Sometimes the bond we make with animals is so strong that we don’t expect them to attend our funeral. This is exactly what happened to the man widely known as the elephant whisperer, Lawrence Anthony.
A herd of elephants marched a whole 12 hours to the house of Lawrence Anthony after he had died and stayed there, silent for two days.
Anthony was an environmentalist from South Africa. In early 1990, he bought a 5000-acre of land in South Africa and established a place called Thula Thula: Private Game Reserve and Safari Lodge.
Around this time, a South African national park was attacked by hunters and eight elephants ran out.
The elephants were causing panic to the inhabitants of the neighboring villages. Therefore, Anthony decided that he would take them before the villagers do.
It was never his intention to keep elephants in Thula Thula but he knew if he refused, a herd of elephants would be killed.
He focused on the matriarch, since elephant herds are always led by one, this was a good way to connect with the rest of the elephants.
He connected very well with a matriarch called Nana, she and the herd became very attached to Lawrence and his wife, they even spent time in their house.
Upon his passing, Nana led two herds of elephants on a 12-hour journey to Lawrence’s house to pay homage to him. They stayed outside the house for two full days as they stood vigil before returning to their lives.
But that wasn’t the end of it, as every year, on the 2nd of March, they make the same journey and pay their respects to their fallen comrade.