Episode Information

The Smiling Elephant follows Dutch elephant researcher Antoinette van de Water who, with the support of the University of Miami, committed herself to reducing the human - elephant conflicts in Thailand. As the habitat of wild elephants keeps shrinking, due to the growth of the human population and its the increase of farmland, human and elephant conflicts are a serious problem in countries such as Thailand. Antoinette has started a project to keep the elephants away from farmland with the use of new and innovative techniques. After years of struggling to save domestic elephants she decided this is not the way to improve the problem of elephants in Thailand. She now focuses on imrpoving the situtation with wild elephants and not only limits herself to Thailand, but also expands her work into Africa. With this film we follow her on her amazing and brave quest.