Rescued elephant herds inexplicably gather to mourn South Africa’s “Elephant Whisperer”

[markpkessinger]

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 Anthony’s 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]

1. This makes me cry. And then I think of the horrible picture of Trump's son

holding the tail of one of these beautiful giant creatures that he shot dead. Thank you for posting this.

[malaise]

2. Lovely

Some animals know.

[jopeli]

17. What a great mystery.

I wonder what happens to the animals souls when they die.

[MsPithy]

29. I have learned from all the animals I have known,

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]

31. I agree with you (nt)

[greiner3]

39. "I have learned from all the animals I have known,"

I have, as long as they don't walk on two legs. Then, it's not a high percentage.

[bvar22]

50. We ALL share the same soul,

....but one has to be willing to listen.
Fear, anger, arrogance, and greed can block this union.

One Love!

[jopeli]

51. About the human soul

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]

60. Remote viewing? Astral travel? Puh-leeze...

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]

55. If they have not lived

good lives they are reborn as people.

[Pachamama]

3. Wow!

[Fantastic Anarchist]

4. Amazing! Thanks for posting. n/t

[Gregorian]

5. Born Free.

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]

6. I will never forget my own encounter with wild African elephants

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]

7. Amazing that his mama didn't come charging you!

You must have been what she considered a "safe" distance away...

[mainer]

43. No, she "knew" we were safe.

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]

44. Ah, thank you for letting me know. I have never been to Africa. That sounds like a wonderful

experience!

[stevenleser]

64. The elephants in Kenya and Tanzania would not have put up with that.

We were charged a couple of times in our van/bus.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

65. I'm envious of the experiences that both of you must have had

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]

66. Our guides backed off immediately, so the 'charge' was probably a few yards at most. Still...

... 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]

69. Yes, the trumpeting is frightening!

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]

8. Du rec. Nt

[arthritisR_US]

9. Awww, this so warms my heart and

brings tears to my eyes. Animals are so wonderful and I have a special love for elephants.

[yellerpup]

10. Animals other than ourselves

are vastly under rated in intelligence and heart. Elephants never forget. Thanks for this exceptional story.

[freshwest]

11. “Every animal knows more than you do.”—Native American Proverb

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]

12. K&R

Read the article!

[auspicious]

13. Its true what my grandmother used to say

An Elephant never forgets

[lastlib]

22. UNless they're the repuglican kind.....

...Whatever they forget, they just make up their own facts about....

[tanyev]

42. It's terrible that such a magnificent animal is the GOP mascot.

The bedbug would be much more appropriate.

[mazzarro]

45. 100% In Agreement Here -- n/t

[CrispyQ]

49. So true!

IMO, there's nothing cuter on this planet than a baby elephant.

[stonecutter357]

14. K&R...

[tabatha]

15. Apt that he named it reserve Thula Thula

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]

26. Beautiful! Thanks for posting these vids!!! ;-) n/t

[The Wielding Truth]

52. Lovely. I liked the top one best. Wish I could hear it song by a native mom.

[tabatha]

56. Here, by the most famous native mom of all, Miriam Makeba.

and another by native singers

[The Wielding Truth]

62. Ahhh thanks.

[tclambert]

16. A little bird told them. In other words, they heard it via twitter.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

19. You joke, but that's probably the truth about the little bird.

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]

18. Things like this

reinforce the idea that all things are connected and interdependent.

[azul]

20. Wasn't it only a short time ago that it was determined

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]

41. Yes, elephants communicate via low frequency sound

"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]

21. One person is given as the source for this story

I'm skeptical.

[Lasher]

32. I'm with you, David.

Looks like a myth to me.

[KT2000]

33. here is another link

http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/wildlife-guru-dies-wild-elephants-visit-site-1.1251681

[DavidDvorkin]

35. This one quotes a different source for the story, but this source wasn't there

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]

37. It is strange.

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]

57. And neither story has any photographs of this phenomenon.

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]

58. One of the articles has a photo of elephants walking in a line in the bush

We're told that they were on their way to the dead man's house. Uh huh.

[MineralMan]

59. I don't think so. Really I don't.

I'm not sure why this was written, but it doesn't have the ring of truth in it.

[immoderate]

34. I too.

Some corroboration would be welcome.

--imm

[snagglepuss]

23. A wonderful wonderful story. Thank you so much for posting it.

[Ruby the Liberal]

24. Incredible story. Thanks for sharing.

[DeSwiss]

27. Fantastic!!! K&R n/t

[BootinUp]

28. A little bird whispered it in their ear?

Just a guess, lol.

[MNBrewer]

30. amazing creatures. So sensitive!

[Marrah_G]

36. Elephants are truly mysterious creatures

They seem to have a real emotional link to each other and sometimes even to other creatures.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

38. Great Story, the man lived a good life.

Thanks for sharing a story of what love can do.

[NealK]

40. What a great story!

[polly7]

46. Kick for an amazing story.

[The Backlash Cometh]

47. Can't it be more obvious?

We know next to nothing when it comes to the animal world.

[mimitabby]

48. thanks for sharing this post

i just reserved his book at my local library.

[samsingh]

53. i'm boycotting trump because of his idiot son's

who use their wealth to kill innocent animals.

fyi - i did not watch apprentice last night as a direct result of their butchery.

[aptal]

54. Love this story.

I want to get the book.

[Rex]

61. Amazing.

How did they know?

[DisgustipatedinCA]

63. To anyone who liked this story, you're being made fun of in a thread dedicated to making fun of you

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]

67. Unfortunate. I am a natural skeptic but in a case like this, even if it is incorrect, so what?

There is no harm.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

68. that's exactly how I feel about it

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.