Wednesday Wonders: The Wonder of the Elephant

               

                I’ve long been fascinated by elephants. They are such majestic creatures—and they appear to feel deeply. Like human mothers, elephant mothers possess a strong maternal instinct, and it’s common to see calves traveling close to their mamas.

                Scientists have found that friendship is important to elephants, as opposed to aggression or dominance. Other qualities common among elephant herds include leadership, playfulness, gentleness, and reliability. They are highly social creatures, with complex social networks.

                I alluded earlier to elephants’ feelings—they’ve shown themselves to be clearly empathetic and caring. From an article at the National Geographic website:

In Kenya, researchers have watched mother elephants and other adult females help baby elephants climb up muddy banks and out of holes, find a safe path into a swamp, or break through electrified fences.

Scientists have spotted elephants assisting others that are injured, plucking out tranquilizing darts from their fellows, and spraying dust on others' wounds. – “It’s Time to Accept That Elephants, Like Us, Are Empathetic Beings,” by Virginia Morell

Furthermore, elephants—like us—grieve and cry over loss; they even bury their dead. In contrast, they have been known to show strong pleasant emotions when reunited with family members they’ve not seen in a long time.

We’ve known for some time that animals have feelings, but it seems that no animal exemplifies this fact better than the elephant.

I find it no accident that God would create a being so like us yet so markedly different. Unlike the elephant, we cannot give ourselves a shower without the use of a water tank and shower head. And our wrinkles don’t show up until we’re well along in years. But the elephant’s steadfastness and relative longevity (a life span of approximately 70 years) remind us that while life persists, we should “live large.” It’s difficult to hide an elephant, and so we’ve been able to learn much about them—their habits, their values, their personalities.

Because an elephant’s life is so “out there,” they’ve become targets for trophy hunters. We too have an enemy—seeking to destroy us for his own gain. The ardor of the elephant reminds us to tromp boldly through the forests and jungles of this life, in spite of what may come against us.

And no creature on the face of the earth can sound the trumpet like an elephant can. This response occurs when the elephant is highly stimulated—and the quality of the trumpeting varies according to context—which could be excitement, anger, to signify danger, or simply the necessity to communicate over a large distance. Elephants look out for each other.

Perhaps the thing I appreciate most about the elephant is that no matter what, it will never pretend to be anything else. From the tips of its giant, flappy ears to the toes of its wrinkly feet—it is an elephant through and through. No pretense; no apology; just living the life it was created to live, come what may. Perhaps we can all take a lesson or two from the wondrous life of the elephant.