An Elephant in My Kitchen (Review)

An Elephant in My Kitchen Review Simply breathtaking! A marvel of adventure, both heart wrenching and joyous at the same time. An absolute 5 Star Read. I loved this captivating story of Thula Thula, a game sanctuary in Zululand that was managed by the brave, dedicated and tenacious Francois Malby-Anthony. Fighting against all odds, Francois keeps the beloved game reserve afloat after losing her husband, Lawrence, a Conservationist. Though she knew little about animals, Francois had to quickly throw herself into learning everything she could to help, rescue, rehabilitate, and protect the precious elephants, rhinos, hippos and other game that lived within the guarded fences of the sanctuary, Thula Thula. The biggest threat to her beloved animals were poachers - dangerous men whose only despicable goal was to kill the rhinos for the horns and get paid big money by selling them on the black market. They killed the poor animals with no regard for the pain they suffered and often left them to die horrible, long, excruciating deaths. My eyes were opened to the extent to which this black market industry has endangered these gentle, sweet animals to the point where it is estimated that they will be extinct in under two decades. I spent a lot of the book scrunching my eyes at the terror and gasping for what I felt as whole hearted helplessness. How can humans be so cruel? Francois was determined to keep going at all costs, never flinching at low funds, dangerous armed poachers, or the sometimes scary and dangerous situations that can occur when helping a two ton animal like an elephant or rhino. Francois, through grit and determination, started an orphan sanctuary on her property and the stories of the little babies are endearing and grab your heart strings. I will forever have their names in my memory. You feel like you have been there with them, feeding them bottles, and helping to heal their wounds. Animal conservation is critical! We have to do our part to protect our wildlife. Our world depends upon it.