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Dec 9, 2012

"Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission -- to be of service to them wherever they require it. " --St. Francis of Assisi

The Elephant Whisperer

Lawrence Anthony, the acclaimed South African conservationist passed away this March. His funeral turned out to be as extraordinary as his life. Two herds of wild elephants traveling single-file through the bush turned up at his home after he died. Elephants are known for mourning their dead. During his lifetime Anthony had managed to enlist Africans wanted as war criminals to protect northern white rhinoceroses; he taught African tribes how to set up game reserves; and entered fearlessly into war-torn Iraq at the beginning of an American invasion -- in order to save the animals abandoned in a Baghdad zoo. In this gripping excerpt from his book "The Elephant Whisperer", Anthony describes the extraordinary events that transpired when he tried to save a herd of rogue elephants from being shot.