animals, the anti-poaching teams that work with the Kenya Wildlife Service to patrol the wilderness or the countless vets helping to nurse animals back to health, the Sheldrick team is proof that dedication makes anything possible.
The core of the issue boils down sadly but easily as Davis puts it, “we could lose elephants to extinction in our lifetime, in ten to fifteen years.” She candidly described what could be a bleak future where we have to explain to children that elephants are like dinosaurs, they once roamed free, but it wasn’t a meteor that killed them, it was man. It’s the type of comparison that stops and makes you think.
Introduction to the panel by Dr. Mary-Jane Deeb, Chief, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress
Her aptness at cutting to core of the issue with her words lead to the next stage of her advocacy, the creation of her film, Gardeners of Eden. Davis said that as a Hollywood veteran, she knows storytelling is her strong suit and that this story is one that needs sharing to help gain traction. The film showcases the work of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya and highlights the day-to-day activities from across the organization and all the ways they are helping. At one point, the film even challenges a poacher who tries to justify his actions for hunting elephants as a native of the land who has fallen on hard time and thus, the money is too appetizing to walk away from. For delivering 43 kg of ivory, he amasses 80,000 Kenyan Shillings to divide among his team. For context, that’s about $550. It’s enough money to last for weeks and months in the region, but hearing that price tag per elephant elicits thoughts that there must be another way. Studies have shown that a living elephant can be worth 75 times that amount in its lifetime for the tourism value, but as poverty continues to crush drown the economies of Africa, it’s hard to say what could end the cycle.
Sec. of State John Kerry – Photos of US State Department visit to The Sheldrick Elephant Center in Kenya (courtesy US Department of State)
Davis brought the film to Capitol Hill for a screening with lawmakers and congressional staff to help drum up support for a complete US ban on ivory that would be supported federally and in each state. Support was once sparse, but it’s growing in strides. In recent months, Secretary of State Kerry visited the elephant sanctuary in Kenya, even stopping for a special ‘selfie’ with a young elephant. This past weekend, President Obama announced major strides in banning ivory in the Unites States, but to help implement the practical enforcement, states need to implement their own bans as well and Davis was on the path to encourage support. Rep. Ted Deutch said elephants “should be a protected species” and praised Kristin for leveraging her celebrity status to raise awareness “as a voice that people listen to.” Rep. Grace Meng was also on hand for the screening and shared, “working to save the elephants is important for so many reasons. Not only are they beautiful and intelligent creatures, but elephants play a vital role in local communities and are tied to international development.” The screening was also followed by a panel discussion on the important aspects of the issue that included Kristin, Rob Brandford, Executive Director, David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (UK), Jeff Flocken, Regional Director, North America, International Fund for Animal Welfare and Dan Ashe, Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Rep. Ted Deutch
Davis speaks with passion and authority as she tells every story about her trips to Kenya, the days spent hands on with the elephants and her vocal support for the policies that will help protect these animals. The main thing that comes through though when you hear her tell her stories is that these animals are truly special. The film is titled, Gardeners of Eden playing off a quote from Daphne Sheldrick, matriarch of the Trust. Sheldrick explains that elephants are the gardeners of the land that keep the ecosystem going; from flattening and hardening that land that becomes watering holes or knocking down trees and brush on their marches that will end up feeding smaller creatures and replenishing the land—the elephants are captains of the land and their absence would be felt far and wide.
There should never be a day when we have to explain to children that elephants are gone just like dinosaurs, and hopefully with warriors like Kristin Davis and the Sheldricks on the side of good, we never will.
Kristin Davis sat down with Hollywood on the Potomac to share in her own words her experiences and to talk about her film:
