Discuss: Gray Thunder: Listening to Elephants

on my way north, with a Mine Advisory Group friend, in Sri Lanka, we stopped by elephants returning from their long day as tourist carriers.  I jumped out of the landrover and just stood, entranced.

Seems that one of the elephants was equally entranced by me!  He came gently up and with the tenderest movements of the tip of his trunk, began to examine me, from head to toe - and in some intimate places!  I was totally smitten. 

Asking the Mahout ‘What is he called?’ I was told something… but before I could digest this information, my tall, grey friend caught my eyes with his.  Something rumbled forth from him - and a thought formed in my mind: ‘My name is not this thing he says it is.  No, my name is other.  My name is as old as the first elephant, is as old as the mountains… to tell this to anyone is impossible. You will not comprehend our name but I say to you, we are brethren, sistren.  Our mothers are your mothers.  Listen to us, you will hear us and learn to help yourselves.’

Watching us in reverent silence all the while, the mahout held perfectly still.  As if he knew when our ‘conversation’ ended, he quietly asked: ‘Do you wish to spend more time with him?  It is the end of his day, and he will swim… in the rain! But you seem to have become friends… come.’ Following across the dusty road, as rain fell in large drops, hot onto our backs, we entered the compound of shacks.  A tall step ladder, perched against a high platform, took me far higher than my elephant friend’s shoulders: the seat had been removed.  A drop of three feet - after a terrified hesitation, I let go and dropped onto the softest skin - spongey like a quilt, with large tough black hairs sticking out!  I held on to a leather circlet about his neck as we moved out toward the lakes… a journey of two hours and one which I will never forget!

My next teacher was a cow-pony in the Brazilian wetlands of the Pantanal.  Here these narrow-chested horses, skinny and unpreposessing, yet possess uncanny knowledge and ability to communicate/listen to us.  I quickly detached myself from the others and learnt that if I showed some spirit, my pony would hear and enjoy showing me its native land.

He took me to where he had been born, into the swamps, among the caymen and pirrhana fish.  There we met the rest of his family.  His agility and his skill at ‘hearing’ quickly became stronger with me learning to listen.  I felt in my pocket for my camera, and thought, we could go over there to those black storks… and over we went, with no prompting.  As I finished with my camera, he felt my intention shift and off we went.  Not a nudge, never a word spoken. 

Now, if we could really observe and listen to animals, of which we are by far the worst lot, not only would we begin to heal ourselves but we could, with determination, start to heal the planet.

We must plant back indigenous trees wherever we are, to help the reforestation and rainfall.  This is obvious, but I hear no-one on radio talk about it.  They just bring ships full of water in to Spain’s dried up towns!  What is that about?

All along the Moroccan north coast, Spanish tourist company has torn out trees, dried up lakes, in order to cover the land with blocks of tourist hostels.  Now, where there was water and forest (even tho it is far thinner than 10 years back) there is a grey dust.  Where there were farmers and their produce, there is dust.  Where there was life, there is dust and worse, commercially imported bottled water, imported food… It seems King Mohammed VI was hungry for the immediate petro-dollar. 

Does he not see that short term vandalism of this nature (huh!) is long-term disaster and expensive to all generations to come?

Why are we such fools?  And how can I find land to plant our Friendship Woods, wherever we can, in Britain or further afield?  Bring back wolves, boar, beaver, dormouse, polecat.  Just let’s get out of the way, bring back the animals.

Can we meet, David?  Writing on May 1st.  There may well be a way to take such sotrytelling into schools, with my facepainting skills.  I am a writer-illustrator and storyteller.  annalou-creative.org

good work Cyril!  Congratulations!  Kim Steele

http://www.karlammann.com/elephant-steak.php

More sad news out of Africa for the elephants.

For three years now I have wanted to do something to get the Shriners to stop bringing the circus to town(Muskogee Oklahoma) and the Cherokee Nation brings the Circus(W elephants)to Tahlequah..First I thought I would hold a one person protest..Then I thought I would talk to them..then I thought I would ask to have a table with info about elephants(I have an incredibly beautiful book to share..Now I am feeling more guilty then ever..All I have done is complain to the people I work with..Any ideas?? I have to do something..I am connected w environmentalists in the state...They do not “rock the boat” Also I have had an ecstatic experience on a little air raft on the North Canadian river in Oklahoma when a Great Blue Heron flew beside me as I was enjoying my water experience...Jean

I can appreciate the concern about the living condition of (some) circus elephants.  That being said, where are they going to live/be cared for if no longer an aspect of the circus experience?
I’m not being obtuse.  I have an
extensiver background in livestock
management.

Rodger,

There is at least one elephant sanctuary:

http://www.elephants.com/news/sanctuarynews.php

What could be done for the Circus Elephants?

Jean,

If you write to PETA, they might have ideas on how you could get people to boycott the circuses.  I think PETA has succeeded in rescuing some circus elephants and has found sanctuary for them, as they’ve also done with other animals, e.g., those rescued from research labs.

http://www.circuses.com/