Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
Author:Jodi Picoult [Picoult, Jodi]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Tags: Fiction, Contemporary Women, Literary, Sagas
ISBN: 9780345544933
Google: 1WihAgAAQBAJ
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2014-10-14T04:00:00+00:00
The land in South Africa often looks parched, its heels and elbows cracked with drought, its valleys baked red by the sun. This sanctuary, by comparison, was a lush Garden of Eden: verdant hills and damp fields, flowering, muscled oak trees with their arms bent in fourth position. And, of course, there were the elephants.
There were five Asian elephants, one African, and another African on the way. Unlike in the wild, the social bonds here were not formed by genetics. Herds were limited to two or three elephants, which had chosen to roam the property together of their own accord. There were some elephants, Thomas told me, who just did not get along; there were some who preferred to be on their own; there were others who didn’t move four feet away from their chosen companion.
It surprised me, how much the philosophy of the sanctuary was like ours in the field. Just like we might want to rush in and save a gravely injured elephant, we wouldn’t, because it would disrupt nature. We took our lead from the elephants, and considered ourselves lucky to be able to watch unobtrusively. Likewise, Thomas and his staff wanted to give his retired elephants as much freedom as possible, instead of micromanaging their existence. They might not be released into the wild in their dotage, but this would be the next best thing. The elephants here had spent most of their lives being hooked and chained and beaten to force behavior. Thomas believed in free contact—he and his staff still went into the enclosures to feed the elephants and to medically treat them if necessary—but behavior modification was done only with reward and positive reinforcement.
Thomas took me around the sanctuary on an ATV so that I could get my bearings. I rode behind him, my arms wrapped around his waist and my cheek pressed into the warmth of his back. The gates were designed with openings small enough for the vehicles to pass through, but too small for an elephant to escape. There were separate enclosures for the Asian elephants and the African elephants, and each had its own barn—although right now, Hester was the only African elephant in hers. The barns themselves were giant hangars, so clean that you could practically eat off the floors. Heaters ran through the concrete to keep the elephants’ feet warm in the winter, and heavy straps hung on the doors, like the long fabric tongues of a car wash, so that heat could be retained in the winter but the elephants could choose to go in and out. There were automatic watering mechanisms in each stall. “It must cost a fortune to run this place,” I murmured.
“A hundred and thirty-three thousand dollars,” Thomas answered.
“Each year?”
“Each elephant,” he told me, and laughed. “God, I wish it were per year. I sank everything into securing the land, when I saw the property advertised. And we let Syrah sell herself, by inviting all the neighbors and the press to come see what we were doing.
Download
Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult.epub
Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult.mobi
Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult.pdf
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
In Control (The City Series) by Crystal Serowka(35779)
The Wolf Sea (The Oathsworn Series, Book 2) by Low Robert(34674)
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry(33985)
Crowbone (The Oathsworn Series, Book 5) by Low Robert(33042)
The Book of Dreams (Saxon Series) by Severin Tim(32900)
The Daughters of Foxcote Manor by Eve Chase(23019)
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh(20991)
Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman(19883)
Shot Through The Heart (Supernature Book 1) by Edwin James(18417)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt(18113)
The Girl from the Opera House by Nancy Carson(15376)
American King (New Camelot #3) by Sierra Simone(14796)
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda(14646)
Sad Girls by Lang Leav(13887)
Pimp by Iceberg Slim(13763)
The Betrayed by Graham Heather(12285)
The Betrayed by David Hosp(12192)
4 3 2 1: A Novel by Paul Auster(11768)
Still Me by Jojo Moyes(10762)
