Why Elephants Move Us

Carol 0:00

Few animals carry more memory, more wisdom, or more compassion than the elephant. They remember their families for decades, they mourn their dead, they rescue one another, and perhaps remind us who we are at our best. These highly intelligent giants are stars in many stories for every age. Most every famous book highlights their deep emotional bonds, their complex social structures and high intelligence.

Empathy, Memory, And Elephant Biology

Carol 0:32

First, some elephant talents and unique facts about them. Elephants are extraordinarily empathetic. They mourn their dead by visiting their bones and carefully touching them with their trunks. They have similar complex emotions as do humans. Leonardo da Vinci wrote admirably about elephants, praising them as models of morality. He described the elephant as an embodiment of righteousness, reason, and temperance, noting their modesty, their helpfulness to lost humans, and a deep, dignified empathy that led them to die alone to spare others pain. Elephants are highly emotional. They let out whatever they are feeling, and then they let it go. There's no deceitful cunning. They don't hold on to anger. They love, they express joy and anger, but they don't dwell on the matter. Known for their stellar long-term memory, they can recognize hundreds of individual herd members for decades. They remember their specific watering holes and routes for just as long also. They never forget their loves or those who hurt them. Surprisingly, elephants have extremely sensitive skin, and to protect themselves from sunburn and insect bites, they regularly coat themselves in mud and dirt. Always wondered why they did that. Their trunks not only reach for their food, but allow them to smell and touch with sensitivity. They don't have to see their food to know exactly where it is. Their vision is secondary to their trunk. In fact, this is so interesting when whoever invented the elephant did this. The trunk power. It can lift heavy, massive logs or get this, pick up a single blade of grass. Forty thousand individual muscles make up their trunks. Their large floppy ears are not just for hearing. They offer natural cooling because they're filled with complex blood vessels which help them regulate their body heat.

Self Awareness And Elephant Names

Carol 2:46

Now, given that elephants can recognize their own reflections and mirrors, how do you think that self-awareness shapes their empathy for other species in their environment? Elephants have names for one another. Did you know elephants share a specific individual name for other elephants through vocalizations? Made me wonder how they conceptualize a lost herd member when they call out for them in the savannah. The nobility of elephants brings me to tears. I've witnessed them save other animals in many wildlife depictions, and one classical source of observations from the Pliny the Elder, who recorded in his notebooks that elephants have several noble traits, including piety. He wrote that when the moon renews itself, elephants travel to rivers, to solome purge and wash themselves as a form of devotion. Empathy. When they discover a lost traveler, they gently guide them back to the right path. They understand when someone is lost and they lead them back to the correct path. Temperance. Elephants mate with discretion, and for being such large giants, they are unbelievably careful not to hurt any other animals in their travels. And dignity. When an elephant knows their own death is near, they purposely separate from the herd to spare the younger ones from watching them pass away. In my studies, they have the largest brain of any mammal on earth, and they use it creatively and altruistically. For instance, one small example is that when several elephants frequent a particular trail, each elephant puts their feet into the hole prints of the elephant in front of them. This causes a series of indentations that fill with water and mud, both of which are needed by all.

Ancient Accounts Of Elephant Nobility

Carol 4:46

I've forgotten the name of a documentary from the nineteen seventies, but I've never forgotten the story of a man who had lived and cared for a herd of elephants, perhaps on a reserve. Some elephants can live from forty eight to seventy unless depressed in unnatural captivity, confinement, and health issues, and because of that it drops to seventeen to forty years. And anyway, it was inevitable that this caring man would one day pass before all the elephants did. He had devoted his life to them. And since he'd spent his entire life with them, interacting every day with these caring, loving creatures, when he got too sick to tend to them, he had a bed place near an open area which was covered. He knew how important it would be for those loves of his life who cared for him as he did them to know he was not deserting them in death. One by one they walked from the woods and the plain looking for him. When he could barely lift his arms, their eyes met and they saw his condition was bad. He instructed his caregivers to make sure that when he died the elephants, his family could come and pay their respect by sniffing him and touching him if need be. When he died this wish was honored. The grief I saw in body language and elephant eyes has stayed with me. When the elephants all had grieved in his presence and turned to leave, their walks were slow and steady. I realized they understood why he would not be coming back to them and that

A Caretaker’s Death And Elephant Grief

Carol 6:26

they had lost perhaps the most loving presence in their lives.

Letting Animals Say Goodbye

Carol 6:30

Because of this lesson, to let animals know you'd never desert them, to show them your death, I did this with my decades-long friend Margaret. Her last week of life, I brought her two black labs into her bedroom. The hospital bed we had her in had rails. Before I could lower the rail on the one side, the dogs approached and jumped up. And this dog, Lilith, sensed the impending loss. It wasn't the first time I saw dogs cry, but they knew. They had one last visit, and I know this act of respect was a very necessary one for them to heal, and me also.

Elephant Symbolism Across Cultures

Carol 7:14

There are very many cultures and traditions regarding the elephant around the globe. Around the world, elephants have always symbolized wisdom, strength, and power. In South and Southeast Asia, elephants are revered deities. In Africa, elephants represent leadership and ancestral spirits. In East Asia and the West, they celebrate elephants as representatives of good fortune and longevity. In India, specifically in Hinduism, the elephant is personified by Lord Ganesha, who is the worshipped elephant-headed deity of wisdom, prosperity, and new beginnings. In Buddhist teachings, elephants are considered sacred, associated with Queen Maya's dream foretelling the birth of the Buddha. In China, the elephant is a prominent figure associated with Feng Shui, representing longevity, good luck, and prosperity. An elephant with a raised upward-facing trunk is displayed in homes and businesses as a symbol of inviting good change and abundance into the living

Circuses, Tourism, Laws, And Sanctuaries

Carol 8:26

areas. Elephants in the West and Europe came into public consciousness through royal menageries and the traveling circus. Many elephants represented the idiom, an elephant never forgets. There continues to be wars fought using elephants to carry soldiers and supplies. There is also an elephant tourism in Thailand. Although circuses still operate in the United States, the major shows have largely eliminated elephant acts. Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey are now completely animal free. They closed in 2017 and they reopened in 2023, now mainly doing acrobatics, clowning, and high wire acts. Sir Cata Soleil have never used animals. Thank the animal rights organizations who continue to criticize the remaining independent exhibitors because they subject elephants into forced performances, tight confinement, and harsh training tools. There are eight states, including Massachusetts, New Jersey, and California, and many municipalities who have sweeping bands and wild animals performances to combat this practice. As an aside, because you might also wonder, where did the elephants go when the axe were eliminated? They retired to White Oak Conservation, which is a massive 2,500-acre wildlife refuge in Euli, Florida, where they live free in a lush environment.

A Child’s Circus Memory Becomes Advocacy

Carol 10:06

I was six years old when I first went to the circus. I was astounded by the size of an elephant being led near us as my family approached the ticket office. I looked into his eyes, which even as a child registered as sad. I let my hand skim lightly across his side and wondered why he was not kept cleaner. The man tugged on the rope, pulling the elephant, and I ran up to him and I said, I think he'd like a bath. I think he's hot and I don't think he should smell this bad. The man looked at me, paused just long enough to say he'll get one when we decide he needs one. I knew nothing of the cruelty elephants endured, but I've never gotten over the disrespect this man showed such a gentle creature. Years later I think of the lack of autonomy any animal has in a zoo or reserve. I've seen more than I'll describe here, but I've also involved myself in addressing the travesties and involving the media and animal rights groups in resolving issues, as each of us can do as an advocate in one situation at a time. Again, my philosophy, compassion is an action. Do something, say something. Years later I visited a zoo in Louisiana where I saw an elephant standing with one foot shackled. It couldn't even walk freely to reach water. I could not leave without making calls to the zoo directors, state officials, because once you understand how emotionally aware elephants are, you can't simply look away. Compassion, I've learned, isn't just a feeling, it's something we do.

Life Lessons From Elephant Strength

Carol 11:51

Things we can learn from elephants. Again, they grieve, they remember, they name each other. Despite their strength, they are capable of extraordinary gentleness. Of course, no one looks at an elephant and thinks fragile. The elephant doesn't rush or need to prove its strength. It simply carries it. Sometimes the strongest soul in the room is also the quietest. They carry the love and the wisdom from generations before them and pass it on. I believe it's more than their ability to convey information physically. They apparently are on a level where they are receivers and transmitters of energy. They are linked to some dimension of pathways that they can share in their connections to each other. This may also be how we humans have a knowing about things we have yet to experience. Elevates remind us that is a gift. We also have the ability to uncover or discover secrets left behind and bring them to consciousness. This is a healing connection and requires simply being open to the possibility that we can discern through a knowing, a feeling, things we would not otherwise contemplate. There is a loyalty untouched by fear. There is an affectionate nature that can easily be overlooked if one but gives a cursory glance at an elephant. If you relate to an elephant, you like them can teach compassion. They help strangers when they get lost, they rescue other species when they're drowning, when a predator is trying to take advantage of an injured prey, and they remember always who treats them with kindness, love, as well as those who are cruel to them. The discernment and power of an elephant are admirable. We too have power we can use for good or bad, and understanding what is the right and best thing to do is what animals would appear to innately do well. Perhaps each of us should imagine our own strength, that we can cross over and under barriers because we believe we can. When you realize that the wisdom of an elephant reminds you nothing can stand in the way of your destiny once you acknowledge all the possibilities available to you, abundance and fulfilling your calling becomes your choice to not let roadblocks deter you from your ultimate desire. When an elephant walks, the earth listens. When you step toward the things and the people you love, all matter of things come together to support you. Just believe in you, and the directions will open up to you once you move toward them. The elephant, said John Dunn, is nature's great masterpiece, the only harmless great thing. You don't have to stomp around and demonstrate you are magnificent. You have only to respect your own stature and inhale, knowing that your actions, your pursuits will attract like a magnet to you untold blessings.

Ivory, Unity, And A Clear Charge

Carol 15:08

The kindness of elephants makes it all the more heartbreaking when you understand how many are killed each day for their tusks in Africa. The point is that elephants are not a commodity. They are living, breathing face of virtue. It's up to all of us to do what we can to stop the international market for these highly intelligent creatures who teach us grace in every form. We lose ourselves when we lose our rainforests and wild creatures. You are extraordinary. The elephant is extraordinary. The elephant is our mirror. They invite us to contemplate they too have souls. They are protective, guardians, and remind us that there is unity and compassion within. We are, as many astronauts returning from space back to our spaceship Earth, proclaim one race, the human race. What happens when we divide ourselves into labels is we forget we are all truly one. We have so much in common with our fellow travelers on this planet. Be resilient like the elephant. Follow their example of empathy and support by offering both to your family and friends and to strangers. Emulate not by rushing, but by exercising patience and keeping your composure in the face of stressful situations and artificial deadlines. Above all, continue to learn lifelong. Hang on to your curiosity and learn to share and mentor others. Your elders, your grandparents, and your peers have insights and input you can benefit from if you take the time. Elephants are a model of guiding with patience, wisdom, and collaborative consent rather than fighting. Try cooperating for the better good of all with that intention when making decisions. This is harmony, something we can all learn from elephants. Next time you think of an elephant, their mental and physical strength, alongside their gentle, deliberate nature, hope you are encouraged to see your own power as an instrument for stewardship and care rather than for control. In the kingdom of the heart, we all understand. I'm Carol Butler. Thank you for listening and hope you follow me and share with like-interested people. Together we can change how we all view the world. Tune in next week when I'll introduce the cougar, also known as the mountain lion. Since it ranges from Canada to the southern Andes, it also has accumulated over 40 other common names. Sharing soon.