A line of elephants approaching the Anthony house
“We must support the dignity of life.”
Lawrence Anthony was a conservationist and author known as “The Elephant Whisperer” who passed away on March 2, 2012.
Anthony, who grew up in rural Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, was known for his unique ability to communicate with and calm traumatized elephants. In his book, The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild, he tells the story of saving the elephant herds, at the request of an animal welfare organization and how he rescued and rehabilitated a group of wild South African elephants who were deemed dangerous and about to be shot.
Anthony concluded the only way he could save these elephants, who were categorized as violent and unruly, was to live with them.
“To save their lives, I would stay with them, feed them, talk to them. But, most importantly, be with them day and night”.
When Anthony died suddenly of a heart attack, a group of elephants he had rescued, who were grazing miles away in different parts of the park, appeared to remember what he had done for them. They gathered together and travelled over 12 hours to reach his house in the South African KwaZuku.
According to Anthony’s son, the herd arrived shortly after his death. They hadn’t visited the compound where Anthony lived for a year and a half, but his son said, “In coming up there on that day of all days, we certainly believe they had sensed it.” They stayed for two days, then departed as silently as they had arrived.
While it’s hard to say how they could have sensed Anthony had died, elephants are known for their grieving rituals, both in the wild and in captivity. According to many researchers, elephants grieve the deaths of their relatives, as when a child or parent dies.
For another look at the emotional bonds elephants may experience with one another, the short documentary link (below) details the experience of two elephants, Shirley and Jenny, who were reunited after over 20 years of being apart. Each had separately known extensive abuse as circus animals. Scarred and crippled, they were finally being saved by Urban Elephant and sent to retire at an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee. They went on to live together for six years before Shirley’s death in 2006, at which time Jenny remained alone in the woods and didn’t eat for two days.
Shirley and Jenny
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My friends, it’s important we let our hearts be emotionally moved. It’s important for us to feel our feelings and to touch each other with tenderness. It’s important for us to experience empathy and compassion and to realize the connection we have with all our fellow humans. Like the elephants, we need to value life and mourn when others are hurt or in need of a helping hand – or be sensitive when a person simply wants someone to stand beside them in support. Considering our current cultural climate, we surely have a lot to learn.
Right now . . . will you please set aside whatever you feel is so important and just take seven minutes to experience the power of connection? Just put down whatever it is you’re working on and click on the link below. You can go back to your busy important life in seven minutes. Our world desperately needs you to awaken and reconnect with what is truly important . . .
Two elephants reunited after 20 years
Many people in our world today have become so hardened and hateful, so focused on themselves, their own agendas and being right, they completely disregard human decency. They are so intent on getting their own way, they purposefully hurt others in the process.
We need to shed those tough external walls that keep us so separate and apart. We need to care for, respect and value one another. The elephants, who have graced this earth much longer than we humans, seem to understand this. Certainly, we have a lot to learn from them. . . But will we?
Many thanks to my good friend Bill Holmes
for sharing this sweet story with us.
