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The Hidden Life of the Wild Herds of Africa
Free Press
February 2007
On Sale: March 20, 2007
256 pages
ISBN: 0743284410
EAN: 9780743284417
Hardcover
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Non-Fiction Photography
While observing a family group of elephants in the wild,
Caitlin O'Connell, a young field scientist, noticed a
peculiar listening behavior. A matriarch she had been
watching for months turned her massive head and lifted her
foot off the ground. As she scanned the horizon, the other
elephants followed suit, all facing the same direction.
O'Connell soon made a groundbreaking discovery: the
elephants were "listening through limbs," feeling the
ripples of the earth's surface for approaching friends and
enemies. Through their feet, toenails, trunks, and other,
subtler modes of communication, these enormous animals were
communicating to one another, demonstrating the vital
importance of social relationships in their lives. Yet this grand revelation about the intelligence of wild
animals is also a story of the relationship between humans
and elephants as neighbors, vying for the same resources of
an increasingly crowded continent. For when O'Connell was
first contracted by the Namibian government to develop new
methods to deter elephants from raiding villagers' crops,
she was unprepared for what she would encounter -- political
upheaval, tribal disputes, inhumane poachers, and a
fundamentally ineffective approach to wildlife conservation.
Despite these setbacks, she came to know and love each of
the fascinating, unique elephants under her watchful eye,
while at the same time witnessing a change in attitude and
policy, providing hope for the elephant's future. An unforgettable journey of scientific discovery, The
Elephant's Secret Sense takes you deep into the wilds of
Namibia, from the tops of isolated, desert observation
towers to the jaws and claws of ravenous lions to aerial
expeditions and dusty highways, where the naturalists do
their difficult work in a troubled land threatened by
expanding human populations and unstable politics. Resonant
with the powerful calls of the mysterious elephant, this is
a story about the resilience of nature and the inspiring,
astonishing, and often heartbreaking places where humans and
wild animals come together.
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