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My feature in the Daily Mail

M. WelshmanM. Welshman
edited May 2014 in Writing
Hi folks.
There was a feature on Thursday in the Daily Mail about a baby elephant pining for his mum who had died. The features editor phoned me lunch time yesterday saying they wanted a piece on animals showing grief for today's paper by 5.00pm, the hook being the elephant story. Made it. It certainly evoked many memories of dear Arthur-Rex and his buddy, Pip.
Here's the link to it if anyone's interested.

http://tinyurl.com/kpveysb

Comments

  • BillBill
    Interesting, Malcolm, really informative and very readable.
  • C2C2
    I enjoyed that, Malcolm. And its more unbelievable than sad to think that some people don't realise animals do feel the sense of loss. And just like us some feel it more than others. As you mentioned animals in the wild have to pick them selves up and get on with it to survive, I can remember years ago watching a documentary about a chimp colony where a male chimp of about seven lost his mother the troop hung about for a few days while he grieved but eventually moved on. He stayed, and mourned his mothers death and eventually died of sorrow.
  • Mrs BearMrs Bear
    Heartbreaking, isn't it? We forget or ignore the fact that pack animals are interdependent, and that each has a part to play in the whole that would be noticed if an individual is lost. The mother-child bond is the one upon which survival is initially pegged, in the wild: it's all the young creature knows. Take away the mother - or the child - and the other will grieve, sometimes to death. So sad. It wouldn't hurt us to remember that we are not the most important species on the planet, only the most greedily destructive.
  • M. WelshmanM. Welshman
    Well expressed Mrs Bear.
  • toothlighttoothlight
    I am a keen supporter of the wonderful work done in Bosnia to save stray dogs and cats, who are killed mercilessly. I adopted Alexia last December (one day from being killed). The floods have caused havoc for all animals, and AWA Bosnia needs all the funds it can get. If you can spare a few euros, please send (Paypal) to: [email protected]. If you need help with other ways or more info, contact Sandra Jensen: [email protected]
    Thank You, in anticipation
  • CarolCarol
    Very well done article, Malcolm.
  • LizyLizy
    Good article, MW, and well said, Mrs B.
  • Lou TreleavenLou Treleaven
    Congratulations on the article, MW!
  • Tiny NellTiny Nell
    Oh, that made me sad, Malcolm.
    It was very well written and really interesting. Well done. That's a feather in your cap.

    Have you watched 'Blackfish' about killer whales in captivity? There was a scene where a mother was grieving for her calf who had been removed and taken to another aquarium. She just stayed in the corner of the pool and made a terrible mourning sound for days. When they analysed the sound frequency, it was found to be of long-range. She was trying desperately to contact her baby. Heartbreaking.
  • C2C2
    Cruel B*****ds.
  • M. WelshmanM. Welshman
    edited May 2014
    Thanks for the kind comments. That Blackfish story is so sad.
    The DM features editor was really enthusiastic about the subject matter and came back to me with congratulations and to say if I had any other ideas to let her know. Well they say strike while the iron is hot, so I immediately responded with a feature I had in stock which I updated. It's all about some experiences I had with nesting swallows. So we'll see what happens.
  • M. WelshmanM. Welshman
    edited May 2014
    Yep. The Daily Mail decided to use my swallows feature, today Monday 26th; and they got their regular cartoonist, Andy Ward, to draw a very apt cartoon which really makes the piece.
    Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/lxxxmj4
  • Baggy BooksBaggy Books
    There's some lovely comments, Malcolm - and I love the cartoon.
  • CarolCarol
    Read it earlier when I saw the link you posted on Facebook- lovely story, and the comments seem to have been generally positive.
  • B DarterB Darter
    I enjoyed your 'swallow' article, they are determined little critters aren't they :>
  • LizyLizy
    Well written article, Malcolm, and some great photos. Love the cartoon - does it look like you?
  • CarolCarol
    Has similarities, Lizy. :)
  • M. WelshmanM. Welshman
    Actually the swallows cartoon did bear a likeness. A couple of years back the DM cartoonist, Andy Ward, did a cartoon for a piece I did entitled 'My wife loves a mangy Mutt more than me.' Astonishingly, he did a very good likeness of my wife and of our mutt - with me outside in the dog kennel. It was all done within 12 hours of the feature being used. The Daily Mail had sent down a photographer the afternoon before to get some shots of us sitting on the settee with Arthur-Rex. But obviously the editorial department didn't like them. So they must have passed the pics on to Andy that evening to enable him to come up with such a marvelous cartoon - and in such a short space of time too.
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