An Elephant's Memory -
Touching Story
>>
>> In 1986, Mkele Mbembe was on holiday
in Kenya after graduating from
>> college. 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 thorn deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as
gently as he
>> could, Mbembe worked the thorn 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 stern look
>> on its
>> face, stared at
him.
>>
>> For several tense moments Mbembe stood frozen,t
hinking of nothing
>> else
>> but being
trampled.
>>
>> Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly,t
urned and walked away.
>> Mbembe never forgot that elephant or the
events of that day.
>>
>> Twenty years later he was walking
through a zoo with his teenaged
>> son.
>> As theya
pproached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures
>>t urned
and
>> walked over to near where Mbembe and his son Tapu were
standing.
>>
>> The large bull elephant stared at Mbembe and
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.
>>
>> Suddenly the elephant trumpeted again, wrapped
its trunk around
>> one of
>> the man's legs and swung
him wildly back and forth along the railing,
>> killing
him.
>>
>> Probably wasn't the same
elephant.
>>
>>