Baghdad Zoo was the biggest zoo in the Middle East; however, by 8 days after the 2003 invasion, when Anthony reached the zoo on a private rescue initiative, out of the original 700 animals in the Baghdad Zoo only 35 survived owing to bombing of the zoo, looting of the animals for food, and starvation of the caged animals without food and water. [7] Anthony could not get to the zoo any earlier at the height of the war owing to safety, transport and bureaucracy issues. [7] The animals that survived tended to be the larger animals, including bears, hyenas, lions and tigers. [7] In the chaos of the war, Anthony used mercenaries to help protect the zoo, and looked after the animals with the help of some of the zookeepers, feeding the carnivores by buying donkeys on the streets of Baghdad. US Army soldiers, Iraqi civilians and various other volunteers including former Republican Guard soldiers came to assist. Eventually L. Paul Bremer, then head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, supported the zoo and American engineers helped to reopen it. [7] Anthony wrote a book about the wartime rescue of the Baghdad Zoo, [8] and the movie rights have been acquired by a major Hollywood production company.

Readers are sure to enjoy their return to the almost magical world of Thula Thula. We are sure that they, like us, will also be looking forward to future real-life adventures from the picturesque slice of heaven home to the reborn Thula Thula Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre. Enough about the quality of the editing. I would have given the book 5 stars, even if it wasn't top quality - editing wise. I'm starting to get bored with the various "whisperers." Especially since most of them don't do any actual whispering to the animals in question. My favorite part of this book is how elephants communicate, sense love and fear, solve problems, and Matriarchs responsible behavior. I was planning to pursue a degree to become an ornithologist and entomologist, This book strengthened my reasoning to pursue this dream one day. By the book’s end, Thula Thula was a sacred place for me. And it was all the more sacred because the will of a dedicated, passionate group of people poured their love into the place.

Leadership for this turn in the direction of Thula Thula, also a game reserve with hotel and bush drives for tourists to bring in money, came at the instigation of Françoise Malby-Anthony after the death of her husband, a time when she was anxious about managing the property without the extraordinary skills her husband possessed. Lawrence Anthony has written two other true stories, with the help of Graham Spence, about his own personal adventures in conservation. There are amusing parts as well. An elephant who thinks he is a comedian and one who twirks better than Miley Cyrus. Who knew? Heartwarming stories about triumphs, close connections formed between babies and their caregivers. Distinct personalities and amazing intuitivesnss. If you are passionate about Elephants and Rhinos, This book gives you an introduction to their behavior pattern and functioning in nature. Francoise takes you through different endeavors in each chapter to make us understand the difficulties of handling wild reservoirs, poaching problems, the joy of being with animals, Taking care of orphans, and facing inevitable odds with grace.

Lawrence Anthony devoted his life to animal conservation, protecting the world's endangered species. Then he was asked to accept a herd of "rogue" wild elephants on his Thula Thula game reserve in Zululand. His common sense told him to refuse, but he was the herd's last chance of survival: they would be killed if he wouldn't take them. The fence was just fifty yards away. Poachers like to keep their escape route open and I made a circling motion with my arm to David. He nodded, knowing exactly what I meant. He would keep watch while I crawled to the fence to cut off the retreat if a firefight erupted. Wow. Animal lovers, listen up! Awesome narration by Simon Vance. This narration won the Audie Award 2014. I could listen to him forever. Utterly captivating and heartwarming animal story / memoir. Anthony is then offered another troubled elephant - one who is all alone because the rest of her herd has been shot or sold, and who fears humans. He has to start the process all over again. But this sense was taken to an even more extraordinary and inexplicable level in the case of the author of "The Elephant Whisperer" and owner of the Thula Thula game reserve in South Africa. In his book, Lawrence Anthony, recounts the story of how he took in a rogue herd that otherwise was going to be shot. Through a very brave and painstaking process, he befriended the matriarch, Nana, and from there the entire herd, except for one male rogue. Eventually, the elephants morphed into two herds and returned to the wild.

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I glanced at her and smiled my thanks. Tall, graceful and very French, she was just as beautiful as the day I had first met her catching a taxi on a freezing London morning twelve years ago.

What about the poachers – would the promise of ivory bring even more of them out of the woodwork? What about having to electrify my entire reserve to keep these giant pachyderms in when I could barely keep thieves with high-velocity rifles out? What about having to build an enclosure to quarantine them while they got used to their new home? Where would I find the funds . . . the resources? The message comes through loud and clear, that to truly protect any life form is to protect all by living in respectful coexistence with all life forms in the natural world model of life fueled by life. In such, death and the recycling of essential elements is a necessary precursor to new life in Earth's closed system of physical life. I did not know what to expect from this book. It is certainly a winner, a 5 star read. And for all I know it may be the best book I Will read this yearThough Lawrence Anthony passed away in 2012, his Lawrence Anthony Earth Organization continues his tradition and values of pursuing practical conservation projects aimed at making the world a better place for humans and wildlife. After the passing of her husband Lawrence Anthony, Francoise Malby-Anthony and co-author Katja Willemsen take up the pen to bring wildlife lovers another incredible chapter in the ongoing wildlife conservation at South Africa's renowned Thula Thula (and Thula Thula Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre). Lawrence Anthony (1950-2012) is a conservationist of South Africa. He had more than 5000 acres of forest reserve in Zululand, by name Thula Thula. Unexpectedly he gets a request to take care of 7 wild elephants, all belonging to same herd. If he refuses the request, all the elephants will be killed as they are causing lot of damages to the owner. Lawrence accepts them with a wary mind. However it turns out to be a life changing experience for him. Bekoff, Marc (7 March 2012). "Elephants Mourn Loss of "Elephant Whisperer" Lawrence Anthony". Psychology Today . Retrieved 5 January 2013.

The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony with Graham Spence recounts Anthony’s struggles and successes in acclimating a traumatized group of elephants to his 5,000-acre Thula Thula Game Reserve in South Africa. The Last Rhinos: My Battle to Save One of the World’s Greatest Creatures details Anthony’s attempt to save the Northern White Rhino from rampant poaching as a result of demand from China and Southeast Asia. He journeys into the heart of Central Africa where rebels and militia groups reign, including the Lord’s Resistance Army, and fights to save the rhinoceros species native to that area. As of November 2015 the last three of the Northern White Rhinos live in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. As I went to bed that night, I noticed the elephants lining up along the fence, facing out towards their former home. It looked ominous. I was woken several hours later by one of the reserve’s rangers, shouting, ‘The elephants have gone! They’ve broken out!’ The two adult elephants had worked as a team to fell a tree, smashing it onto the electric fence and then charging out of the enclosure. Twilight was darkening fast and I slowed as we approached the western fence and killed the headlights. Pulling over behind a large anthill, David was first out as we eased through a cluster of acacia trees, nerves on edge, trigger fingers tense, watching and listening. Tightly choked pump-action scatterguns with heavy pellets were our weapons of choice against poachers, for in the dark, in the bush, things are about as close and personal as you can get. As any game ranger in Africa knows, professional poachers will shoot first and shoot to kill.Well, said Marion. There was a problem. The elephants were considered ‘troublesome'. They had a tendency to break out of reserves and the owners wanted to get rid of them fast. If we didn't take them, they would be put down – shot. All of them. i>It was something I simply couldn’t fathom … what type of person would shoot a terrified teenage elephant, and a female at that? For a tawdry fireside trophy? For the pleasure of the kill? And what kind of reserve owner would hawk a vulnerable young animal for such a reason?" Babylon’s Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo is worth reading for anyone impacted by the U.S.-led coalition’s invasion of Iraq in 2003, or anyone with an interest in wildlife preservation. It adds another perspective to the conflict and highlights not only the lives led by the city’s inhabitants during the inter-war period until the outbreak of conflict but also the lives of the animals in the Baghdad Zoo and those kept by the Saddam family in their lavish homes. Anthony had a reputation for bold conservation initiatives, including the rescue of the Baghdad Zoo at the height of the US-led Coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003, and negotiations with the infamous Lord's Resistance Army rebel army in Southern Sudan, to raise awareness of the environment and protect endangered species, including the last of the Northern White Rhinoceros.