We got an email from the Houston Zoo last night, bearing the sad news that Mac, the two-year-old Asian elephant, died Sunday night of elephant herpes virus.Our family spends a lot of time at the zoo, and we spent the summer of 2006 eagerly watching Shanti as her belly swelled along with mine. When Mac was born in October, I felt about the size of a pregnant elephant, and couldn't imagine how Shanti managed to give birth to the largest elephant born in captivity. But when we went to visit him for the first time, he was only about a week old, and he looked tiny. Elephantine, but tiny, next to his Mama.
Bryce cried himself to sleep last night. Annie sobbed too, asking me if I thought Shanti was ok. They cried much harder over Mac than they did when their great-grandma died a few months ago, but they've also watched him grow up. Just a couple of weeks ago we stood for a long time outside of the elephant enclosure and watched Mac and Tucker (the resident three-year-old) swing their trunks at each other.
Bryce was so sad this morning that he said the only thing to make him feel better would be for me to come to school and have lunch with him. Maybe he was milking it, but it totally worked.
1. The Houston Zoo
2. Eating lunch with all of my kids
3. A clean house (at least for the moment!)
2. Eating lunch with all of my kids
3. A clean house (at least for the moment!)
3 comments:
I'm sad, not many baby elephants survive in captivity, and not many elephants are surviving in the wild.
Bailey is going to be upset, I wonder if I should tell him or not.
That is so sad - both that the elephant died and that your kids took it so hard.
I'm sad for baby Mac and for Bryce and Annie, too. Our sweet Bryce has such a tender heart for the animals he loves so much. Give him a hug for me.
Love, Grannie
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