Children of the earth

An email arrived a few days ago that I must share with you.  No author was credited so I can only say "anonymous" or "unknown.  This is an excerpt from the story of the end of the life of Lawrence Anthony.

"Lawrence Anthony, a legend in South Africa and author of 3 books including the bestseller The Elephant Whisperer, bravely rescued wildlife and rehabilitated elephants all over the globe from human atrocities, including the courageous rescue of Baghdad Zoo animals during US invasion in 2003.
On March 7, 2012 Lawrence Anthony died.
He is remembered and missed by his wife, 2 sons, 2 grandsons and  numerous elephants.
Two days after his passing, the  WILD elephants showed up at his home led by two large matriarchs.
Separate wild herds arrived in droves to say goodbye to their beloved man-friend.
A total of 31 elephants had patiently walked over 12 miles to get to his South African House.

Witnessing this spectacle, humans were obviously in awe not only because of the supreme intelligence and precise timing that these elephants sensed about Lawrence 's passing, but also because of the profound memory and emotion the beloved animals evoked in such an organized way: Walking slowly - for days -Making their way in a solemn one-by-one queue from their habitat to his house.
Lawrence 's wife, Francoise, was especially touched, knowing that the elephants
had not been to his house prior to that day for well over 3 years!
But yet they knew where they were going.
The elephants obviously wanted to pay their deep respects, honoring their friend
who'd saved their lives - so much respect that they stayed for 2 days 2 nights without eating anything..
Then one morning, they left, making their long journey back home............"

The day I read this email I found an issue of National Geographic my husband left on the kitchen counter.  The lead story was about 25,000 elephants killed in the past year for their ivory.  With an aching heart I can't help wonder how many "dumb" animals are slaughtered each year for money or for sport.  No, I am not a vegetarian.  I know all beings on this planet must consume other living things in order to survive.  But we can stop the tortures of factory farms and useless, so-called sport and consume the gifts of life we are given by these other children of the earth with prayerful respect and gratitude.

Those we call "dumb animals" feel what we do.  Fear, love, gratitude, respect, joy, pain and perhaps some more feelings we humans have not evolved enough to access.  Truly we humans are too often the "dumb animals."  I hope we learn soon.