The complete title of the book is “The Elephant Whisperer: Learning about Life, Loyalty and Freedom from a Remarkable Herd of Elephants”.
I came across this book by luck, even though it is a bestseller by a celebrated conservationist Lawrence Anthony. The title intrigued me, and I decided to give it a chance. And I am so happy I did.
I do not read much about a book beforehand, except the blurbs on the back. So I didn’t have much idea as to what to expect. And the book started very slowly for me. In the beginning I had questions, as to what exactly is a “Boma” and how exactly is an entire elephant family transported? But quickly, the book moved on to the real story. The story of a herd of elephants, in the Thula Thula reserve owned by the author.
And what a story this is! This is a deeply personal account of how the author Lawrence Anthony, acquired the herd, won their trust, and eventually their friendship. I must clarify, the herd remains wild and more importantly “free”. The author is requested to take responsibility for a family of elephants. Since they had been causing trouble, the only other option was to kill them. The author, who has no experience in dealing with elephants, let alone “troublesome” elephants, decides to do his best to save them from certain death. After the herd is transported into the reserve, or the “Boma” part of it, which is an enclosure to keep them safe till they get acclimatized, they make numerous attempts to escape. These are intelligently planned attempts by the matriarch, and they almost succeed. But their escape and attempts to return to their original habitat means getting too close to human settlements and once again invites certain death for them.
Eventually, the author manages to make the elephants comfortable in their new habitat. The herd thrives and grows. And the author gets to know each of them. He learns about their personalities, manages to establish communication with them and even shares their rituals. The encounters are amazing to read. Some are heart-warming, some nerve wrecking scary, some tear-jerking and they all will leave a mark in your memory. There are many ups and downs. Not everything goes on as planned. There are tragedies and terrible mistakes. And there are also many moments of joy and wonder. It’s life after all.
The book tells how amazing these creatures are. What shines through all this is the respect the author shows for them. He doesn’t venture into their space unless they “invite” him. The elephants remain truly in charge, as they should. He also doesn’t romanticize everything about them. He shows keen awareness of life in the wild and has a bit of a philosophical approach toward dealing with it.
Elephants are extremely intelligent and empathetic creatures. I have been lucky to have visited Africa and saw them roaming freely in the wild. See the photos here. The word that comes to mind is “majestic”. It’s not only important for the ecosystem to have the elephants thrive, but also as a reflection on humanity, that we can peacefully share this planet with all creatures. People like Lawrence Anthony and many other conservationists who dedicate their lives to this cause are the rays of hope, and we must thank them.
It’s a fabulous book. Not written in a literary language, but in an honest personal style. Read it.
