OMTimes Radio Archives

Aired Wednesday, 11 April 2018 at 4:00 PM EST / 1:00 PM PST

Elephant In My Kitchen with Francoise Malby Anthony

Francoise joins me on the show today from South Africa. We will talk about her continued efforts at Thula Thula and her upcoming book and of course the elephants!

Francoise was born in the south of France and after her studies in business administration at the University of Montpellier lived in Italy, Venezuela, London and the USA before moving to Paris in 1981. Francoise worked as head of the international department of a Chamber of Commerce in the north of France until she met her future husband Lawrence Anthony in London in January 1987 and they moved to South Africa in December 1987. Lawrence and Francoise were based in Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal.

In 1998, Lawrence and Francoise bought a rundown hunting game reserve in the heart of Zululand. After Lawrence wrote the best seller “The Elephant Whisperer” in 2010, the emotional story of how he saved a herd of wild elephants from death by rescuing them at Thula Thula Game reserve and bringing trust into humans for the first time, he became recognised as an international best-selling author and conservationist.

Lawrence passed away on the 2nd of March 2012 from a heart attack. Francoise carries on his conservation work at Thula Thula game reserve as well as the running of both lodges. In August 2012 she created the Thula Thula Rhino Fund, after one of her orphan rhinos were shot at by poachers just 2 weeks after Lawrence passed. The Rhino Fund initiated several projects aimed at the protection of the rhinos and the creation of a Rhino rehabilitation centre for rhinos who have been orphaned from poaching. In 2016, Francoise founded the South African Conservation Fund, Thula Thula non-profit organisation, which incorporated the Rhino fund and wildlife protection actions, as well other conservation projects as the expansion of Thula Thula for the elephant habitat, as the herd from seven elephants on their arrival in 1999 is now twenty nine and they are in great need of additional space, the Thula Thula Wildlife rehabilitation centre where orphans or wounded wildlife is being taken care of before being rehabilitated into the wild where they belong, and the Thula Thula Volunteers Academy, where people from all over the world come to work and be educated into the world of conservation in an African game reserve. The volunteers Camp academy will open on the 1st of July 2018.

Francoise runs Thula Thula with her team of 50 loyal employees. As hunting is not permitted, all funds for conservation are generated by the two safari lodges at Thula Thula that Francoise created in 2000 and 2006. These lodges welcome international guests for eco and photo safaris. Thula Thula also relies on the generosity of donors to the South African Conservation Fund.

Francoise book AN ELEPHANT IN MY KITCHEN, the sequel of THE ELEPHANT WHISPERER by Lawrence Anthony, will come out on the 26th of July in the UK, Australia, India and New Zealand and Canada, on the first week of September in South Africa, and 1st of November in the US.

Lawrence’s legacy lives on thanks to the passion for the conservation of wildlife and nature he instilled in all of us and this is what we all live for here at Thula Thula.

Website: http://thulathula.com

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/francoise.thulathula