Synopses & Reviews
While observing a family of elephants in the wild, Caitlin Oand#8217;Connell noticed a peculiar listening behaviorand#8212;the matriarch lifted her foot and scanned the horizon, causing the other elephants to follow suit, as if they could and#8220;hearand#8221; the ground.
The Elephantand#8217;s Secret Sense is Oand#8217;Connelland#8217;s account of her groundbreaking research into seismic listening and communication, chronicling the extraordinary social lives of elephants over the course of fourteen years in the Namibian wilderness.
and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; This compelling odyssey of scientific discovery is also a frank account of fieldwork in a poverty-stricken, war-ravaged country. In her attempts to study an elephant community, Oand#8217;Connell encounters corrupt government bureaucrats, deadlyand#160;lions and rhinos, poachers, farmers fighting for arable land, and profoundly ineffective approaches to wildlife conservation. The Elephantand#8217;s Secret Sense is ultimately a story of intellectual courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
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and#8220;I was transported by the authorand#8217;s superbly sensuous descriptions of her years spent studying the animals. . . . Conjures a high-class nature documentary film in prose.and#8221;and#8212;Steven Poole, Guardian
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and#8220;A ride as rough and astonishing as the roads of the African floodplain.and#8221;and#8212;Joan Keener, Entertainment Weekly
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and#8220;A successful combination of science and soulfulness, explaining her groundbreaking theory of how elephants use seismic communication. . . . Oand#8217;Connelland#8217;s account is studded with sympathetic insights and well-turned phrases.and#8221;and#8212;Publishers Weekly
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and#8220;This fascinating book reads like a fast-paced detective story of a scientific discovery and adventure set in contemporary Africa. . . . By the end, Oand#8217;Connell takes her rightful place among the leading biographers of the African elephant.and#8221;and#8212;Iain Douglas-Hamilton, author of Among the Elephantsand#160;and#160;
Review
and#8220;Our author sleeps in blinds, pores through elephant dung, darts and collars elephant matriarchs, puts zoo elephants on force plates to send vibrations to their feet, even cuts up a frozen elephant to search for vibration-sensitive cells in its toes and heels. . . . A compelling memoir of how a small but fascinating biological discovery is made, from a momentary observation to a fully presented theory.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;I was transported by the authorand#8217;s superbly sensuous descriptions of her years spent studying the animals. . . . Conjure[s] a high-class nature documentary film in prose.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;This fascinating book reads like a fast-paced detective story of a scientific discovery and adventure set in contemporary Africa. . . . By the end, [Oand#8217;Connell] takes her rightful place among the leading biographers of the African elephant.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;A successful combination of science and soulfulness, explaining her groundbreaking theory of how elephants use seismic communication. . . . [Oand#8217;Connelland#8217;s] account is studded with sympathetic insights and well-turned phrases.and#8221;
Review
“A ride as rough and astonishing as the roads of the African floodplain.”—Joan Keener, Entertainment Weekly Steven Poole - Guardian
Review
"Effective communicators of science are scarce and O'Connell provides a valuable contribution in the form of a realistic and compelling description of international field work. Those interested in Africa or elephants in general will be rewarded."
Review
and#8220;A ride as rough and astonishing as the roads of the African floodplain.and#8221;
Synopsis
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 aerialexpeditions 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.
About the Author
Caitlin Oand#8217;Connell is an assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology, Head, and Neck Surgery at Stanford University. Her discoveries have been published in various periodicals, including Science, Science News, Natural History, National Geographic, the Economist, and Discover.
Table of Contents
1 Listening Through Limbs
2 The Caprivi
3 Wet Season Elephant Wars
4 Making Sense of the Elephant
5 Tiptoeing Elephants
6 The Dry Season
7 The Mother of All Elephants
8 Elephants on the Move
9 Cracking the Elephant Morse Code
10 Ivory Ghosts
11 The Wheels of Conservation
12 Donna the Dancer
13 Back to Mushara in Style
14 Keeping an Ear to the Ground
15 Wynona's Last Stand
16 The Gentlemen's Club
17 The Sails of Mushara
Acknowledgments
Index