{"id":19481,"date":"2026-03-11T07:44:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T07:44:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/an-elephant-herd-honors-the-man-who-gave-them-a-home\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:07:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:07:59","slug":"an-elephant-herd-honors-the-man-who-gave-them-a-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/positive-living\/friends-and-family\/pets\/an-elephant-herd-honors-the-man-who-gave-them-a-home\/","title":{"rendered":"An Elephant Herd Honors the Man Who Gave Them a Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

I can still hear them. The rumbling that vibrated through the reserve that dry evening in March. Their grief-filled moans. The agitated movements of their ears. Those big eyes fixed on me and me alone.<\/p>\n

My husband, Lawrence, always said there were things in this world that cannot be explained by reason, cannot be seen. Deep roots that connect all living things<\/a>, humans and animals. It wasn\u2019t until that night, two days after Lawrence died, that I truly understood.<\/p>\n

This was a man who\u2019d somehow charmed me into leaving my native France for an old Dutch farmhouse out on the savannah of Zululand in South Africa<\/a>. A man who suddenly suggested we buy an old game reserve and transform it into Thula Thula, a lodge and an animal haven where leopards, zebras and white rhinos could roam free.<\/p>\n

A man who, after watching a news report on the Iraq War, sneaked into Baghdad in the midst of battle to rescue trapped zoo animals<\/a>. And then, of course, there were the elephants.<\/p>\n

Everyone called Lawrence the Elephant Whisperer. He earned the nickname after adopting a herd of nine \u201cdelinquent\u201d elephants about to be put to death. The herd was prone to escaping its protected habitat and rampaging through populated areas. Dangerous. Lawrence\u2019s mind was made up, though. Maybe the elephants kept wandering because they weren\u2019t in the right home, he said.<\/p>\n

He had no knowledge of wild African elephants<\/a>. Yet night after night, he camped out with them to earn their trust, a move that almost got him trampled. He sang to them, talked to them. Crazy, people said. But little by little, the herd took him in. First the matriarch, Nana, then the rest. They forged a deep bond, one based on trust and respect. The elephants stopped escaping and made Thula Thula their home.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I tagged along with Lawrence on his visits to the elephants deep in the bush. Nana would extend her trunk to him and caress his face, as if he were a member of the family. The herd increased to 21 elephants and our property doubled over the years. But the bond remained. So did Lawrence\u2019s nickname, though he preferred to be called the Elephant Listener.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have a special talent,\u201d he told me. \u201cThe elephants talk to me if they want to. If they don\u2019t want to, I don\u2019t insist. I just listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

I only wished he\u2019d listen to me every now and then. Lawrence was physically strong, a robust six foot three. But lately he\u2019d been having heart trouble. In September, at the age of 61, he\u2019d suffered his second heart attack<\/a>. He wasn\u2019t supposed to fly, but he had insisted on traveling to Johannesburg for a weeklong business trip to help advance the mission of Thula Thula.<\/p>\n

\u201cFran\u00e7oise, I\u2019ll be fine,\u201d he said before he left. \u201cThere\u2019s no need to fret.\u201d<\/p>\n

The call came at seven o\u2019clock in the morning on Friday, March 2, 2012. I was awake early, straightening up the house in preparation for Lawrence\u2019s return. On the phone was David, Lawrence\u2019s right-hand man, sobbing. I caught only snippets. Lawrence. Unconscious. Heart attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m\u2026so\u2026sorry\u2026Fran\u00e7oise,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n

I clutched the phone. \u201cImpossible, impossible,\u201d I whispered. But deep down I knew it was true.<\/p>\n

The news hit Thula Thula like a bomb. Our staff of 70 was inconsolable. Lawrence wasn\u2019t just the boss. His Zulu name was Mkhulu, or \u201cgrandfather.\u201d That\u2019s how everyone saw him. I knew they needed me to be strong, to assure them that we\u2019d be okay, even without Lawrence. But I couldn\u2019t think, couldn\u2019t speak. My head was lost in memories.<\/p>\n

Like the first time we\u2019d met. Waiting for a taxi in London, where we had both gone on business. It was freezing, a mix of rain and snow. I finally made it to the front of the line. The concierge asked if I\u2019d mind sharing a ride with the man at the back, also headed to the convention center.<\/p>\n

Lawrence was wearing a bright blue windbreaker in the middle of January, as if he were on safari. No way was I sharing a ride with that guy. \u201cNo, no,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

To my great surprise, I ran into him later at a Tube station. It was hard to miss that windbreaker. This time, I introduced myself, apologized for my rudeness. It was one of those moments orchestrated by that invisible force <\/a>Lawrence believed in. We met for dinner and a jazz show. One year later, I left Paris, headed for South Africa. It was easy to face the unknown with Lawrence. He made me less fearful.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want to face the unknown without him. Didn\u2019t want to live in a world without his fierce spirit and generosity<\/a>. Life without Lawrence? Impossible, impossible!<\/p>\n

Two days after Lawrence\u2019s death, a Sunday, I was still holed up in our bedroom. People passed in and out of the house, paying their respects. It made no difference to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re here!\u201d someone said with a gasp. Who was here? The voice was followed by shouts. All kinds of commotion. What was going on?<\/p>\n

I dragged myself downstairs and opened the front door. The staff was gathered outside, all staring in the same direction, eyes wide. On the other side of the fence on our property were 21 distinct gray shapes. The elephants. Lawrence\u2019s elephants<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nana gazed at me. So did the rest. As if they were waiting for something. Or someone. They remained like that for more than an hour, then marched up and down along the fence, rumbling. The same noise they\u2019d always used to \u201ctalk\u201d with Lawrence. They seemed edgy. Distressed. Finally, they lined up one by one and made their solemn procession back into the bush.<\/p>\n

The work at Thula Thula continues, as my husband would have wanted it to. Most people have moved on. But an elephant never forgets.<\/p>\n

The year after Lawrence\u2019s death, on March 4, the elephants returned. Led by Nana in the same procession. The year after that, again on March 4, they were back. And again on March 4 the following year. They mourned him like one of their herd.<\/p>\n

How did they know? Who sent them? What does it mean? Some things in this world are beyond human understanding\u2014cannot be explained by reason, cannot be seen.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For more inspiring stories, subscribe to <\/em>Guideposts<\/strong><\/a> magazine<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can still hear them. The rumbling that vibrated through the reserve that dry evening in March. Their grief-filled moans. The agitated movements of their ears. Those big eyes fixed on me and me alone. My husband, Lawrence, always said there were things in this world that cannot be explained by reason, cannot be seen. 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The rumbling that vibrated through the reserve that dry evening in March. Their grief-filled moans. The agitated movements of their ears. Those big eyes fixed on me and me alone. My husband, Lawrence, always said there were things in this world that cannot be explained by reason, cannot be seen. 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