Elephants Heal With a Little Help From Their Friends
Do you need anybody?
I just need someone to love
Could it be anybody?
I want somebody to love
The Beatles – With a Little Help from my Friends
Elephants, like us, need community and friends to heal from trauma and loss. There’s proof. This week National Geographic published a study about the power of friendship and survival in orphaned elephants. Look at these orphaned baby elephants at the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Northern Kenya – does it look like they are having a good time?
Each of these orphans lost their mothers due to a catastrophe. Some were found abandoned after falling into a deep well, some lost their mothers due to the devastating drought that is ravaging Northern Kenya, others are victims of human wildlife conflict.
Most elephant calves spend their first 8-9 years no further than 10 meters from their mothers. Like our own children, elephants need more than good nutrition to develop into healthy adults, they need love, touch and a sense of safety. The Samburu keepers at Reteti are with the orphans 24/7 ensuring they are safe and cared for. Above, Reteti’s keepers provide a dust bath for the elephants while the youngsters tussle and roll around like a group of happy puppies. Play is sign of healing.
Signs of normal behaviour, like this relaxed calf enjoying a good bum scratch, are evidence of good mental health.
Symptoms of trauma: isolation, anxiety, depression, and aggression, heal in the presence of elephant friends and loving keepers. As the elephants mature, each age group is given more independence in their daily walks outside the compound. Leaving home in the company of good friends increases the likelihood of survival when the orphans are released back into the wild.
An older cohort of orphans enjoy a mud bath outside Reteti compound.
In the past Reteti translocated orphans to protected reserves when they were deemed old enough to survive on their own. Now older cohorts will be released into the surrounding open rangeland where they were rescued, increasing the likelihood they might meet up with their relatives. Elephants have remarkable memories. There’s a good chance siblings, aunties and cousins will recognize one of their own and accept the youngsters into their herd.
Oh, they get by with a little help from their friends
They’re gonna try with a little help from their friends
Oh, they get high with a little help from their friends
Yes, they get by with a little help from their friends
With a little help from their friends
Learn more about elephants and their innate wisdom about how to live in community in my book The Wisdom of Elephants. Early bird price still in effect $135 + $30 shipping.
Special discount: Shop early for the holidays! Buy 2 books $125 each plus $45 shipping.
NOTE: Shipping will be calculated separately on larger orders.
Here’s what readers are saying:
I just opened your book and am blown away with how beautiful it has turned out!! I could not be more happy for you and want to wish you my warmest congratulations and deep gratitude for allowing me to have some small part of it. It's profoundly moving and I cannot wait to spend some time with it. – Ami Vitale National Geographic Photographer
I hardly ever find the moment to use the word Awesome but in this case it is just the right one..... The Wisdom of Elephants is just that - awesome! What a joy this book will be for me as I know each time I open it I will feel inspired and encouraged.... – Nicky T.
Just wanted you to know, my copy of your book arrived, superb!! I am working my way through it slowly, paying attention to what you say along with what you show in your images. Thanks for doing this and huge kudos, – Don M.
Kathy! I am speechless, nothing I say will be an adequate response to your marvelous ELEPHANTS. It is truly a beautiful work of art, every page. And the text is exquisite. I was sorry to reach the end. Thank you for letting readers in on your earlier life, preparation for the lovely observations you make, and pass on so very eloquently. – Lois R.