An Elephant Love Story — Under New Skies

It’s hard to find the words to describe how I feel about elephants. They have always been these otherworldly, giant, mysterious creatures to me, and I still cannot quite believe such majestic animals exist on the same planet that we do. I’m not sure why I feel so connected to elephants, but I guess they would be considered my spirit animal, if that’s what you call it. I began an elephant collection around the age of seven or eight, collecting small figurines from every possible family member on most holidays and birthdays. They would stand in rows on my childhood bedroom shelf, trunks upright, a layer of dust resting on each of their backs, and it wouldn’t be until my teens that I finally bid farewell to my sacred collection.

Then, I traveled to Africa in 2014 with my family and it was game over. It has always been a top spot on my bucket list to visit The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, founded in 1977 by a true hero of mine, Dame Daphne Sheldrick. It is single-handedly the most successful orphan elephant rescue and rehabilitation program in the world. I remember pulling into the parking lot of the Nairobi Nursery Unit, and running towards the viewing area with the frenzied energy of a child. I observed the elephants during their feeding; they were playful, brilliant, wondrous, and extraordinary creatures. It was one of my most precious days and a life dream of mine, finally and blissfully realized. However, it is crucial to bring to light that even though I was over-joyed to be beside so many orphaned elephants, they are only there because of a heartbreaking reality. Our reality is where 100 African elephants are killed every single day by poachers, and if this voracious industry continues at the same rate, greed, and consumption, wild elephants could be completely extinct in the very near future. I don’t know many things in this world, but I do know that a world without wild elephants would be a much lesser one.

I stood before a broken, wise, still elephant a few days ago. Her left eye calmly glanced over to me for a moment as her trunk curiously touched the ground before her. My husband and I were visiting The Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, also founded by a powerhouse of a woman, Lek Chailert, in 1996. Asian elephants were primarily used for teak logging, hauling heavy loads up, down, and through treacherous terrain, which has thankfully been banned since 1989. But I could still see their physical injuries and sense their emotional scars when we were there that day. And yet, here they were, with their trusting hearts, surrounded by smiling humans. And all along, it was us humans that mistreated, enslaved, and abused them.

Maybe that’s why I love elephants. They are forgiveness embodied. Maybe they teach us to be a bit better, a bit kinder, and a bit gentler.