Ellen Greene Stewart - Elephants: Up Close and Personal

I remember the tipping point in which my love for elephants became an integral part of me. I rode high on the back of an elephant at the Bronx Zoo at the ripe old age of four and have remained drawn to them ever since. As I touched the elephants rubbery skin and bristly hair with my small hand, she reached me with her tender spirit. After years of reading about elephants in books, watching them on television and seeing them in the news, I was determined to find a place where I could interact with them up close and personal, experience their majesty firsthand as an adult. I quickly came upon the renowned volunteer program at the Knysna Elephant Park (KEP) on the southern coast of South Africa, and the rest fell into place.

My decision to visit KEP in South Africa was a long time in the making, however. This was an outsized leap of faith; I would have to travel alone, halfway around the world, to spend three weeks volunteering to assist with research and caring for the elephantsall with a group of people Id never met. I am not at all athletic and didnt know if I was physically fit enough for this adventure. I could hardly afford the trip, and I would have to take time off from work without pay in order to make the trip work. Id been to South Africa before to visit an orphanage for children whose parents died of HIV/AIDS in Durban on the east coast of South Africa with a dear friend. I was well aware of the long travel time and the jet lag as well as the expense and culture shock. It seemed like a long way and a lot of logistics to navigate just to interact with elephants firsthand. But that first trip to South Africa had changed me in ways that are difficult to articulate. Although the language, accents, native garments and culture are all unfamiliar to me, they felt strangely comforting, and I quickly realized that Africa is the cradle of life, both human and animal. Being back on South African soil felt like a homecoming to me in some unexplainable way.

On the long flight, I read the brochure on KEPs ten elephants, memorizing their names, identifying characteristics, studying their pictures and their personality descriptions. It is not easy to tell the elephants apart, so study is necessary. I could hardly believe I was going to see them in a matter of hours, the excitement preventing me from sleeping through the 16-hour overnight flight. By the time I arrived in Cape Town, I was exhausted and elated and still had another flight to take along the southern coast to George at the heart of the Garden Route.

When I finally arrived at the elephant park, I felt so welcomed by the staff, the guides and the elephants. My time there flew by, and I savored every minute of being out in the field with the elephants. These elephants had much to teach me, and all that was required of me was the willingness to learn from them. The following is the story of my trips to the park and tales of what the elephants taught me, up close and personal.

Any quotations without attribution are a result of the interviews conducted by the author.