'Surviving with Wolves' - Incredible Book- A must read

Any animal lover will find this book a definite winner of all time!Do yourself a favour and read this book- it helps one reflect on your own life ..and realise- it's not that bad!



One of the most extraordinary and poignant survival stories to come out of world war II. Misha was only six years old when her parents were taken away from their home in Belguim to Auschwitz.
She was given a new name,a new home and forced into a new religion. No one told her why her parents were no longer with her, only that they had gone East. So, one day,equipped only with a tiny compass,the size of a coin, and a few provisions,she ran away from her foster home,and set out East to find her parents.
Misha crossed Belgium, Germany and Poland, on foot alone- until close to starvation in a vast forest,she was adopted by a family of Wolves.She ate and played with the wolf cubs,and was protected by their mother.Finally,at the end of the war,she found her way home to Belgium via the Ukraine,Romania & Italy.

Mischa Defonseca was born to a Jewish family in Brussels in 1934; when she returned to Belguim at the end of the war after her 4yr epic journey, she met her future husband.After they were married they emigrated to United States,she now lives near Boston,close to a wolf sanctuary,and visits her friends the wolves everyday!
This beautifully written book is about how a young girl witnessed the appauling cruelties of war,and for whom the animals of the forest proved safer than humans. It's about Life and living it without materialistic means,getting in touch with nature and it's true beauty,eating worms, bugs,leaves & adopting the animal instinct for survival. It's about the power of mind over matter,fearless strength & determination.One can learn so much from her hard life- story, and be thankfull.
It is a book that will never be forgotten by anyone who reads it....and quite frankly, the most beautiful book i have ever read! (In a sense- i can relate to her feeling or wanting to be an animal rather than part of the human race)

Modoc ~ A good read

The Story Of the Greatest Elephant that ever lived!

I really loved this book but I can't believe it all to be true.

I cried so much while reading it. Watchout- it will definately pull on your heartstrings!

You'll need a box of tissues.

In case you don't know the story, here's the Amazon blurb:

Modoc is the joint biography of a man and an elephant born in a small German circus town on the same day in 1896. Bram was the son of an elephant trainer, Modoc the daughter of his prize performer. The boy and animal grew up devoted to each other. When the Wunderzircus was sold to an American, with no provision to take along the human staff, Bram stowed away on the ship to prevent being separated from his beloved Modoc. A shipwreck off the Indian coast and a sojourn with a maharajah were only the beginning of the pair's incredible adventures. They battled bandits, armed revolutionaries, cruel animal trainers, and greedy circus owners in their quest to stay together. They triumphed against the odds and thrilled American circus audiences with Modoc's dazzling solo performances, only to be torn apart with brutal suddenness, seemingly never to meet again. Hollywood animal trainer Ralph Helfer rescued Modoc from ill-treatment and learned her astonishing story when Bram rediscovered her at Helfer's company. His emotional retelling of this true-life adventure epic will make pulses race and bring tears to readers' eyes.

I am now busy reading Zamba

Recommended for animal lovers

xxx

Due to my incredible interest and love for elephants, I highly dislike the use of animals in circus. I find it to be very unnatural for them and the only one who benefits from it is the viewers/ owner. It might be funny and entertaining to see all the tricks they do, but just remember what training those animals have to go through- to perform for your 12 dollar ticket. It's cruel. No amount of money can value any life.

Elephants are a symbol of wisdom in asian cultures and are famed for their memory and intelligence, where they are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids.

Aristotle once said the Elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind".  

I have to admit that when I hear about wild animals attacking humans, I do not feel sorry for the human, for 1. they entered their natural habitat at their own risk, or 2. the animal is in an unnatural enviroment and feeling threatened or afraid or trapped and responding to it = disaster.

I feel the same about hunting. I think it's ok to hunt for food and eat it, but to do it for a trophy/ hobby is just plain heartless. This is how animals become extinct.They all form an equal part in our eco- system.

There's many films out -teaching us about wildlife and to pay them some respect.

I cannot recall them all right now, but watch:

• Temple Grandin
• Gorrilas in the mist
• Planet earth (tv)
• The Cove (documentary)
• Behind the Mask(documentary)
• Sharkwater(documentary)
• Peaceable Kingdom(documentary)
• Arctic Tale
• Grizzly Man
• March of the Penguins
• Wild Parrots of Telegraph hill
• Wolves: A legend returns to yellowstone

I'm off to go volunteer at the shelter now. I'm looking forward to the 6 o'clock workshop.

xxx