WHAT if your best friend weighed 10,000lbs and was able to crush a watermelon under her foot? Acrobat and animal handler Lauryn Murray, 33, from Florida, grew up in a circus and spends almost every day caring for Lady Essex, a huge Asian elephant. Lauryn says the two are 'as close as a human and an elephant can be’. Amazingly, Lady Essex plays fetch with Lauryn’s dogs and even likes to play with her three-year-old son, who helps give her a bath.