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What Happened To Limpopo
I would say the key factor that contributed to why I became vegetarian is the elephant. Today, as I am writing this I am still sad about what happened to Limpopo. The incident took place when I was on holiday, so at the time I was busy - preoccupied with many things like planning my parents' Golden wedding anniversary, celebrating a Birthday, and even seeing a death and funeral. I am and have long been a follower and supporter of HERD Elephant Orphanage in South Africa (https://herd.org.za/), so I saw rescue of baby elephants; some survive and some are not as fortunate as the others, so their stories too break my heart.
I want to focus and dedicate this writing to Limpopo. All throughout - and since the beginning - I haven't seen any videos or any related stories pertaining to Limpopo acting wild or showing that she went berserk everything like that. I heard about this first-born baby elephant in this unusual and special herd/group of elephants. They are all good. Originally these elephants came from Zimbabwe. Each came from a different herd or group of elephants and they are all orphaned and became family when they were relocated to South Africa... more of their stories in the website.
The more recent blog post can be found in this address: https://herd.org.za/blog/update-on-elephant-incident-and-safety-measures/
This prompted me to write to PETA. I can't rest until this incident will be investigated by a third party. HERD reported this incident based on a first-hand experience, I am not doubting their expertise in handling animals and scenarios like this one, more so if the involved animal is under their care since from the beginning. Limpopo was born and raised by HERD, she is special because she is the first daughter of the Matriarch Tokwe and elder sister to Pisa. Her main physical attribute is a copycat of her mother and as she grows older Limpopo looks more like Tokwe. I can't believe what happened; why would you need to put down a healthy elephant, more so knowing that a bull elephant in a musth is more powerful and more dangerous? Surely if Limpopo went aggressive, then this happened too with other elephants in the HERD; after all, they are still animals in the wild. Rest in peace my dear Limpopo, you will be missed. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you.
Also consider https://herd.org.za/blog/17-years-of-limpopo-a-matriarchs-daughter/
This blog post was written prior to the incident and this is now redirected. The blog post titled "What makes Limpopo special? Here are our top..."
Limpopo, indeed, was a loving elephant until the end. My poor soul.