Elephant Destiny: Biography of an Endangered Species in Africa - Hardcover

Meredith, Martin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1586480774 ISBN 13: 9781586480776

Publisher: Public Affairs, 2003

Synopsis

This concise, richly illustrated biography of the African elephant--from ancient Egypt to the most recent discoveries about elephant society and communication--is also a passionate plea to preserve the species. . The relationship between elephant and man has been dominated by brutality and persecution. Centuries of exportation, unabated hunting for ivory, and shrinking habitat have left only five countries in Africa with sizeable elephant herds. Corrupt governments and lawless poachers are currently flouting what little protection the elephant has. What will be the African elephant's destiny? Will it soon be relegated to zoos and nature preserves? Martin Meredith lays out the history of this majestic animal from the Egyptian pharaohs' first ivory expeditions 2500 years ago to today, and explores the elephant's role in literature and popular culture. He shares recent extraordinary discoveries about the elephant's ability to communicate, its sophisticated family and community structure, and the ways--rare in the animal world--in which elephants show compassion and loyalty to each other. Meredith also illuminates how the legacy of colonialism in Africa--and unrelenting poverty, disease, and civil war--affects the elephant's fate. Can Africa find a way to preserve its most enduring symbol of freedom? Readers of national bestsellers including Silent Thunder, Elephant Memories , and When Elephants Weep will want to read this urgent, illuminating book.

About this title

Review:

"Will help turn a reader's casual interest into a fascination."

About the Author:

Martin Meredith was a foreign correspondent for the London Observer and Sunday Times, then a research fellow at St. Anthony's College, Oxford.

About this edition

• Publisher: Public Affairs
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1586480774
• ISBN 13: 9781586480776
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 244