Aminals is peeple too!

[olhillbilly]

I'm not overly prone to sentimentality but this one caught my attention:

In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University and serving as a wildlife ranger whose job is to prevent unwarranted killing of animals by poachers.

On a hike through the bush, he came across a less than one-year old bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed and had been abandoned by the herd, so Mbembe approached it very carefully. He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Mbembe worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.

Mbembe stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Twenty years later (elephants have 70 year life spans), Mbembe was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Mbembe and his son Tapu were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Mbembe, lifted its front foot off the ground, and then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Mbembe couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Mbembe summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Mbembe's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant...

[SpyderLady]

WOW! Not the ending I expected!!!!!!

[cowboyii]

same here spyder....and elephants only live fer 35 years.....lmao

[SpyderLady]

Calves will nurse well into their third year and are very dependent on their mothers for eight to ten years. Adolescence occurs at 12 to 14 years of age. Most physical growth is reached at 20, but growth continues throughout life. Top mental ability is at age 30 to 45. Death comes at 65 to 70 years of age when the last set of teeth wear out.

[cowboyii]

we just had a elephant die here at the zoo and it was, i think 45, PETA and i dunt mean my PETA(people eat tasty animals) were bitchin bout it and the news said it live 10 years longer then the wild ones

[SpyderLady]

Apr 4, 5:27 PM EDT

Male Elephant Kills Female in Israel Zoo



JERUSALEM (AP) -- A seven-ton bull elephant charged and killed a female elephant half his weight as visitors to an Israeli nature park looked on in horror.

Officials at the Safari park near Tel Aviv said they were unable to stop Yossi, a 33-year-old male, from attacking Atari, the 46-year-old matriarch of the captive herd, and trampling her to death Monday.

"What happened to Yossi, who grew up all his life with Atari, and they always got along?" Yigal Horowitz, a veterinarian at the park, told Israel Radio. "Here and there were small fights, but they never had a fight like this one."

Elephants observe hierarchies and visit places where others of their herd are buried. But scientists have recently become increasingly concerned with what they say is a rising level of violent activity among the large mammals.

In a 2005 essay in the Journal of Nature, Oregon State University psychologist Gay Bradshaw argued that the worldwide population of elephants is suffering from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, making them excitable and prone to violence.

Horowitz said the nature park's staff will make a decision about what to do with Yossi after investigating the incident and consulting with outside experts. In the meantime, Bati, another female with a senior role in the herd's hierarchy, is expected to take charge of the herd.