More "elephant art" HERE.
Related reading: Can jumbo elephants really paint? Intrigued by stories, naturalist Desmond Morris set out to find the truth.
Another kind of elephant video:
YouTube blurb:
Wildlife Officials rescue baby elephant from a ditch. Elephant herd salutes the men before leaving
In Kerala, India, a baby elephant falls into a ditch (or an abandoned well) and gets trapped there. As the family of wild elephants watches and waits on the other side of the river, local people and forest officials use an earthmover to help the baby get out.
Watch when they come running and welcoming the baby, checking whether it is fine. The incredible moment then occurs when the elephant family head turns and salutes the humans, thanking them for saving their little one..
I'm not sure why, but this made me cry.
ReplyDeleteI have always loved elephants, and I have never read anything bad about them –– except the way WE have treated them.
[Orwell's essay on How to Kill an Elephant is one of the ugliest, nastiest, most brutal, chilling, and depressing indictments of HUMAN NATURE at its worst that anyone has ever penned.]
Reportedly elephants mate for life, are good to each other in the wild, and are more faithful to their partners and at least as caring towards their young as most human beings.
It's wonderful t see such clear and convincing evidence that these creatures are even more intelligent that most of us ever imagined possible.
When I was little, like most children I had a menagerie of stuffed toys I took to bed with me each night. The conversations we had and the adventures we shared under the covers were wonderful. I loved every one of my stuffed animals very much, but Dumbo, the Flying Elephant was my favorite by far.
Like so many relics from the past Dumbo disappeared along with Brown Betsy, the only female Teddy Bear I've ever known, Jocko the monkey, my big Panda bear, and Peter the pink velveteen rabbit. Idiotic as it may sound I miss them all, and wish my family had taken the trouble to preserve them for Posterity the way A. A. Milne did with the toys that had belonged to his son Christopher Robin and inspired the endearing books about WINNIE the POOH.
Impossible to hug a REAL elephant, of course, but the urge to do so is still strong in me because of the magical times I spent with Dumbo.
I know exactly what you mean... ;)
DeleteThis is what I was about up today after the political debacle yesterday. An elephant "painting." How symbolic... a fake GOPer...
ReplyDelete:)
DeleteI'm with FT...it made me almost weepy to see the head elephant turn and salute the rescuers! and elephants have been treated so badly........
ReplyDeleteI can't even respond to the painting elephant...THAT is ASTONISHING!
Respecting ALL forms of Life –– with the possible exception of those foul-minded human beings who make a career out of insulting, mocking, demeaning and rejecting opportunities to be cordial, helpful, encouraging and if possible healing hurt and injury –– is our DUTY s well as our passage to experiencing JOY..
DeleteElephants are noble and social creatures. I agreed with Obama's ban on importation of "trophies," and Trump is wrong to reverse that ban.
ReplyDelete"Trophy hunting" is an anachronism in this high-tech age. There is nothing heroic about using technology to protect yourself while hunting down beasts who have not enjoyed the same advancement and killing them for sport.
Our understanding is much deeper than it was a century ago, and our practices should reflect that. I am all for sustainable hunting animals for food, but good hunters go for the clean kill and quick death. Anyone relishing the pain and suffering of any animal is a sicko.
As the human population grows, wildlife habitat is shrinking. It's a real challenge managing that, and of course, the animals lose out.
Wild. All dumb animals right?
ReplyDeleteI've seen a painting horse also. I'll sure take animals over a lot of people.