easttn4x4

In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from
Northwestern 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 Peter approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee, inspected the elephants foot, and found a
large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as
gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his 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. Peter stood frozen, thinking of
nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the elephant trumpeted
loudly, turned, and walked away. Peter never forgot that elephant
or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with
his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of
the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his
son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter,
lifted its front foot off the ground, 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, Peter could not help wondering
if this was the same elephant. Peter 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 Peter
legs and slammed him against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.