An Elephant in My Kitchen

By Françoise Malby-Anthony

Thula Thula is a large area in South Africa that is now protected land for the wildlife that live there, setup originally by Françoise and Lawrence Anthony – her husband at the time. It is now home to not only a luxury hotel, but also a wildlife rehabilitation centre. 

Before I say any more I should point out that this book is a bit of a “sequel” to The Elephant Whisperer, written by Lawrence Anthony. The Elephant Whisperer recounts the inception of Thula Thula, the bringing together of various local tribal lands, and tells the story of how they came to acquire their very own herd of elephants. I shall cover that book in a separate review, and am only writing this one first as it is still very fresh in my mind.

The book begins with Françoise dealing with the grief of her recently deceased husband, Lawrence, who had died from a heart attack whilst abroad. It was clearly sudden, and entirely unexpected. Françoise is left alone to run the entire Thula Thula operation, something she had always shared with Lawrence.  She dealt with the administration and hospitality, whilst he dealt with the animals, security and sourcing funds. Originally a Parisian – a city girl through and through – she met Lawrence, who was South African, and in a bold move decided to move to the South African bush to live with him and set up Thula Thula. 

Now she was faced with having to frantically learn all that Lawrence had taken care of and deal with a security team that refused to listen to a woman, all the while still managing her own grief. 

The book, much like The Elephant Whisperer, reads like a film. The action at Thula Thula is non stop and the stakes are always high. Whether attempting to chase down poachers that are hunting their rhinos or save a baby elephant that is sporting an injury from a poacher’s snare. No aspect of managing the animals is easy or safe, and it is very apparent how reliant on each other the entire team are to keep all the animals of Thula Thula out of danger. 

If you have any interest in conservation, and the struggles that are faced on the front line for wildlife, then this is an absolute must read. I was shocked by the scale of their poaching crisis. The sheer number of snares left on their land; the fact that not only “big ticket” animals are poached; that these poaching operations are committed by highly organised criminal organisations with high tech capabilities. The poachers now use drones to scout out locations before an attack and it has taken a military grade level of security at Thula Thula to bring the poachers to heel. 

A large part of the book is devoted to the creation of a Rhino orphanage. Baby rhinos would be taken in, usually after their mothers were killed by poachers. Most of them would be dealing with the trauma of that experience, as not only would they have witnessed their mother’s death, but they would have also seen the poachers take a chainsaw to their mother’s face – cutting the horn off, often whilst still alive. 

Françoise is not shy in telling us of her battle with self doubt as she struggles to find the best route forward. However, throughout the journey, whether she recognises it or not, she shows remarkable strength and courage. I found myself developing a great admiration for her and all that she has achieved. She writes as though she had no choice but to do what she did, but looking in from outside we can recognise that there is always a choice. She chose to stay, and she chose to commit to the legacy of Thula Thula despite overwhelming odds. 

Ultimately the book highlights how beautiful, magical, and brutal life can be out in the South African bush. It is hopeful, uplifting, and heartbreaking all at once. I found myself fluctuating from despair to joy within a matter of pages. 

Women have played a predominate role in conservation in Africa. Whether it is Dame Daphne Sheldrick, whose work has transformed elephant conservation, or Jane Goodall whose study of Chimps revolutionised the way scientists viewed apes. Françoise, in my opinion, can stand beside them as a champion of wildlife conservation in South Africa.