I don't usually like these heartwarming stories, but this one is truly > interesting...
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> In 1986, Mike Hogan 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 Mike 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.
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> As carefully and as gently as he could, Mike 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. Mike stood
> frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled. Eventually the > elephant
> trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.
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> Mike never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.
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> Twenty-one years later, Mike 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 Mike and his son Owen > were
> standing. The large bull elephant stared at Mike, lifted its front foot > off
> the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then
> trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.
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> Remembering the encounter in 1986, Mike couldn't help wondering if this > was
> the same elephant. Mike 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 Mike's legs and slammed him against the railing, killing > him instantly.
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> Probably wasn't the same elephant.
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Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once."