In 1986, Mark
Murray was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Depaul
University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull
elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The Elephant
seemed distressed, so Murray approached it very carefully.
He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and
found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and
as gently as he could, Murray worked the wood out with his hunting
knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot.
The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look
on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Murray stood
frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the
elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.
Murray never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
Twenty years later, he was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his
teenage son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the
creatures turned and walked over to near where Murray and his son
Tom were standing.
The large bull elephant stared at Murray, lifted its front foot off
the ground and then put it down. The elephant did that several
times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.
Remembering the encounter in 1986, Murray couldn't help but
wonder if this was the same elephant.
He summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his
way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and
stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its
trunk around one of Murray's legs and slammed him against the
railing, killing him instantly.
supercalifredge · 1 decade ago
...That was sooo touching. XD
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