08/31/2025
I’ve always loved elephants, even after the year I told my 3rd grade class that they were my favorite wild animal, and every holiday gift that followed was an elephant!! 😂 Today I listened to the most beautiful anecdote about them. I wanted to share. Apparently, there was this man in Africa, Lawrence Anthony that had an animal sanctuary. He was known as the Elephant Whisperer. The story goes that there was this herd of elephants that had lost their matriarch and they were wreaking havoc all over town. The townspeople were done with them, and Lawrence was afraid they would take their anger to the next level. Lawrence Anthony took them in to his sanctuary to protect them, but every night they would tear down the fences of their enclosure and escape. Anthony was worried sick. He knew poachers were waiting to hunt them down at the first possible chance. Anthony was so desperate that he tried something unconventional. He started yelling out to the new matriarch, Nana, explaining everything that could happen to them if they went out. Miraculously, the elephants stopped trying to escape. They actually calmed down and after some time were eventually released back into the bush. Years later after having no contact with that herd, Lawrence had a heart attack and died. A month later the herd appeared at the reserve and encircled his home. They stayed 2 days as if inexplicably honoring the memory of this great man. Elephants are known to honor the dead. I built on the layer from yesterday by painting this most formidable, intuitive, and sensitive creature. He reminds me to take up space in the best way possible, to honor the connections I have made throughout my life despite distance and time, and to love deeply. 💖🐘✌🏻🌎
