Elephant Diary, Day One: Rolled in mud. Considered meaning of life.

April 26, 2009 5:24 PM

Dame Daphne Sheldrick runs an orphanage in Kenya. For elephants. The orphanage has been the focus of a report on 60 Minutes and a special called "The Elephant Diaries" on BBC1. At the orphanage, elephants are taught skills they will need to know in the wild, including how to play football.
posted by grapefruitmoon (10 comments total)

I know it's not necessarily true, but I feel like if I could spend about an hour with those elephants and maybe play a little football a lot of my problems would be solved.
posted by milarepa at 5:37 PM on April 26, 2009 [2 favorites]

I went to the Pinnawela elephant orphanage in Sri Lanka.
posted by gman at 5:49 PM on April 26, 2009

They are so beautiful. Smelly… but beautiful.

I wish I could save and protect every singe one of them.

(and play football them).
posted by vertigo25 at 5:50 PM on April 26, 2009

I love elephants.

There's a great line in the football video where one of the elephants takes a spill while trying to kick the ball, and one of the off-camera people comments "that was a dive!" That video made my day. Maybe my week. Thank you for the post.
posted by snwod at 8:08 PM on April 26, 2009

There's nothing quite like a video of little elephants at play. Thanks!
posted by nowonmai at 8:13 PM on April 26, 2009

Was this also the place that gives elephants drums and gongs and other percussive musical instruments to play with? I remember seeing a piece with elephants happily making cacophonic music to amuse themselves.

Now I am having these great mental images of elephants playing football while an elephant marching band bangs out a fight song on the sidelines.
posted by Spatch at 8:51 AM on April 27, 2009

I saw this last night. Made me want to be a keeper, taking care of a single elephant. Sounds like a great job, if difficult for many reasons.
posted by krinklyfig at 9:26 AM on April 27, 2009

Bob Simon also did a nice story on elephant painters a while back. He seems to be 60 Minutes's Senior Elephant Correspondent.
posted by homunculus at 9:27 AM on April 27, 2009

We own a painting done by an elephant. Also, it is a painting of an elephant.
posted by Astro Zombie at 10:27 AM on April 27, 2009

I loved that story, although I had to quit watching when they got to the mother/baby tragedy involving the lions.

I totally want a baby elephant now though.
posted by OolooKitty at 11:44 AM on April 27, 2009