Conservationist escapes elephant attack at Thula Thula in SA
Aug 15th, 2007, 11:04 PM
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Aug 19th, 2007, 11:22 PM
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After I read that news story online, I read another account in print edition of the Jo'burg Star. It's online at the parent site Independent Online (http://tinyurl.com/3ygnnk) and adds some background as to his claimed reputation as an "elephant whisperer" . . .
Anthony's unique abilities with elephants are recounted on his family website in a news piece titled The Elephant Whisperer.
In the article, writer Roy Watts, who visited Thula Thula and witnessed for himself Anthony's interactions with the herd of seven jumbos at the reserve, describes the bonding process Anthony went through after the elephants were first brought there from Mpumalanga.
"Cautiously he approached the fence, and stood face to face with Nana, the matriarch.
"In a scene that could have been culled from The Taming of the Shrew, she tenderly put her trunk through the electrified wires and started gently touching him.
"At this point Lawrence decided that it was now or never and he released the herd into the Thula Thula reserve," Watts writes.
Anthony's love for elephants, he adds, "has already cost him several dents, and a couple of broken windows. His popularity is such that he is now able to walk freely amongst them.
"This all led to the most amazing development of all, his ability to summon them with a lengthy yell, just as Tarzan did in all those old-time movies," Watts claims in the article.
Anthony's unique abilities with elephants are recounted on his family website in a news piece titled The Elephant Whisperer.
In the article, writer Roy Watts, who visited Thula Thula and witnessed for himself Anthony's interactions with the herd of seven jumbos at the reserve, describes the bonding process Anthony went through after the elephants were first brought there from Mpumalanga.
"Cautiously he approached the fence, and stood face to face with Nana, the matriarch.
"In a scene that could have been culled from The Taming of the Shrew, she tenderly put her trunk through the electrified wires and started gently touching him.
"At this point Lawrence decided that it was now or never and he released the herd into the Thula Thula reserve," Watts writes.
Anthony's love for elephants, he adds, "has already cost him several dents, and a couple of broken windows. His popularity is such that he is now able to walk freely amongst them.
"This all led to the most amazing development of all, his ability to summon them with a lengthy yell, just as Tarzan did in all those old-time movies," Watts claims in the article.
Aug 21st, 2007, 11:34 AM
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If you are an elephant whisperer, then you sure as hell will know when an elephant is in Musth.
The signs are: Temporal glands stream leaving a large tear like stain down the side of the elephants face.
Next is the streaming from the scrotum, which carries a strong odour too.
The last is the temperament of the elephant, single male moving singlemindedly in a dirtection.
I would hazard a guess and say that those elies have associated Anthony with food otherwise they would not have even noticed him from their reintroductory days.
In fact search the Natal Mercury archives and you will find a story in which the elphants broke out of his reserve. I gather he might have stood on a high point whooping and hollering like Tarzan, but the elephants didn't come back as a result!
The signs are: Temporal glands stream leaving a large tear like stain down the side of the elephants face.
Next is the streaming from the scrotum, which carries a strong odour too.
The last is the temperament of the elephant, single male moving singlemindedly in a dirtection.
I would hazard a guess and say that those elies have associated Anthony with food otherwise they would not have even noticed him from their reintroductory days.
In fact search the Natal Mercury archives and you will find a story in which the elphants broke out of his reserve. I gather he might have stood on a high point whooping and hollering like Tarzan, but the elephants didn't come back as a result!
Aug 21st, 2007, 06:01 PM
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Hi Imavolio
When you are in the bush at night, you need to be very aware of what is around you, and for them, a person who should know better, to be totally unaware of an ele, would have been because he was not paying attention to his surrounds. The vehicle got too close for the ele's comfort, and he did what comes naturally to wild animals to protect themselves, he charged. Maybe if a vehicle had been in the vicinity just prior, and they had pushed their luck, the next vehicle may well pay! But maybe this vehicle was the sole cause.
Your safety depends totally on your ranger's ability to read animals, and in the case of ele's, you need to be cautious. You know the vehicle is too close if an adult mock charges, and you should back off a good distance, so the animal relaxes, if the animal doesn't then you should move well away. I am amazed to hear of some people's experience, when an ele charges more than once and they find that thrilling - to me, that means that the ranger is not being smart and doing what he should, but doing what the guests want! And I am not talking about juveniles that I have seen go out of their way to mock charge. I always think about the poor unsuspecting vehicle that next comes along and they all wonder why the ele is so aggro!
As stated, an ele bull in musth, is unmistakeable - even at night, when the smell is probably more distinct!
So it was his fault, and the animal should not pay the price, which he states it didn't!
Kind regards
Kaye
When you are in the bush at night, you need to be very aware of what is around you, and for them, a person who should know better, to be totally unaware of an ele, would have been because he was not paying attention to his surrounds. The vehicle got too close for the ele's comfort, and he did what comes naturally to wild animals to protect themselves, he charged. Maybe if a vehicle had been in the vicinity just prior, and they had pushed their luck, the next vehicle may well pay! But maybe this vehicle was the sole cause.
Your safety depends totally on your ranger's ability to read animals, and in the case of ele's, you need to be cautious. You know the vehicle is too close if an adult mock charges, and you should back off a good distance, so the animal relaxes, if the animal doesn't then you should move well away. I am amazed to hear of some people's experience, when an ele charges more than once and they find that thrilling - to me, that means that the ranger is not being smart and doing what he should, but doing what the guests want! And I am not talking about juveniles that I have seen go out of their way to mock charge. I always think about the poor unsuspecting vehicle that next comes along and they all wonder why the ele is so aggro!
As stated, an ele bull in musth, is unmistakeable - even at night, when the smell is probably more distinct!
So it was his fault, and the animal should not pay the price, which he states it didn't!
Kind regards
Kaye
Aug 23rd, 2007, 02:55 AM
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<i>"He came at us from nowhere in a full-blooded charge..."</i> = Anthoney was surprised by the elephant
at night you may miss an elephant
& one may not notice the musth
This is a risk one has to consider when taking a night-safari !!
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