Find out how and where the seventh episode of Planet Earth III was filmed and see where human civilisation and the animal kingdom collide.

African Elephant 
Kimana Sanctuary and surrounding areas, Kenya 
A six tonne African bull elephant raiding the tomato crops in Kenya. To stand the best chance of winning fights the bulls need to put on as much weight as possible. Those high up in the dominance hierarchy will gain access to females to mate with. (Image BBC Studios)

Niall Stopford, Researcher: “We chose to film the behaviour using very light-sensitive cameras, rather than with thermal cameras, as we felt the light source of farmers' torches would give a much more immersive and raw feel to the footage, conveying the level of danger when in a field with a frightened elephant at night. We used thermal scopes to track the male elephants from dusk as they set out to raid crops. It was extremely interesting to observe how silently and stealthily a six-tonne elephant can move when it wants to remain undetected. It was also a privilege to work alongside the Big Life Foundation rangers and witness their dedication to reducing human-wildlife conflict by moving huge, bold elephants away from crops using non-lethal means.”

Learn more about Planet Earth III.