Holiday in the Wild
Netflix has released an unconventional Christmas film that tells the story of an orphaned elephant being rescued in Zambia by a solo-female traveller (Kristin Davis) and her flight pilot (Rob Lowe).
The film follows the journey of Kate, a married woman whose husband leaves her just before they’re due to embark on a second honeymoon. Kate goes ahead with the trip alone, and ends up playing a key role in the rescue of an orphaned Zambian elephant; turning the once-doomed holiday into a truly life-changing trip that spans across the Christmas period.
Conservation Focus
As well as helping to produce this enchanting romantic comedy, Kristin Davis has also been a conservation and wildlife activist since a trip to Kenya in 2009. Kristin has been deeply involved with elephant conservation efforts during this time, making her the perfect person to work on the film both in front of and behind the camera.
Kristin said, “The first thing to say is that this film is like a love letter to everyone I know in conservation, especially to the people who work with elephants to raise them and re-release them into the wild. It’s near and dear to my heart. And it was super-amazing that we got to film it in a way that we did, which was very different than your average Hollywood film with the animals where you’re using trained animals. We didn’t use show-business elephants. We used wild elephants that were rescued, and we never did anything they didn’t want to do.”
The film features the Lilayi Elephant Nursery, a real establishment in Zambia that was set up by Game Rangers International; a Zambian conservationist (NGO). The nursery works with rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned elephants with the hope of reintroducing them into the wild, and it is one of only three of its kind in the world. The nursery is supported by the Department of National Parks and Wildlife, and all fees obtained from visitors are streamed directly back into the operation of the nursery.
Find out more about conservation holidays in Africa >
