A game reserve owner in South Africa experienced the real meaning of the phrase "an elephant in the room" when a lost baby wandered into her house after becoming separated from its herd.
%VIRTUAL-ArticleSidebar-Elephants% Luckily for the cute youngster, who had walked 30 miles on its own before reaching the front door in Zululand, South Africa, she'd actually arrived at the house of kindly game reserve owner, Francoise Maldy Anthony.
Mrs Anthony named the elephant Tom, after the chef who found her in the garden, and said she appeared tired and hungry upon her arrival.
***EXCLUSIVE*** ZULULAND, SOUTH AFRICA - MARCH 25: Game ranger Shereen Bond and David Bozas attempt to calm a distressed Tom, the baby elephant on March 25, 2014 in Zululand, South Africa. A HOMEOWNER had no problem talking about the elephant in the room ? as one had wandered into her LOUNGE. Francoise Maldy Anthony was minding her own business when the 10-day-old baby stumbled into her garden. The remarkable young female had travelled around 30 miles after being separated from her herd in Zululand, South Africa. She then made her way across tough terrain into Francoise?s front room where she was fed - before she took a nap - while rangers tried to locate her mother. PHOTOGRAPH BY Barcroft Media UK Office, London. T +44 845 370 2233 W www.barcroftmedia.com USA Office, New York City. T +1 212 796 2458 W www.barcroftusa.com Indian Office, Delhi. T +91 11 4053 2429 W www.barcroftindia.com
According to the Metro, Mrs Anthony said: "We helped her into the living room and just left her free to roam.
"I gave her some milk but was careful to not have too much contact because I didn't want her to be rejected by her herd when we finally got her back."
Mrs Anthony, who has owned the Thula Thula Private Game reserve for 15 years, said she had never experienced anything like it.
***EXCLUSIVE*** ZULULAND, SOUTH AFRICA - MARCH 25: Tom the baby elephant with chef Tom Diamini, who originally found her in the garden, on March 25, 2014 in Zululand, South Africa. A HOMEOWNER had no problem talking about the elephant in the room ? as one had wandered into her LOUNGE. Francoise Maldy Anthony was minding her own business when the 10-day-old baby stumbled into her garden. The remarkable young female had travelled around 30 miles after being separated from her herd in Zululand, South Africa. She then made her way across tough terrain into Francoise?s front room where she was fed - before she took a nap - while rangers tried to locate her mother. PHOTOGRAPH BY Barcroft Media UK Office, London. T +44 845 370 2233 W www.barcroftmedia.com USA Office, New York City. T +1 212 796 2458 W www.barcroftusa.com Indian Office, Delhi. T +91 11 4053 2429 W www.barcroftindia.com
According to the Daily Mail, in an even cuter twist, the baby was the calf of an elephant her conservationist husband had rescued several years earlier.
She told the paper: "It's also remarkable that she ended up at my home - we have 4,500 hectares of land and she was spotted a day before she arrived at my home with her herd at the other end of the reserve.
"She was only here for a few hours before we managed to get her back but it was magical."
