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Tolstoy the Tomato Thief is the story of an unlikely friendship between the son of a tomato farmer and his sworn enemy, a large bull elephant named Tolstoy…
Tolstoy is one of the only 24 remaining Tuskers in the world, the last of the majestic elephants with unique genes that produce tusks weighing over 100 lbs each, so long they drag on the ground. After evading extinction from ivory poachers, Tolstoy and his herd continue to live in the shade of iconic Mt. Kilimanjaro.
From a distance, his is a postcard life under a postcard mountain - but every Eden has it’s forbidden fruit.
Tolstoy is a 50-year-old Tusker with an attitude. He was raised with his uncle and best friend, Tim, the gentlest Tusker in Kenya. By Tim's side, he grew up in a wild Africa, where animals outnumbered people, and the Maasai nomads kept to themselves.
But just over a decade ago, developers paved a road, attracting more and more people. The speed of development confuses Tolstoy. He watches humans zip by in new cars and motorcycles, and build farms next to his wetlands, growing fresh tomatoes that he is forbidden from enjoying. He's been speared by angry tomato farmers and a misguided veterinarian clipped off his tusk tips several years ago. Still a Tusker, he is now forever distinguished by this human-caused flaw.
Now that Tim is gone, we will watch Tolstoy learn to adapt to his new life - while Tim's "ghost" recounts their unique tomato capers. Like humans, elephants never forget their dead, and Tim's presence will illuminate, in an imaginative way, elephant behavior, emotional intelligence, and lifelong devotion to their family and friends.
A young boy, Kibaki, lives on his family's farm on the outskirts of Kimana town. To him, Tolstoy isn't a majestic Tusker, he's a pest. If the elephants keep destroying his family's crop, Kibaki won't be able to afford school. His emotional arc will start with fear and hatred and ultimately resolve with love and respect, and wanting to live side by side with the elephants. Through Kibaki, we'll see how villagers are impacted by wildlife, and that elephants aren't the only vulnerable locals. Along the way, Tolstoy and Kibaki are aided by Maasai tribe members and conservationists.
Will Richard Bonham's Big Life team be able to finish fencing their elephant corridors? And will elephant researcher Katito be able to teach the next generation of children to cherish the Tuskers before they are gone for good?
