[One of the early editions of Organic Connections, published in August of 2007 carried this article on the late Lawrence Anthony. With the enchanting story appearing in various outlets about the elephants he cared for in Africa standing vigil after his death, we have reposted this piece in his honor.]
The date is March 20, 2003. Spurred on by intelligence reports of hidden weapons of mass destruction, U.S. armed forces, accompanied by those of Britain, Poland and Denmark, begin the invasion of Iraq. Along with the entire world, a man named Lawrence Anthony watches from his South African home.
But Anthony’s viewpoint is not the same as ours—he is greatly concerned over the fates of hundreds of animals trapped inside the Baghdad Zoo. Knowing what became of zoos in other war-torn areas such as Afghanistan, Kuwait and Yugoslavia—where the animals were annihilated or died from abandonment and starvation—he is particularly concerned because this zoo is the largest in the Middle East.
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