‘The Elephants of Thula Thula’

The chic French-born Francoise Malby-Anthony never expected to find herself living on a South African game reserve. But when she fell in love with renowned conservationist Lawrence Anthony her life took an unexpected turn. The widow of the remarkable “Elephant Whisperer” is returning to Hermanus to continue her moving story about the elephants of the Thula Thula Game Reserve and her wildlife conservation work. In 2019 Francoise spoke to a standing-room-only crowd in Hermanus.

Their story started when the couple bought a rundown hunting reserve and renamed it Thula Thula - the Zulu word for “peace and tranquillity”. This was where Lawrence gained the trust and tamed a herd of traumatised elephants that was destined to be culled. When Lawrence passed away unexpectedly in Johannesburg, the elephants came to her house on the reserve at 17:00 to pay their respects and grieve with her - and repeated it three years running on the same date. Amazingly, having skipped a few years, the elephants again returned in 2019, on the exact date at 17:00. To quote her: “Everything does not have to be explained scientifically to be true.”

Following Lawrence’s death, Francoise decided to carry on his conservation work. She runs Thula Thula with her team of 50 loyal employees. The main source of funding is generated by the two lodges at Thula Thula, the Elephant Safari Lodge and the luxury tented camp that Francoise created in 2000 and 2006. In 2016, Francoise founded the South African Conservation Fund which incorporated the Rhino Conservation Fund for further wildlife protection actions and the expansion of the Thula Thula elephant habitat. Francoise has fought a consistent battle to protect the game - especially rhinos - from poachers.

In 2017 the Thula Thula Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre was opened where orphans or wounded wildlife can be cared for, before being rehabilitated into the wild. In addition, the Thula Thula Volunteers Academy caters to people from all over the world to come and work and be educated about the world of conservation in an African game reserve. Francoise received the prestigious Medal of “Chevalier de l’Ordre national du Merite” by the French Government in February 2022 for her work.

There is now a second chance to listen to Francoise in Hermanus when she talks about her new book, The Elephants of Thula Thula, which is full of fascinating stories of Thula Thula and the adversities and challenges faced by the team, including poachers, bureaucracy, and the pandemic. It is an inspirational tale about the work done by Francoise and her team to preserve African wildlife, the successful expansion of the game reserve achieved by working closely with local communities to create more space for wildlife conservation and highlights the plight of so many endangered species.

Come and share this amazing narrative on Thursday 29 September 2019 at 17:00 at the Dutch Reformed Church Onrusrivier. There is a large parking area above the church building adjacent to the R43 main road.

University of the Third Age (U3A)