As mentioned earlier on this blog, these days I have become an ardent fan of the BBC History Hour podcasts. Each episode is a virtual treasure trove of historical events which I otherwise would never have read or heard about.

In the past few days I have heard about the assassination attempt on Bob Marley, the assassination of Rafael Trujillo, the Mirabal sisters and the Silk Letter Conspiracy. Then there was the incident in which a group of British tourists who had gone to Greece in November 2001 on a plane spotting trip (apparently it is a hobby!) were arrested on espionage charges. But what stole my heart was the story of how a British woman, Dr. Dame Daphne Sheldrick - who was born and brought up in Kenya - set up a shelter for elephants orphaned because of the rampant poaching in Kenya's national parks. She said that an elephant can read your heart and unless the animal knows that you care for him, it is difficult to look after the baby. The podcast went on to talk about how the elephants never forget those who took care of them when they were young - in one particular case an elephant recognized the voice of his caretaker even after the passage of 28 years - and how they bring other injured elephants as well as their own young ones to the shelter so that the caretakers can look after them.

My hats off to all those who are doing all that they can to make sure that these truly majestic animals continue to roam the planet!