Ghost Elephants

"Ghost Elephants" is a captivating, illuminating and well-shot documentary about elusive creatures and the people dedicated to finding them. Werner Herzog’s latest film is a fascinating exploration of this vast region and its spectacular inhabitants.

Ghost Elephants had high expectations since by National Geographic and directed by Werner Herzog. Unfortunately, watching the movie was one of the most disappointing and unprofessionally done documentaries that I have watched over the past 10 years. While there are nice ethnographical parts of the local people, the scientific part regarding the "ghost elephants" was most unprofessionally done and lacked advise and guidance by competent scientists. Instead of the failed and naive dart sampling approach to collect DNA samples from thick elephant skin and the associated unnecessary unethical disturbance of these shy remaining animals, focusing on only fecal dung sample DNA collection should have been done. Hence instead of a Hollywood drama-type movie script of an obsessed loner scientist trying to find these elusive elephants by outdated methods of the 1980s, Werner Herzog should have used proper scientific contemporary approaches like using drone thermo-imaging from the air at night to locate the shy elephants and subsequently focus entirely on collecting dung samples for DNA collection! Furthermore, a film on "ghost elephants" hardly showed any documentation of real elephants in the wild, other than a few poorly done shots in amateur style of two elephants hidden in the bush and extended filming of an elephant trophy in a museum. Instead, the drama-baiting movie focused on the obsession of a loner scientist with contradictory stories that he presented in the film. In summary, a most scientifically disappointing and embarrassing National Geographic "documentary" - more like a drama-baiting Hollywood movie script.