Gratitude

11/27/14

Today in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving, a day when we feast and have fun with family and friends. I am also thinking about all the things I have to be grateful for.

My loving and wonderful husband Bob tops the list. I am so lucky to have him by my side, sharing this amazing life. Each day I am thankful for the gorgeous home we have in this paradise called Sarasota. Sunny warm days are now the norm and I get to hang out with all kinds of new critters and tropical birds. We really scored!

 

I am grateful for my friends all over the world who have been a supportive and caring presence in my life for 1 month to over 50 years. I also adore the new spiritual community that I found here in Florida and the many new friendships that are blooming in that group.

I am so lucky that my parents are still healthy, strong and active and that I enjoy a close relationship with my sister, brother and extended family members. We don’t see each other often but the bond remains.

I am grateful for my clients and students and colleagues – all the people that I interact with doing my work. It is amazing to be part of such a large community of animal lovers. I am also so humbled and happy that I have been able to serve animals and their people for over 18 years as a communicator and teacher.

My gratitude knows no bounds for Granny and the other whales and dolphins who have taught me so much over

the last 25 years. Our planet would not be so vibrant and alive without their energy and grace. Hopefully humans will soon follow their example of loving kindness.

I so appreciate the incredible standard of living we have in this country. We traveled in four countries in Africa last month and visited a village and school where they have NO water or electricity. Billions of people still live without these things that we so readily take for granted.

I could go on and on about all the personal things that I am grateful for and all the blessings I have in my life, but I just wanted to start you thinking about your life and what you’re grateful for. Aren’t we lucky to be able celebrate Thanksgiving in 2014?

Elephants

November 14, 2014

The elephants in Africa are amazing. Most are HUGE and there are so many of them. I believe that we saw elephants every day. They were in the woods, in grasslands, at the river, crossing the road, drinking and playing at watering holes, in towns and national parks. We saw bachelor herds, mom and babies, and mixed groups. Always there were elephants.

We were in Africa at the end of the dry season. By the end of November the rains will come and the land will be transformed, but during our visit every blade of grass was yellow, the red earth was parched and dusty, and most of the trees had not a single leaf. It was astonishing that the thousands of animals we saw all looked like they were thriving in what appeared to be a wasteland.

Most grazers eat either grass or leaves. Elephants though are unique because they can feed on grass,

leaves, bark, branches and even roots. That means a herd of elephants can pretty much destroy an area and strip it of all its plant material in a very short time. This is not so great for the other wildlife, and it’s becoming a problem in villages and towns. We saw areas where there was just bare dirt, hardly any grass, and many trees were damaged because the bark had been stripped off. Sometimes they even knock the trees over and eat the roots.

I had thought that elephants were highly endangered due to the ivory trade and that poachers were killing all the elephants in Africa, but that is only true in certain parts of Africa. In Southern Africa there is an overabundance of elephants. We saw elephants everywhere we went. Chobe National Park in Botswana is 4,500 square miles, and there are more than 50,000 elephants living there.

Now don’t get me wrong. I LOVE elephants and nothing tickled me more than seeing elephants every few minutes. It is thrilling to see 75 elephants running out of the woods, trumpeting, dust flying everywhere on their way to the water hole. We saw all sizes and sexes throughout our trip. We even got to observe a baby that was so small it was still wobbly and mom had to stop and wrap her trunk around it’s whole body to life it up out of a rut.

On the day we visited Victoria Falls, we drove to the edge of town to see one of the largest Baobab trees. As we headed back into town, a herd of elephants crossed right in front of us. There was a man on a bicycle on the other side of the elephants and he just stopped to let them pass.

Bob and I went on an elephant ride near Victoria Falls. We rode Mbanje, the 27 year-old male, and the largest of the four. As we headed out, I spotted a group of wild elephants in the distance and hoped that ours wouldn’t take off to join them. It was very exciting to be on top of an elephant and quite a comfortable ride. At the end, we got to feed him and sit on his knee for a bit. Mbanje’s skin was WAY more stiff and rough than I had expected, but he was a real sweetie.

Having too many elephants in an area is quite a serious and complex issue. Wildlife management has tried contraception, but that made the elephants aggressive. They tried shooting a few, but that made the rest of the herd aggressive. They can’t just relocate some, they need to move the whole the herd, and that is a dangerous and extremely costly endeavor. I hope they can find an answer is to this complicated problem and that somehow the elephant population can be redistributed throughout Africa. They are spectacular and everyone should get enjoy them.

Brandy

11/3/2014

Soon after I arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa, I was visited by Ingrid - a lovely woman that I have been in phone and email contact with for many years. You may remember the blog I did about Wang, the polar bear at the Johannesburg zoo who was deeply depressed after his companion died. This information came from Ingrid and I was glad to know about this special soul and to be able to send him love and healing support. (Wang is now in spirit with his beloved friend.)

This time Ingrid came to me with the story of Brandy, a pregnant leopard who had been caught in a snare. She was wounded very badly and being cared for at the zoo. Ingrid wanted her to know that the people were trying to help her, so I agreed to talk with her.

Brandy was quite frightened by her new surroundings and all this human contact, but I reassured her that they were doing their best to help her and that she would be released as soon as possible. She had undergone two surgeries to close up the gaping wound around her abdomen. Brandy was sore but told me that her cubs were still alive inside her and that her traumatic injuries had not yet killed them.

Throughout my safari time in Africa, I sent love and healing energy to Brandy. I held the vision that she would be fine and that her cubs would live to enjoy life in the bush.

While I stood in line to check my bag as we were leaving Africa, Ingrid appeared at my elbow. What a wonderful surprise!  She had come out to the airport to tell me that Brandy had been returned to the wild with a satellite collar on so that her movements could be monitored. What joyful news!

Brandy with her collar - note the big scar!

Brandy had been released into a new area because her previous territory was full of snares that would once again endanger this magnificent cat’s life. I’m sure this was very confusing for her, so a few days ago, I checked in with Brandy to see how she was doing. She felt good and was settling into this new territory. She had also killed a warthog and when we spoke she was tired and her belly was full. It felt like she had found a safe den for her to deliver her precious babies.

I love working with domestic animals and getting to know all my wonderful clients, but I am so honored when I can be of service to wild animals. And I am so grateful that there are caring people in the world like Ingrid, who go to great lengths to find help for our fellow creatures.

Say a little prayer for Brandy, that her delivery is easy and that her three cubs all survive. If I get any news about her from Africa, I will be sure to pass it along.