The elephants came for the funeral

It is Wednesday morning in Newark, Ohio, 12/26/2012, I am looking out at freezing rain and snow, possible  blizzard on the way, a lot of snow, due to the rain, snow and wind,, we will probably lose power, so I have flashlights, battery lights and candles ready. The thermos is filled with coffee, water jugs in freezer are frozen, the bathtub is full of water (so we can flush the toilet), so animal stories warm my heart. I know it took a long time to get there, so excuse all the wordage. 

In case you needed another reason to care about wildlife, here’s one: If you devote your life to elephants, they might come to your funeral. Or anyway that seems to be what happened for conservationist and “elephant whisperer” Lawrence Anthony, who died in March. A few days after his death, two herds of elephants filed through the bush to their friend’s home, where they appeared to stand vigil for two days, according to Anthony’s family.

Anthony had spent time living with the elephants, in order to care for traumatized animals who were considered violent and unruly. But at the time of his death, of a heart attack, Anthony was living in a house on the Thula Thula game reserve in South Africa. The park’s elephants hadn't visited the house in a year and a half, but Anthony’s son Dylan says that the herds, from all over the park, traveled 12 hours to arrive shortly after his father’s death. They stayed for two days, and quietly left.

Elephants are well-known for their grieving rituals when family members die. If they thought of Anthony as a sort of tiny, weird-nosed cousin — and why wouldn't they, since he lived with and cared for them?

Amazing Story of Respect .... by Elephants

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.