a heart warming story

I'm not going soft, but sometimes I like these heartwarming
stories, and this one truly is amazing...

In 1986, Dan Harrison was on holiday in
Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University

On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull
elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant
seemed distressed, so Dan approached it very carefully.

He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and
found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it..

As carefully and as gently as he could, Dan worked the wood out
with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put
down its foot..

The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious
look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments.

Dan stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled.
Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked
away.

Dan never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Dan was walking through the Chicago Zoo
with his teenaged son.

As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures
turned and walked over to near where Dan and his son Dan Jr.
were standing.

The large bull elephant stared at Dan, lifted its front foot
off the ground, and then put it down. The elephant did that
several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at
the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Dan couldn't help wondering
if this was the same elephant.

Dan summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made
his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant
and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again,
wrapped its trunk around one of Dan's legs and slammed him
against the railing, killing him instantly.

Probably wasn't the same elephant.