September 22 is Elephant Appreciation Day. It’s a day to reflect on the plight of these gentle giants who lose and aver of 100 of their kind to poachers daily. We can learn a lot from these sentient beings. They share the best of human qualities but seem to manage them more effectively than us including their intelligence, empathy, and social behavior. One of the most moving traits elephants display is their apparent ability to mourn their dead.  The story of  Lawrence Anthony, an author and South African conservationist, seems to prove elephant mourning is not a myth. Anthony purchased the 5,000-acre Thula Thula game reserve in KwaZulu-Natal in the 1990s eventually turning it into a reserve for two herds of elephants. According to family, when he died, the elephants trekked 12 hours to say their final goodbye. (1, 2)

Elephant Escape Artists

Anthony, fondly dubbed the Elephant Whisperer, was approached by a conservation organization in 1999 asking if he could take ownership of a rogue band of elephants. The herd had unheard of vanishing skills that were causing issues for locals. Like large-eared, trunked Houdinis, it seemed no enclosure was able to contain them. The nine elephants were considered dangerous and would surely be shot without Anthony’s agreement to take them. So he agreed. (2)

Delinquent Elephants Saved

“They were a difficult bunch, no question about it,” he said. “Delinquents every one. But I could see a lot of good in them too. They’d had a tough time and were all scared, and yet they were looking after one another, trying to protect one another.” (2)

Instead of viewing the elephants with fear, he used patience to coax them into behaving properly. He put his money on working with the matriarch named Nana. “I’d go down to the fence and I’d plead with Nana not to break it down,” he said. “I knew she didn’t understand English, but I hoped she’d understand by the tone of my voice and my body language what I was saying. And one morning, instead of trying to break the fence down, she just stood there. Then she put her trunk through the fence towards me. I knew she wanted to touch me. That was a turning point.” (2)

Elephants Mourned His Death

The strength of his relationship with the herd and his family continued to grow. At the time of his death in 2012, the elephants arrived at the home to pay their final respects. “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,” his son Dylan explained in 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.” (2)

According to studies, elephants share a fascination with death, including actions that could be attributed to forms of mourning. However, further studies are required to determine if the reactions are emotional or instinctive. (3)

Anthony wrote three books in his lifetime including the bestseller, The Elephant Whisperer. I believe with all my heart that the love and patience he showed his herd of rogue escape artists was surely returned in kind. (2)