Fatherly Tuskers

This Sunday is Father's Day— I love it more than my birthday because I love being Dad to Owen, Eli, Liam, and Noah!  And I learned about an amazing fathering story from nature not too long ago, that’s relevant this weekend.

In 1979, South Africa opened a new national park called Pilanesberg, and to populate it, they began transporting animals from across the region. When it came time to bring in elephants, they turned to Kruger National Park near the Mozambique border. But at that time, tranquilizers, harnesses, and helicopter lift technology couldn’t handle the weight of full-grown bulls—so they brought in 40 young bull elephants instead.

Everything seemed fine at first. But soon, rangers found dead rhinos, and they couldn’t figure out why. Poaching was the first assumption—but none of the horns were removed. It didn’t make sense. The rhinos weren’t being killed for money. They were being killed out of aggression.

After observation and consultation with experts, they realized what they were dealing with wasn’t just an animal behavior issue. 

It was a fathering problem. 

These young elephants had no role models. They looked like elephants, smelled like elephants, moved like elephants, but they didn’t know how to live like elephants. They knocked down trees, attacked safari vehicles, fought one another, and killed for no reason.  They had power but no restraint. Strength without direction. Their identities were out of whack and they lacked maturity.  Enter the Tuskers! 

In the late 1990’s, it was decided upon, and finally possible, to bring in some Tuskers—massive bull elephants with ivory tusks each weighing over 100 pounds, often weighing 12,000 to 15,000 pounds themselves. In March 1998, they introduced just six of them into Pilanesburg.  Almost immediately, the chaos stopped.

As the story was unfolding, I thought these big bulls were brought in to fight the young bucks—to overpower them or beat them into submission. But they didn’t need to. All they had to do was model what elephant life was meant to be.  These tuskers didn’t come to destroy and replace the younger ones—they came to model a better way. Their presence alone shifted the atmosphere. They weren’t violent toward the younger bulls. They simply carried themselves how an elephant is supposed to —strong, steady, confident, collected.  And the younger elephants followed suit. 

Aggression decreased. Social balance returned. Peace was restored—not only for the elephants but for the entire biome. Elephants are keystone species, meaning their behavior affects everything. With mature leadership in place, the park began to thrive again.  Elephants in the wild establish migratory patterns that help other animals find water. Their foraging encourages biodiversity. Their boundaries protect smaller animals. The water holes they dig sustain dozens of species. Their presence brings peace, order, and life.  And that’s the power of fatherhood.

 What shook me most the first time I heard this story is how true it is of human experience, especially among young men. When there’s no father, no guidance, no model, young men can easily spiral.  They become destructive. Erratic. Lost and wild with no boundaries. Every young person needs someone to show them what real manliness, leadership, self-control, and fulfilled living looks like.

Everyone needs a father.

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us—not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” —Titus 3:4–5

 In the verse above, that word appeared grabs me every time. Just like those six tuskers were dropped into Pilanesberg—quietly, unexpectedly—God shows up into our lives. His presence changes everything!  He steps into chaos. Into pain. Into wildness. And He reestablishes identity. He doesn’t come to shame us. He comes to steady us…and to show us a new and better way so we can become all that we were meant to be!  

You’re not forgotten. You’re not too far gone. The Father sees you. He’s not angry.  He’s running toward you.  Like the tuskers in the park, His presence reshapes the whole ecosystem of your life.  You were never meant to be wild, angry, and out of control.  Instead, you were meant to be wise, strong, grounded, and free.  A new way is available.  When the Big Tusker, Father God shows up—everything changes!

I love Father’s Day because I love being a Dad to Owen, Eli, Liam, and Noah!  Being a father is a joy-filled privilege, but it’s a humbling role to say the least!  Thankfully we don’t have to have all the answers. Look to the Tuskers.  Ask God, your Father in heaven, for all the help you need.  Do the work on you that needs to be done.  Then be present. Be the kind of man, the kind of father, and the kind of leader that brings peace into the atmosphere. The kind of man who turns chaos into calm, who builds legacies, and raises world-changers!  

Happy Father’s Day to all the lions and tuskers out there!