Channel 4 announces new 3-part series “Walking With Elephants”

14 January 2020

Channel 4 today announces new series Walking with Elephants, produced by October Films. The 3x60’ series will follow Levison Wood, passionate explorer, conservationist, author and presenter of “Walking the Nile” and “Walking the Americas”, on a totally new kind of adventure.  Led by the elephants themselves, rather than a compass or a map, this series promises to be Lev’s wildest and most thrilling journey yet as he treks alongside these magnificent animals on their annual migration across Botswana.

Each year, thousands of elephants head to the Okavango Delta, to feed on its lush vegetation, in one of biggest natural events on Earth.  Levison will travel over 650 miles, following the elephants on their epic migratory route by foot to gain brand new insight into this still mysterious journey – one that the elephants have done for millennia, but which no person has done on foot.

It's a journey fraught with risks and dangers and one that is increasingly seeing the elephants coming under threats both natural and man made. Along the way, Levison will work with local trackers and anti-poaching units to give us unprecedented access and insight to the dangers these resilient animals must overcome, including poachers, predatory wildlife and dehydration to arrive at their final destination.

Following the migration route from the salt pans of the Kalahari Desert where the epic journey begins to the nutrient rich lands of the Okavango Delta, the visually stunning series Walking with Elephants gives us a deeper understanding than ever before of the majestic elephants of Botswana.  

Levison Wood says: “Walking with these magnificent animals was a dream come true. It was an opportunity to really understand up close how this remarkable species survives against the odds. Spending time with local Botswanans provided a fascinating insight into the lives of communities that live alongside the elephants and who have to deal with the difficult consequences of life on the frontline of human-wildlife conflict.”

WALKING WITH ELEPHANTS is an October Films production for Channel 4. The Series Producer is Alexis Girardet and Executive Producer is October Films Managing Director Adam Bullmore. The Commissioning Editors for Channel 4 are Gilly Greenslade and Daniel Fromm.

 

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For more information, contact Mark Ogle, OH Communications:

mark@ohcommunications.co.uk / +44 (0) 7789 981 561

October Films is an award-winning, innovative television production company and one of the fastest-growing and truly independent production companies in the UK and US. We are experts in unique and powerful story-led content. From specialist factual, factual drama, hard-hitting current affairs and documentary to reality and entertainment, we aim high. Our work has earned us over 100 prestigious awards worldwide. October’s recent shows include:  This is Football (Amazon Prime), Jesy Nelson: Odd One Out (BBC 1), How the Victorians Built Britain (Channel 5), Journey in the Danger Zone: Iraq (BBC 2), Eight Days That Made Rome (Channel 5), Can Science Make Me Perfect? With Alice Roberts (BBC 4), Home Alone (Investigation Discovery) From Russia To Iran: Crossing The Wild Frontier (Channel 4), Dangerous Borders (BBC2), Motorheads (BBC Brit), David Jason’s Secret Service (Channel 4), The Bulger Killers: Was Justice Done? (Channel 4); and Annie: Out of the Ashes (BBC3). The company is currently in production on multiple series for Channel 4, the BBC, Investigation Discovery, Science Channel and other platforms and networks worldwide.

Channel 4 is a publicly-owned yet commercially-funded public service broadcaster and has a remit to be innovative, experimental and distinctive. Its public ownership and not-for-profit status ensure all profit generated by its commercial activity is directly reinvested back into the delivery of its public service remit.

As a publisher-broadcaster, Channel 4 is also required to commission UK content from the independent production sector and currently works with around 300 creative companies across the UK every year.

In addition to the main Channel 4 service, its portfolio includes: E4, More4, Film4, 4seven, Channel4.com, streaming service All 4 and The Box Plus Network, including 4Music.