Elephant Destiny: Biography Of An Endangered Species In Africa

Front Cover
PublicAffairs, Jun 30, 2004 - History - 256 pages
For thousands of years, the majestic elephant has roamed the African continent, as beloved by man as it has been preyed upon. But centuries of exploitation and ivory hunting have taken their toll: now, as wars and poachers continue to ravage its habitat, as disease and political strife deflect attention from its plight, the African elephant faces imminent extinction.

What will become of these magnificent beasts? As the elephant's future looms ever darker, Martin Meredith's concise and richly illustrated biography traces the elephant's history from the first ivory expeditions of the Egyptian pharaohs 2500 years ago to today, exploring along the way the indelible imprint the African elephant has made in art, literature, culture, and society. He shares recent extraordinary discoveries about the elephant's sophisticated family and community structure and reveals the remarkable ways in which elephants show compassion and loyalty to each other.

Elegant, illuminating, and urgent, Elephant Destiny offers a beautiful and important tribute to one of earth's most magisterial creatures at the very moment it threatens to vanish from being.

From inside the book

Contents

Manyara
1
The Land of Punt
7
Arms and the Elephant
13
Roman Games
23
Protégés of the Gods
29
The Elephants Graveyard
35
Natures Masterpiece
41
Footholds on the Coast
47
Safe Havens
121
Ancestors
129
Enter the Scientists
137
Family Life
145
Mating Pandemonium
155
Body and Mind
163
Rumbles
175
Death
181

The Cape of Death
61
Zanzibars Tune
75
The Khartoum Run
87
Heart of Darkness
97
Rivers of Ivory
107
Jumbo and Friends
111
The Culling Option
189
Ivory Wars
199
An Image of Liberty
221
Select Bibliography
225
Index
235
Copyright

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About the author (2004)

Martin Meredith is a journalist, biographer, and historian who has written extensively on Africa and its recent history. His previous books include Mandela; Mugabe; Diamonds, Gold, and War; Born in Africa; and The Fate of Africa. He lives near Oxford, England.

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