Foreign media, notably from Europe and the United States, instantly responded to the story of Zululand’s little calf who took a walk on the wild side and sought more information.
So why does a vulnerable little elephant’s wanderings in the bush attract such attention in a world currently dominated by so many important issues of international affairs
‘When we are faced with adversity every day, we all want to experience an amazing story with a happy ending,’ says Francoise Malby-Anthony, owner of Thula Thula Game Reserve where Tom’s story unfolded.
She hit the nail right on the head. The modern world has become toxic, and while we don’t always consciously realise it, we need escape – albeit temporarily – to maintain our sanity.
Tom’s story, symbolic of nature’s intelligent animals inter-acting with humans, is the type of tale that brings relief and gives us hope that honesty and goodness in a world saturated with deceit, are still in abundance.
And it started with one man’s desire to not merely save the herd of rogue elephants, a mammoth task in itself, but to personally connect with them.
The general news about disasters, natural and man-made, the news about troubled people dicing with war, and country’s leaders discussing possible attack and counter-attack; the crimes committed, the corruption – in short, man’s inhumanity to man, leaves the ordinary person reeling.
Then a baby elephant (one-week-old) gets separated from his mom and herd, and miraculously finds the Thula Thula stoep which happened to be Lawrence Anthony’s home.
He is fed, rehydrated and reunited with his mother and the herd. And we all latch on to this amazing, feel-good story.
The story goes viral because it touches something deep within us, and reminds us that we are part of the bigger picture, that the world can indeed be a better place and that we need to leave our cloistered lives and reach out to others, human or animal.
The story is also a glimpse into Lawrence’s world where both people and nature have been touched by him, the kindest of spirits.
And we would like to believe that it was angelic guardian Lawrence’s soft whisper that led baby Tom to the safety of his home.
Perhaps it was.
