Monday, July 16, 2012

"The Elephant Whisperer!!!"


Lawrence Anthony, a legend in South Africa and author of 3 books including the bestseller The Elephant Whisperer, bravely rescued wildlife and rehabilitated elephants all over the globe from human atrocities, including the courageous rescue of Baghdad Zoo animals during US invasion in 2003. 
 
On March 7, 2012 Lawrence Anthony died. He is remembered and missed by his wife, 2 sons, 2 grandsons & numerous elephants. 
 
Two days after his passing, the wild elephants showed up at his home led by two large matriarchs. Separate wild herds arrived in droves to say goodbye to their beloved man-friend.
 
A total of 20 elephants had patiently walked over 12 miles to get to his South African house. Witnessing this spectacle, humans were obviously in awe not only because of the supreme intelligence and precise timing that these elephants sensed about Lawrence 's passing, but also because of the profound memory and emotion the beloved animals evoked in such an organized way:
 
Walking slowly - for days - making their way in a solemn one-by-one queue from their habitat to his house.
 
Lawrence's wife, Francoise,  was especially touched, knowing that the elephants had not been to his house prior to that day for well over a year!  But yet they knew where they were going.
 
 The elephants obviously wanted to pay  their deep respects, honoring  their friend who'd saved their lives - so much respect that they stayed for 2 days 2 nights. Then one morning, they left, making their long journey back home.





Courtesy of John Goodall

"A few years ago, one of my men came running in to the tiger barn and exclaimed, "Wade, something is going on with the elephants.  They are freaking out."  I ran outside to the elephant paddocks and was incredulous at what I saw.  Minnie and Lottie had laid down and were sitting up, Gyp was doing a shake-em-up with Ronnie and Joy waltzing around her.  Nic had pulled the tub used for trimming his feet up to the bar's of his pen and was standing on it doing a trunk foot salute.  Even Billie who normally just tried to whack people was doing a one foot stand in the middle of the pen.  I just couldn't believe it.  I ran for my phone and called John Cuneo.  When John answered the phone he said,  "Oh Wade, I was just going to call you.  I received the terrible new's this morning that Rex Williams has died."   That explained the actions of the elephants.  They knew, given there extra terrestrial, super intelligence that Rex had died and they were giving one last performance in his honor.   You have to believe that, if you are going to believe the nonsense above about a 12 mile trek undertaken by 20 elephants in honor of the "elephant whisperer",  proof being the two photo's posted.  My God, why isolate one "good Samaritan"  to pay "homage" to?  With as many field researchers, scientist's, biologists, etc. etc. and other folks giving a hand, you would think the elephants of Africa would be kept busy almost round the clock forming memorial parades.    I shudder to think what will happen when Iain Douglas-Hamilton dies.  Every elephant, from every corner of Africa will probably show up.  I hope they don't stay for 2 days, and 2 nights, because feeding them would be a big issue.   Even more amazing is there are people in this world who will believe the story above, simply because they want to.  But they won't believe the story about the circus elephants paying homage to Rex Williams, because they don't want to.   That's why fact's are not necessary in an animal right's agenda.  Folks don't need facts.  They just need to be told what they want to hear, and it is a simple matter to make it up as you go."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

from Jim Stockley:

What a load of crap people will believe!

"A total of 20 elephants had patiently walked over 12 miles .... Walking slowly - for days - making their way .... "

They must have been walking in bloody circles if 12 miles took them days!

Wonder if being a Scientologist helped with the 'whispering'?

I heard Lawrence was stuttering more than whispering the day the big bull elephant flipped his Land Rover over with him in it! Deaf elephants, huh? Didn't hear the whispers.

Anonymous said...

from Jim Stockley:

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Enraged-elephant-flipped-car-20070815

Enraged elephant flipped car
2007-08-15 21:33

Johannesburg - "The enraged bull elephant came at us from nowhere in a full-blooded charge. He hammered the front of the vehicle and drove us backwards into the bush."

Renowned conservationist Lawrence Anthony recounted how he and his friends were attacked by an enraged bull elephant.

Anthony and two friends were on a night drive at the Thula Thula game reserve near Empangeni in KwaZulu-Natal when the animal attacked them.

He said: "The elephant then backed off, swung around to the left and before I could move, he charged at the passenger side, crushing the doors and smashing the vehicle right over onto its side."

'He trumpeted and stomped around'

Anthony said his two passengers fell on top of him and the animal attacked again.

"He charged again, and with incredible fury literally smashed the vehicle over onto its roof popping out the windows and windscreen. He continued to pound at us until the vehicle fell back on its side.

"He was trumpeting and stomping around completely enraged, but thankfully he had driven the passenger compartment into a thicket and he couldn't reach us."

Anthony said he managed to get his pistol and fired shots into the air. He screamed at the elephant until it backed off.

"I then started talking calmly to him as he came back and reached in at us with his trunk, and then his ears came down and he backed off and stood there looking at us," said Anthony.

He said a herd of elephants arrived and mulled around. Eventually the elephant walked off with them.

Anthony managed to fix the radio, which had been smashed and called the rangers who came to fetch them.

"Amazingly, no one was hurt."

Anthony, a South African born in Durban, is the founder of The Earth Organisation.

He is best known for rescuing animals in the Baghdad Zoo during the Coalition forces' invasion.

- SAPA