Why do we love the elephant?

Do you ever feel like you are rejuvenated and happy after a visit to the zoo, after a game of catch the ball with your pets or simply snuggling with them. And how about the kids? Don’t they love the zoo?

We all love animals, almost universally, more so kids. Not just our pet friends, wild animals have captivated human imagination for ages now. Animals have been showing up in our cave paintings for 10,000 years now. Animals have had a constant presence in folklore, stories and fables from all round the world.

We do not know the exact reason why we love animals – may be because we have a deep psychological connection from olden days when the vast majority of human civilization existed next to the animals or may be because multitude research has shown that coexistence with animals is good for our emotional and physical health.

Researchers show that an affinity for animals is embedded in our association of human emotions with animals – the wise owl, the mama bear, the worker bee etc. At PopSmartKids we wanted to honor this deep rooted love for animals.

I created this company to promote the use of technology for creating a human connection and for reimagining the digital playtime as a time for building skills. Our company culture is built around around collaboration, wisdom and mutual respect.

Across various cultures around the globe, the elephant appears in numerous mythologies, religious traditions and popular fables. The Asian elephant is respected as a symbol of strength and wisdom. The African elephant is revered as the wise chief who mediates and resolves conflict. The Ashanti tradition even goes as far as saying they are human chiefs from the past.

According to Hindu mythology the Earth is supported and guided by World Elephants. Wisdom is represented in the elephant in the form of deity Ganesha, one of the popular Gods in the Hindu religion’s pantheon. My sons call him the Elephant God. The White elephant, in many cultures, holds a special significance and epitomizes royalty and majesty. In popular Buddhism stories, the elephant symbolizes a unity of the opposites. In Islamic tradition the year 570 when Prophet Muhammad was born is known as the year of the elephant.

If we move past the fables, we will find that elephants are animals that form deep family bonds and live in tight matriarchal family groups. Elephants are extremely intelligent animals and have memories that can span many years. They baby-sit and bond. Elephants are also known to mourn their dead. Recent studies also indicate that elephants can communicate with each other across many miles by producing a sub-sonic rumble that can travel over the ground faster than the sound through air.

So, you see, when it came to choosing an icon that would signify connection, collaboration and communication, we had a clear winner.

So we chose the elephant.

Wherever we go we have our very own elephant traveling with us and guiding us.

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