Soul of the Elephant
Released in 2015, Soul of the Elephant is the 16th movie by the award-winning filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert. The adventurous couple has been making films, protecting wildlife, and preserving habitat in Botswana for over 30 years. We are big fans of the Jouberts. Their films, photography and dedication to conservation inspired us before we traveled through southern Africa conducting research for our first book, Travels with Gannon & Wyatt: Botswana. Truth is, the Jouberts' work still inspires us today.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRd5fFcr7R0That is why we were shocked and saddened to learn that the couple was recently attacked by a Cape Buffalo. According to reports, the couple was walking to dinner at their camp in the Okavango Delta when a buffalo charged from the bushes. Dereck suffered broken ribs and a fractured hip, but his wife's injuries were far more serious. She was trampled and gored by the buffalo. The horn shattered bones and came within millimeters of rupturing a major artery. For eleven long hours Dereck remained by her side doing all he could to keep her alive while they waited for medical help. At the hospital, Beverly underwent reconstructive surgery and spent five-weeks in intensive care. The fact that she survived is a miracle.
But you can't keep these good explorers down. After leaving the hospital, they took to social media, writing: “We are sharper, more focused and resolute to do what we can to change a version of the future where there are no buffalo, no wildlife, no rhinos to save, no lions...because the wildlife of the world is in a similarly traumatic phase, (in the ICU) and if we don’t perform emergency interventions we will all be writing obituaries about nature.”We at Travels with Gannon & Wyatt send our best to you, Dereck and Beverly, and want to thank you sincerely for all that you do to protect wildlife and help make the world a better place.You can learn more about the Jouberts' films and conservation work at Wildlife Films.Warning: films contain graphic wildlife footage that may be upsetting to some viewers.