Monday, June 11, 2007

DO ELEPHANTS REALLY HAVE MEMORIES? AN INTERESTING STORY!

I don't usually like these heartwarming stories, but
this one is truly interesting...PLEASE READ TO THE END
>
In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from
Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a
young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant
seemed distressed, 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. Mbembe never forgot that elephant or the events
of that day.
>
Twenty years later, Mbembe was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his
teen aged 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, 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...

No comments: