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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRescued elephant herds inexplicably gather to mourn South Africa’s “Elephant Whisperer”
Amazing story!
For 12 hours, two herds of wild South African elephants slowly made their way through the Zululand bush until they reached the house of late author Lawrence Anthony, the conservationist who had saved their lives.
The formerly violent, rogue elephants, destined to be shot a few years ago as pests, had been rescued and rehabilitated by Anthony, who had grown up in the bush and was known as the Elephant Whisperer.
For two days the herds loitered at Anthonys rural compound on the vast Thula Thula game reserve to say good-bye to the man they loved. But how did they know he had died March 7?
< . . . >
They had not visited the house for a year and a half and it must have taken them about 12 hours to make the journey, Dylan is quoted in various local news accounts. The first herd arrived on Sunday and the second herd, a day later. They all hung around for about two days before making their way back into the bush.
Read more: http://blog.beliefnet.com/news/2012/03/rescued-wild-elephant-herds-inexplicably-gather-to-mourn-lawrence-anthony-south-africas-elephant-whisperer.php#ixzz1qA5byxCn
K Gardner
(14,933 posts)holding the tail of one of these beautiful giant creatures that he shot dead. Thank you for posting this.
malaise
(269,256 posts)Some animals know.
jopeli
(8 posts)I wonder what happens to the animals souls when they die.
MsPithy
(809 posts)that they either have exactly the same "souls" as we have, or none of us, humans nor animals have souls. Whoever told you that human souls were different or animals do not have souls was lying.
Tumbulu
(6,292 posts)greiner3
(5,214 posts)I have, as long as they don't walk on two legs. Then, it's not a high percentage.
bvar22
(39,909 posts)....but one has to be willing to listen.
Fear, anger, arrogance, and greed can block this union.
One Love!
jopeli
(8 posts)How come people can stand outside of their body and see not only their own body, but also everything that is happening in another room.
Before having an opinion you need first to investigate the matter.The soul is the real you.The body is just a shell.
Johnny Rico
(1,438 posts)Whenever remote viewing or any other "paranormal" abilities are investigated by methods that preclude fraud, they invariably stop working.
As for "souls", I've never seen the slightest scientifically verifiable evidence that such things exist.
sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)good lives they are reborn as people.
Pachamama
(16,887 posts)Fantastic Anarchist
(7,309 posts)Gregorian
(23,867 posts)It pains me to think that people don't see the intelligence of animals other than the human. What a world it really is.
mainer
(12,037 posts)A baby -- ears so big he looked like he might trip over them -- came running up to our jeep and did a little dance for us. Just for us. The rest of the herd just stood around and watched, seemingly amused. The baby's older sibling (?) then came up behind the baby and kept pushing it toward us, as if to say, 'Go on, show-off. Get closer!"
I still have video of the event, and it warms my heart every time I see it.
CTyankee
(63,926 posts)You must have been what she considered a "safe" distance away...
mainer
(12,037 posts)The baby was close enough for us to practically touch.
This was in a South African game reserve where the elephants have come to understand that people in jeeps are not a threat.
But if you step out of the jeep, that gets them nervous and is dangerous.
CTyankee
(63,926 posts)experience!
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)We were charged a couple of times in our van/bus.
DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)I'd love to go on a safari one of these days. I'd rent the longest lens I could afford to rent and I'd be blissful at the chance to take pictures of these animals. The charging does sound a little scary though.
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)... I was scared each time. The adult elephants could have crushed our vehicles easily. You can feel that and their brief warning charges are something you feel in every cell of your body.
mainer
(12,037 posts)But we had stopped some ways away from the herd, which was crossing the road. There were a few cars in line, mostly game park employees who had places to get to, but when elephants are on the road, you have to be patient and wait for them to move. The elephants are very familiar with park jeeps, and the adults pretty much ignored us. But the baby seemed so excited and curious to see these vehicles, and came rushing right up to us as if to say hello. The adults didn't seem concerned at all.
xchrom
(108,903 posts)arthritisR_US
(7,300 posts)brings tears to my eyes. Animals are so wonderful and I have a special love for elephants.
yellerpup
(12,254 posts)are vastly under rated in intelligence and heart. Elephants never forget. Thanks for this exceptional story.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Everyone has those moments.
Like before the phone rings, and you start thinking of that person out of the blue.
And there they are on the line, seconds before it rang.
The elephants just knew, and they are known for going to visit the bones of their dead, as well.
burrowowl
(17,654 posts)Read the article!
auspicious
(13 posts)An Elephant never forgets
lastlib
(23,356 posts)...Whatever they forget, they just make up their own facts about....
tanyev
(42,663 posts)The bedbug would be much more appropriate.
mazzarro
(3,450 posts)IMO, there's nothing cuter on this planet than a baby elephant.
stonecutter357
(12,698 posts)tabatha
(18,795 posts)Thula Thula. meaning 'peace and tranquillity' in Zulu - he had a peaceful way with animals.
Tula Tula baba, a classic South African lullaby.
Lullaby "Thula Baba"
DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)The Wielding Truth
(11,415 posts)tabatha
(18,795 posts)and another by native singers
The Wielding Truth
(11,415 posts)tclambert
(11,087 posts)YellowRubberDuckie
(19,736 posts)I believe animals know things we don't. And Elephants are especially in tune with each other and those they love. They mourn their dead too. They will carry bones around with them and wail. It is quite sad to watch. I watched something on TV about it. Can't remember what it was exactly.
yesphan
(1,588 posts)reinforce the idea that all things are connected and interdependent.
azul
(1,638 posts)that elephants speak over long distances in very low frequency, like whales?
These elephants show more respect for life than do many humans, IMHO.
God bless you Mr. Anthony, and thank you for treating these creatures with the kindness of which people are capable, but somehow have mostly just forgotten.
ProgressiveATL
(50 posts)"elephants communicate over long distances using low-pitched sounds that are barely audible to humans."
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp/elephant/sections/dictionary/eletalk.html
http://www.physorg.com/news4211.html
http://uvamagazine.org/features/article/elephant_speak/
DavidDvorkin
(19,504 posts)I'm skeptical.
Response to DavidDvorkin (Reply #21)
KT2000 This message was self-deleted by its author.
Lasher
(27,661 posts)Looks like a myth to me.
KT2000
(20,601 posts)DavidDvorkin
(19,504 posts)And it all comes back again to Dylan, the son. He seems to be the source of the story. I gather that he also now runs the place. With this story, he's getting great publicity.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. All we seem to have in this case is the claim.
KT2000
(20,601 posts)I checked the Wiki page for Lawrence Anthony and they had started the sentence about after his death and the elephants and then it stopped. Either they did not remove it all or did not finish writing it.
Who knows. He sounds like an astounding person no matter if the elephants visited or not.
MineralMan
(146,345 posts)The photos at the Beliefnet story are all old ones from the time when the person was still alive. I'm very skeptical of this.
DavidDvorkin
(19,504 posts)We're told that they were on their way to the dead man's house. Uh huh.
MineralMan
(146,345 posts)I'm not sure why this was written, but it doesn't have the ring of truth in it.
immoderate
(20,885 posts)Some corroboration would be welcome.
--imm
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)Ruby the Liberal
(26,219 posts)DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)BootinUp
(47,209 posts)Just a guess, lol.
MNBrewer
(8,462 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)They seem to have a real emotional link to each other and sometimes even to other creatures.
AnotherDreamWeaver
(2,852 posts)Thanks for sharing a story of what love can do.
NealK
(1,893 posts)polly7
(20,582 posts)The Backlash Cometh
(41,358 posts)We know next to nothing when it comes to the animal world.
mimitabby
(1,832 posts)i just reserved his book at my local library.
samsingh
(17,602 posts)who use their wealth to kill innocent animals.
fyi - i did not watch apprentice last night as a direct result of their butchery.
aptal
(304 posts)I want to get the book.
Rex
(65,616 posts)How did they know?
DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)Apparently, if you're a skeptic, you not only get to be skeptical, but you also get to make fun of the people who liked the story, people who were touched by the story.
For the record, I don't know if I believe it or not, but I don't like having a DU forum specifically designed to permit its denizens to make fun of what others believe.
Nonetheless, there are two posters who have participated in this thread who are actively making fun of you in another thread, in the skeptics group. They say this group has special privileges to make fun of anyone who doesn't share their belief system, and based on my rejected alert, they may be right. Anyway, I wanted you to be aware that some very base people are keeping their nose clean in this thread while making fun of you in the clubhouse they made for making fun of people.
thank you.
stevenleser
(32,886 posts)There is no harm.
DisgustipatedinCA
(12,530 posts)I'm a skeptic in general, but this hits on one of my personal central tenets as a liberal--don't be mean to people who don't have it coming. It's a story that makes people feel good, and by the way, it might just be true. If the particular story is apocryphal, there are other stories like it that aren't (the story of a whale rescued from a net off of San Francisco comes to mind, but there are others too).
Anyway, thank you for the reply.