Lawrence AnthonyBesprekingen
Auteur van The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild
Besprekingen
The Elephant Whisperer: Learning About Life, Loyalty… door Lawrence; Spence Anthony, Graham
This book was recommended to me by a few readers and has great ratings on Hungarian goodreads, but I was still a bit wary because I had my phase of animal mania in primary school and don’t consider myself an animal enthusiast now, though I do like them (the animals). This time, I didn’t understand why everyone was so obsessed with elephants. And then I have read The Elephant Whisperer. I honestly don’t remember the last time a book touched my heart so deeply. It is very well written, extremely exciting, powerful and emotional. A work of fiction couldn’t have been more engaging.
Read more (spoilers!): https://blueisthenewpink.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/lets-read-and-fall-in-love-wit...
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Régebben nem értettem, miért van úgy oda mindenki a delfinekért, aztán elolvastam az Állati elméket Robert Merle-től. Most nem értettem, mi olyan nagy szám az elefántokban, aztán elolvastam ezt a könyvet. Előtte tartottam tőle, hogy csak igazi állatimádóknak való (simán kedvelőknek nem). Szerencsére nem így van. Nem is tudom, mikor érintett meg könyv ennyire. Közben hihetetlenül izgalmas is volt. Egyszerre adta vissza a hitem az emberekben, és fordította figyelmem a környezetemben élő mindenféle lények felé. Az ember- és állatszereplők is sokáig velem fognak még maradni, azt hiszem.
Lawrence Anthony is a South African conservationist whose dream to acquire and develop an animal preserve in the heart of Zulu land came to fruition in Thula Thula, Africa. Over 5000 acres, it's abundant wildlife included the usual, without elephants or rhinos. Lawrence soon learns of a troublesome elephant herd and begrudgingly agrees to take them on.
Its matriarch had raided nearby neighborhoods and was put to her death prior to transport of the herd. In her place was a monstrous female Lawrence named Nana along with six others of various ages. Like her predecessor Nana was anything but amiable.
While Anthony and his loving French partner, Francois were accustomed to a wide variety of African wildlife, they'd never encountered elephants nor had any of the local Zulu tribes. Once the herd arrived, the pace of the story escalates making the book read like a fast paced mystery. Lawrence relied on his trusty sidekick David and together they made attempts to accommodate the herd and in the process experienced challenges. As the herd slowly adapted all were illuminated by an animal consciousness never before experienced. Put simply, elephants extra sensory perception goes far beyond humans.
Over a span of 13 years, Anthony's family and crew of Zulu workers, rangers and friends had experiences never thought possible. Among them, learning the value elephants place on family, loyalty and compassion and their willingness to go the extra mile. Once he developed a closeness with Nana, she became a protector and friend as did the rest. But like most great stories, problems surface when least expected.
To say this has an impact on how we view life, and Nature is an understatement of epic proportion. Reading this book provides food for thought in every chapter, though some will stop the reader cold. We learn in the final chapter that Lawrence passed away at 61, which in today's world is unusual. A model citizen, husband and friend to both animal and humans, this is a must read if care about humanity.
Fascinating memoir of the adventurous life of wildlife conservationist Lawrence Anthony, head of Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand, Kwa-Zulu Natal province, South Africa. In the early years of his custodianship of Thula Thula, he took in a herd of troubled elephants who were about to be destroyed. This is the story of how he developed a special relationship with these animals to help them get over their belligerent dealings with humans. He lived in the bush next to them as they adapted to life in the wilds of the reserve. It shows how humans and animals can form close bonds and how animals communicate in ways we do not always understand.
This book is so much more than a “book about elephants,” though they play a starring role. It covers interactions with a wide range of other wildlife, including the leopard, hyena, kudu, lion, rhino, cape buffalo, crocodile, and more. His pet dogs are featured, and human interactions are not neglected. It was particularly interesting to read of his dealings with poachers, rangers, officials, and Zulu leaders. In fact, it includes a great deal of history, culture, traditions, spiritual beliefs of the neighboring Zulu tribes, as well as the impact of the former apartheid policies.
This book contains story after story of wild adventures that take place over an undefined number of years, which are well-chosen for their level of significance, adventure, danger, or comedic effect. For example, there are stories of trying to herd a mfezi (Mozambican spitting cobra) out of his and his wife’s bedroom and an escaping cape buffalo that chases one of the reserve staff around a vehicle. The book flows in a “never-a-dull-moment” style, though the writing is choppy at times and the book is really more a series of short episodes rather than single a cohesive story. The elephants are the “characters,” and each has a distinct personality. The author employs humor but does not shy away from the gut-wrenching and sad parts of the life in the African wilderness.
I was so enthralled that I kept telling my friends and family about these anecdotes and was inspired to do further research. This book will appeal to anyone with a passion for animals, concern about wildlife conservation, or desire to find out what it is like to operate a game preserve in Africa.
“But perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that there are no walls between humans and the elephants except those we put up ourselves, and that until we allow not only elephants, but all living creatures their place in the sun, we can never be whole ourselves.” – Lawrence Anthony
The Elephant Whisperer is a heartwarming, exciting, funny, and sometimes sad account of Anthony's experiences with these huge yet sympathetic creatures. Set against the background of life on an African game reserve, with unforgettable characters and exotic wildlife, it is a delightful book that will appeal to animal lovers and adventurous souls everywhere.
This book was recommended to me by a few readers and has great ratings on Hungarian goodreads, but I was still a bit wary because I had my phase of animal mania in primary school and don’t consider myself an animal enthusiast now, though I do like them (the animals). This time, I didn’t understand why everyone was so obsessed with elephants. And then I have read The Elephant Whisperer. I honestly don’t remember the last time a book touched my heart so deeply. It is very well written, extremely exciting, powerful and emotional. A work of fiction couldn’t have been more engaging.
Read more (spoilers!): https://blueisthenewpink.wordpress.com/2016/11/01/lets-read-and-fall-in-love-wit...
-------------------------------------------------------------
Régebben nem értettem, miért van úgy oda mindenki a delfinekért, aztán elolvastam az Állati elméket Robert Merle-től. Most nem értettem, mi olyan nagy szám az elefántokban, aztán elolvastam ezt a könyvet. Előtte tartottam tőle, hogy csak igazi állatimádóknak való (simán kedvelőknek nem). Szerencsére nem így van. Nem is tudom, mikor érintett meg könyv ennyire. Közben hihetetlenül izgalmas is volt. Egyszerre adta vissza a hitem az emberekben, és fordította figyelmem a környezetemben élő mindenféle lények felé. Az ember- és állatszereplők is sokáig velem fognak még maradni, azt hiszem.
The work Anthony did with the Thula Thula elephant herd is remarkable and inspirational, and catnip to anyone who enjoys learning about how animals and humans can communicate. But the racial attitudes are far out of date for this 2022 Western reader and tend to spoil the whole.
First off, understand that the title of this book is highly misleading. This story is actually a balance of wondrous and woeful perspective of the reality of physical life, especially in the latter chapters, depicted through fascinating experiences. There is a powerful, elemental message threaded through this writing about all life forms journeying together, connected, and dependent on each other for existence, which includes humans. If strong emotions aren't aroused, then I suspect the reader may be blinded by their human bubble and/or have a heart of stone.
"In our noisy cities we tend to forget the things our ancestors knew on a gut level: that the wilderness is alive, that its whispers are there for all to hear – and to respond to."
"Living rough in the wilderness is a salve for the soul. Ancient instincts awaken; forgotten skills are relearned, consciousness is sharpened and life thrums at a richer tempo."
"Under the microscope, living organisms are just a soup of chemicals and minerals. But what about what the microscope doesn’t see? That life force, the vital ingredient of existence – from an acacia to an elephant – can it be quantified?
"My herd showed me that it can. That understanding and generosity of spirit is alive and well in the pachyderm kingdom; that elephants are emotional, caring and extremely intelligent; and that they value good relations with humans.
"This is their story. They taught me that all life forms are important to each other in our common quest for happiness and survival. That there is more to life than just yourself, your own family, or your own kind."
The story can be seen in one vein as the age old struggle between the primal savagery of trigger happy men killing for the thrill of it, and wiser minds trying to protect wildlife, knowing humankind's future is at stake. It perplexes me how our blinkered cognitive processes exhibit such vagaries, even though knowing of the fickleness of evolution's trials and the influences of subjective experiences.
"It was something I simply couldn’t fathom … what type of person would shoot a terrified teenage elephant, and a female at that? For a tawdry fireside trophy? For the pleasure of the kill? And what kind of reserve owner would hawk a vulnerable young animal for such a reason?"
The message comes through loud and clear, that to truly protect any life form is to protect all by living in respectful coexistence with all life forms in the natural world model of life fueled by life. In such, death and the recycling of essential elements is a necessary precursor to new life in Earth's closed system of physical life.
"Death is an integral part of life. This is the dominant bush reality and I like it that way. It’s natural, uncluttered by materialism or artificial ethics and it helps me to maintain a wholesome perspective of my own existence and that of my friends and family."
Yet, in this book I was also amazed by the cognitive processes of the wildlife, especially the elephants. Whatever the explanations, it is beyond doubt that these creatures have senses far superior to ours, and more acute life forces. What have we lost in our human bubble?
"We also have to understand that there are things we cannot understand. Elephants possess qualities and abilities well beyond the means of science to decipher. Elephants cannot repair a computer, but they do have communication, physical and metaphysical, that would make Bill Gates’s mouth drop open. In some very important ways they are ahead of us."
Lest one get the wrong idea, reading this story is definitely not wading through didactical musings. It is for the most part presented as an engrossing adventure in an edge of the seat manner. Could you retain your cool with a charging bull elephant bearing down on you, or for that manner on finding yourself face to face with a black mamba, or even confront poachers that would happily shoot you? What is depicted are varying mesmerizing situations the author has experienced that the reader may glean the relevance of. The occasional opining is hardly noticed as such.
"Every wild thing is in tune with its surroundings, awake to its fate and in absolute harmony with the planet. Their attention is focused totally outwards. Humans, on the other hand, tend to focus introspectively on their own lives too often, brooding and magnifying problems that the animal kingdom would not waste a millisecond of energy upon. To most people, the magnificent order of the natural world where life and death actually mean something has become unrecognizable."
In closing I should note that in March of 2012 the author Lawrence Anthony passed away. As reported by the CBC on July 25, 2012, "After his death, although they were not alerted to the event, a group of wild elephants Anthony helped to rescue and rehabilitate travelled to his house in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. They stood around the house in an apparent vigil for two days, and then dispersed. Today, the elephants are 'completely wild and doing fine' according to Graham Spence, Anthony's brother-in-law and co-author of three books."
The imaginative concoctions of too much of storytelling these days don't elicit anyway near the real life emotional swings and metaphysical aspects inherent in this book.
“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.” ― Henry David Thoreau
4****
Subtitle: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo
Lawrence Anthony was a well-known conservationist and advocate for animals, running a game reserve (Thula Thula) in South Africa when images on CNN of the war in Baghdad caught his attention. He was horrified at the potential loss of wildlife at that war-ravaged city’s zoo, and knew he had to somehow go help. And so, against all odds, he did. This is the story of his work there.
It’s quite the adventure. From just getting into the war zone (the zoo being in the middle of the action), to dealing with the continued looting, to begging for supplies and then for security everything was a challenge and a half. He paid staff out of his own pockets, and scrounged food for them and their families so that the precious supplies at the zoo could be allocated to keeping the animals there alive. And then he discovered the many “private” zoos … from Sadam’s son, Uday, and other wealthy owners he rescued many mismanaged and starving animals. His was truly a labor of love, and one hopes that his efforts have continued to pay dividends in better treatment, more habitat-enhanced enclosures, and a renewed local pride in this marvelous resource for both education and amusement.
Simon Vance does a fine job narrating the audio. He’s narrated Anthony’s other books as well, and I really enjoy the way he reads them.
3.5***
Subtitle: My Battle to Save One of the World's Greatest Creatures
Alternate Subtitle: The Powerful Story of One Man's Battle to Save a Species
Lawrence Anthony has been called the Indiana Jones of conservationism. He certainly lives up to that moniker in this memoir of his efforts to save the last remaining Northern White Rhinos in the wild.
Anthony went to great lengths to plan a rescue of these magnificent beasts. But he was up against a growing market for the illegally gotten rhino horns (which are nothing more than keratin … the same basic material that makes up our fingernails), the increasingly military-style training and equipped poachers, the inane bureaucratic hoops he had to jump through (repeatedly), and a civil war with one of the most feared, ruthless rebel groups, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). Still, he would not give up. The stories of his meetings with official leaders, and then with LRA generals are fascinating.
Of course, he also writes about the animals … from rhinos to elephants to bushbabies to spitting cobras. No living creature will be killed by man on his reserve, Thula Thula in Zululand, South Africa. I only wish that more of the book was focused on the animals rather than on the negotiations with government officials and rebel group leaders.
Simon Vance does a wonderful job of narrating the audiobook. He really brings this memoir to life; I felt as if Anthony, himself, were telling me about his adventures.
In 2003, during the war in Iraq, a few hundred animals were abandoned in their cages, unable to fend for themselves, in the Baghdad Zoo. When Lawrence Anthony, conservationist and owner of the Thula Thula animal sanctuary in South Africa saw this on tv, he knew he had to help. He worked as fast as he could to organize everything to be allowed in to Baghdad at this time. He was one of the only foreign civilians allowed in at this time, while war still went on around the city. The zoo had been looted, and most of the animals, by now, had been stolen, either for food or to sell on the black market. The ones that remained were not in good shape. This tells of Lawrence Anthony’s efforts to round others up and to help the remaining animals.
This one pulled me in from the start. Those poor animals. What a nightmare of a time, trying to fix everything up, get water and food for the animals (and the zoo staff who came back to help out – they needed food, too!), trying to keep looters from continually coming back, etc. With gunfire happening here and there all around. Really good book.
Anthony's descriptions of 'communicating' with his herd do not devolve into the unbelievable or anthropomorphizing - though many of his brink-of-disaster stories do sound almost unbelievable; still, I feel they were too crazy for someone to have risked making up. His descriptions of the Zulus who inhabit the country with him are fairly even-handed; they are portrayed as individuals, but it's always a fine line, and they do always feel a bit "other".
Anthony develops relationships with this herd because they come to him with problems that must be overcome - they need to learn to trust him and accept his reserve as their new home. Ultimately, though, the saddest part of the book is the end where we are reminded rather suddenly that Anthony is really running a game reserve, not a petting zoo. His reserve is a place for wild animals to live wild. Thus, he develops no relationships with the newer additions to the elephant family. Presumably he does not even give names to the new babies anymore. That felt sad, but right.
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