The Last Animals

My husband and I saw this film at the Waimea Ocean Film Festival last year. I think it was beautifully done and it is very SAD. Human kind is STUPID and gullible and greedy. Life on this, our one and only earth, is being driven to extinction.

The Last Animals is about the poaching and killing of rhinos and elephants. Right off the bat, the documentary is graphic and very shocking. I was stunned at how much it had shocked me. The story follows around Kate Brooks as she explores the deep underbelly of the African black market and the need for ivory. Brooks does a very good job at explaining why the demand for ivory is so high, and how getting it from rhinoceri have caused some species to nearly go extinct. The documentary is primarily focused on the Northern White Rhino, with only 5 remaining left in the population. Brooks did an excellent job at showcasing how dangerous it is for the park service men to stop poachers. A good chunk of the documentary focuses on that. The documentary is overall a sad, but true message that needs to be heard.

Great film but I do not agree with a scene in a movie where this lady watches them cut the horn of the Rhino and no one stopped it. I do not agree with killing nor removing the horns of these animals. Those who say they take care of these animals but remove their horn as just as bad as the killers

Excellently produced and narrated! A compelling watch delivering a stark warning that time has almost run out for more and more of the most magnificent animals that share our planet with us. Whilst we, endlessly greedy humans either actively contribute to this irreversible disaster or are too shortsighted and self obsessed to realise what an incredible, irreversible, tragic loss this would be to our planet and to ourselves. An absolute must watch!

I saw this documentary at the Bend Film Festival and highly recommend it. The filmmaker, Kate Brooks, is a photojournalist who traveled to SE Asia, Africa (DRC, Tanzania, etc), Switzerland and elsewhere to examine the problem of elephant and rhino poaching. The cinematography is superb, Brooks gets so up close and personal with the park rangers, poachers, and ivory vendors that you feel like you're right there with her.

Brooks follows the story of how poachers have caused the extinction of the Northern White Rhino, and makes a powerful case that if we don't act now, elephants could also someday become extinct. The film gives the viewer a chance to meet people who are trying to protect these animals along with those who are poaching them. It's not overly preachy but the visual evidence of the poaching carnage often speaks for itself.