Original Netflix documentary "The Ivory Game" goes inside the illegal ivory trade to put Africa's elephant poaching crisis back on the agenda.
The Ivory Game —
Original Netflix documentary "The Ivory Game" goes inside the illegal ivory trade to put Africa's elephant poaching crisis back on the agenda.
Richard Ladkani/Netflix
According to this undercover documentary, ivory trade is responsible for the slaughter of 35,000 elephants each year. Pictured: two elephants walk in the Amboseli game reserve in Kenya.
The Ivory Game —
According to this undercover documentary, ivory trade is responsible for the slaughter of 35,000 elephants each year. Pictured: two elephants walk in the Amboseli game reserve in Kenya.
TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images
"The Ivory Game" traces the bloody paper trail of of illegal ivory as it moves between Africa and Asia. Pictured: Kenya Wildlife Services ranger guards an ivory haul in August 2010.
The Ivory Game —
"The Ivory Game" traces the bloody paper trail of of illegal ivory as it moves between Africa and Asia. Pictured: Kenya Wildlife Services ranger guards an ivory haul in August 2010.
Tony Karumba/AFP/Getty Images
The feature-length documentary is directed by Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson and executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Ivory Game —
The feature-length documentary is directed by Richard Ladkani and Kief Davidson and executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images North America/Getty Images for J/P HRO
During filming directors Ladkani (pictured) and Davidson often went undercover to expose illegal practices, placing themselves in imminent danger.
The Ivory Game —
During filming directors Ladkani (pictured) and Davidson often went undercover to expose illegal practices, placing themselves in imminent danger.
Tobias Corts/Netflix/
While both Ladkani and Davidson (pictured) have footholds in Africa, before filming neither had experienced the sight of a dead, decaying elephant.
The Ivory Game —
While both Ladkani and Davidson (pictured) have footholds in Africa, before filming neither had experienced the sight of a dead, decaying elephant.
Anne Ackermann/Netflix
"You can't really be prepared. What actually throws you off, what everyone forgets to mention, is the smell," says Ladkani. "It gets in your clothes. It stays with you for two weeks, you can't get rid of it." Pictured: Wild Aid Ambassador Yao Ming looks at the carcass of an elephant in Samburu, Kenya in August 2012.
The Ivory Game —
"You can't really be prepared. What actually throws you off, what everyone forgets to mention, is the smell," says Ladkani. "It gets in your clothes. It stays with you for two weeks, you can't get rid of it." Pictured: Wild Aid Ambassador Yao Ming looks at the carcass of an elephant in Samburu, Kenya in August 2012.
SIMON MAINA/AFP/GettyImages
It can take days for a task force to find an elephant carcass as the reserves are vast. <br />A broken-up elephant skeleton minus its tusks is pictured in Kora National Park, Kenya in January 2013.
The Ivory Game —
It can take days for a task force to find an elephant carcass as the reserves are vast.
A broken-up elephant skeleton minus its tusks is pictured in Kora National Park, Kenya in January 2013.
AFP/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
Sometimes poachers even hack off the elephant's entire face with an axe or machete to retrieve its valuable tusks. Pictured: an elephant at the Amboseli game reserve, Kenya in December 2012.
The Ivory Game —
Sometimes poachers even hack off the elephant's entire face with an axe or machete to retrieve its valuable tusks. Pictured: an elephant at the Amboseli game reserve, Kenya in December 2012.
TONY KARUMBA/AFP/AFP/Getty Images
"It's a horrific sight, and something that stays with you," says Ladkani. "But what's more powerful and gets you more emotional is seeing the faces of the guys we were filming... for them it's like a lost child." Pictured: an elephant at the Mashatu game reserve in Botswana, July 2010.
The Ivory Game —
"It's a horrific sight, and something that stays with you," says Ladkani. "But what's more powerful and gets you more emotional is seeing the faces of the guys we were filming... for them it's like a lost child." Pictured: an elephant at the Mashatu game reserve in Botswana, July 2010.
Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Ivory traders actually want elephants to go extinct, as this would hike up the price and demand for "white gold", explains Craig Millar of the Big Life Foundation.<br />Pictured: elephants at the Amboseli game reserve, Kenya in December 2012.
The Ivory Game —
Ivory traders actually want elephants to go extinct, as this would hike up the price and demand for "white gold", explains Craig Millar of the Big Life Foundation.
Pictured: elephants at the Amboseli game reserve, Kenya in December 2012.
Tony Karumba/Getty Images
"The less elephants there are, the more the price rises; the more the price rises, the more people want to kill them. And this is an ever ongoing circle," says Millar. Pictured: a young orphaned elephant is taken for a walk at Tony Fitzjohn's Mkomazi rhino sanctury in Mkomazi, Tanzania in June 2012.
The Ivory Game —
"The less elephants there are, the more the price rises; the more the price rises, the more people want to kill them. And this is an ever ongoing circle," says Millar. Pictured: a young orphaned elephant is taken for a walk at Tony Fitzjohn's Mkomazi rhino sanctury in Mkomazi, Tanzania in June 2012.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
In the documentary the directors were able to reveal the destination of a large amount of African ivory. Pictured: a police officer documents illegal ornaments and tusks found in the possession of Chinese nationals in Nairobi, Kenya, in January 2013.
The Ivory Game —
In the documentary the directors were able to reveal the destination of a large amount of African ivory. Pictured: a police officer documents illegal ornaments and tusks found in the possession of Chinese nationals in Nairobi, Kenya, in January 2013.
TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images
As Netflix does not operate in China, the directors are seeking alternative avenues to broadcast "The Ivory Game" and make it part of the national conversation.
The Ivory Game —
As Netflix does not operate in China, the directors are seeking alternative avenues to broadcast "The Ivory Game" and make it part of the national conversation.
Tobias Corts/Netflix
For director Kief Davidson, it is imperative that the Chinese educate themselves about where ivory really comes from. He hopes "The Ivory Game" will have a massive and immediate impact. Pictured : elephants in Mara North Conservancy, July 2014.
The Ivory Game —
For director Kief Davidson, it is imperative that the Chinese educate themselves about where ivory really comes from. He hopes "The Ivory Game" will have a massive and immediate impact. Pictured : elephants in Mara North Conservancy, July 2014.
Paul Goldsteing/Rex Features