South African conservationist Lawrence Anthony’s first book ‘Babylon’s Ark,’ detailed his involvement in saving the threatened animals at Baghdad Zoo. This moving book is currently being made into a major movie, while further good news for fans is that Anthony's second book - ‘The Elephant Whisperer - Learning About Life, Loyalty and Freedom From a Remarkable Herd of Elephants’ - is no less touching and engaging. The Elephant Whisperer details Anthony’s efforts to save a herd of rogue elephants. Anthony was asked to take the herd onto his game farm at Thula Thula because they were wreaking havoc in the reserve they were in. Anthony was warned the elephants were expert escape artists meaning they had become a public danger. Authorities informed him the herd would be shot if he could not ensure they remained within the boundaries of Thula Thula.
The book describes Anthony’s battle to bond with these elephants as he desperately strives to prevent their execution. To do so, Anthony risks life and limb as he builds up a relationship with the troublesome herd, primarily the matriarch named Nana. Anthony discovered these intelligent animals had been traumatised and were enormously distrustful of people. But he was convinced that if he managed to get the matriarch to trust at least one human again, the entire herd would settle down. In the end, Anthony was proved correct as he formed a surprising relationship with this particular herd of elephants - something most experts predicted could not be done. Anthony stresses in his introduction that the term ‘elephant whisperer’ is not a self-description, but rather it is “about the elephants - it was they who whispered to me and taught me how to listen.” In this compelling personal account, filled with numerous anecdotes both humorous and poignant, Anthony describes how the elephants he set out to save actually did more for him in return as they taught everyone at Thula Thula to embrace life and love more wholly.
Anthony makes several references to the immense, almost mystical, intelligence of the ‘Ellies’ and also their extended emotional networks and communication abilities. Some of his accounts seem rather incredible, and as are yet without scientific backing, but after all, who are we to disbelieve tales backed up by numerous fellow rangers and conservationists? Instead, just as Anthony emphasises, we should be humbled by the majestic dignity and deep connectedness displayed by these animals.
The book is filled with alluring descriptions of sights, sounds and smells that draw you right into the African bush. I found myself immersed in the tales of a master storyteller, feeling his desperation and exhaustion when the elephants escaped soon after arriving at Thula Thula, relating to his profound respect for these magnificent animals, and becoming caught up in the daily dangers and excitement of being a game ranger. As many people attest, being in the African bush can be quite a spiritual experience. Viewing wild animals in their natural habitat is hugely enriching, and if nothing else, this book stands as a stark reminder just how much humanity would lose if great herds such as these should disappear forever at the hands of poachers or the increasing urban sprawl.
This warm and charming narrative gives the elephants a voice, a chance to whisper their magic into our hearts and awaken us to the vital importance of conserving both the environment and the animals which live within it. As Anthony himself writes:
“Perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that there are no walls between humans and the elephants except those we put up ourselves and that until we allow not only elephants, but all living creatures their place in the sun, we can never be whole ourselves”.