My Old Ignorance of the Elephant Spirit

I read the book the Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony, and was so moved, awed and shocked by the interactions and society of the elephants including their long-distance communication and ESP-type perception. The book is an autobiography of Anthony's chapter in life of saving a unruly herd of elephants that required many sleepless nights camping by an enclosure (a boma) to

stay close to the distrustful group as they got accustomed to their new place and to him. He spoke to them often so they would feel his intentions after a time. He spared no expense to build a serious fence to protect them from poachers and from villagers whose fields, if trampled, would give them license to kill.  Once out of the boma, they tested the big fence, wanting to go back to their original home. They knew the direction to go and made a run for it once. A skilled helicopter pilot herded them back, and saved their lives doing it.

Over some years, he and the herd got to know each other. I could not put this book down, learning about the social lives of the elephants and for the connections he created with his soft patient presence with individual elephants as he would encounter them in their daily routines during his cruises through the property. The elephants finally recognized that place as home.

When Anthony died suddenly of a heart attack in Europe, the elephants traveled 12 hours to get to his house a day or 2 later in S. Africa. They had not been there  in three  years. They stayed there, near the fence around the house, for two days. Maybe they were saying goodbye... showing their appreciation and trust with Lawrence... or maybe they were performing a funeral rite. I cried for their sorrow, their unity in emotion, their acknowledgement of their friend and I cried for the beauty and realization of the magic of these beings. I felt almost betrayed, that this aspect of elephants - belonging to a level of beings with that type of consciousness was not in my ken, much less common knowledge as I felt it should be.

They stayed present with his spirit, his passing and their intention to honor him... and maybe with their own sadness. It seems that the elephant is more present and honoring of a death than we are. This event alone has put me on a path of creating change for elephants and learning more and more about them.

We all know dolphins communicate and in India they were recently declared dolphins to be non-human persons: “[Their] unusually high intelligence as compared to other animals means that dolphin should be seen as ‘non-human persons’ and as such should have their own specific rights and is morally unacceptable to keep them captive for entertainment purpose.”

I implore India to do the same for their own native Asian elephant. Can all nations do this for dolphins, elephants and  primates? Will that make a difference to all the killing that is happening for the sake of ivory in Chinese markets? Can we then move to respecting all animals and giving them respect and space to be? 

When will we see that we are not superior to other animals? When will we break free of our egos and superiority complex and realize we have become frail and ignorant of earth which is our source of life and connection to everything?

I am happy that elephants are still alive and that so many people are working hard to protect them from the killing that is rampant right now, as the demand for ivory is very high in China. I know we can change it.

source: http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Home-Page-News-and-Views/Wild-Elephants-Mourn-Death-of-famed-Elephant-Whisperer.aspx?p=1