Showing results by author "Ralph Helfer" in All Categories

Raised together in a small German circus town, a boy and an elephant formed a bond that would last their entire lives, and would be tested time and again: through a near-fatal shipwreck in the Indian Ocean, an apprenticeship with the legendary Mahout elephant trainers in the Indian teak forests, and their eventual rise to circus stardom in 1940s New York City. As the African Sun-Times put it, Modoc is "heartwarming...probably the greatest love story ever told".

It’s unbelievable but true! Born on the same day in the same small German circus town, young Bram and his elephant, Modoc, had a lifelong friendship that spanned more than eight decades. But it was never easy. From the breakup of the circus to the shipwreck in the Indian Ocean that nearly cost them their lives, the bond between the boy and the elephant survived the most unimaginable trials. This true story of their adventures together and their eventual rise to circus stardom in the Ringling Brothers Circus will be a treasure for animal lovers everywhere.