"An excellent overview of the elephant's habits and life cycle. The
concise yet informative text focuses on African elephant families, but
mentions Asian species. Accurate watercolors (many of which are full
page) supplement the information."--School Library Journal
"Emphasizing their family structure and individual and group behavior,
including how they care for their young...also...briefly examines the
endangerment of elephants because of the ivory trade. A useful addition
to school and public library collections."--Booklist
They're big, that's for sure. You can't help noticing that about
elephants. I noticed it the first time I saw an elephant, at a zoo in
Washington, D.C. when I was likely no taller than the elephant's knee.
The elephants moved slowly, and it seemed purposefully, as if they were
thinking important thoughts and did not want to be hurried. Later I
learned it was true that elephants certainly have good memories. For
example, the leader of an elephant family can remember from year to year
where a particular fruit tree is and will lead the herd of elephants
there just when the fruit is ripening and ready to eat. Elephants
remember one another, and will recognize each other even if they have
been apart for long periods of time. And elephants can communicate
using sounds that we can't hear, rumblings that they make from deep
within and that they can hear from miles away. The sounds have
specific meanings: the elephants can tell each other, in at least some
senses, just what they're thinking.
I wasn't sure what the elephants were thinking as I went to the circus
when I was about seven. But I can remember the smells and the surprising
soft touch of an elephant's trunk as it gently flicked out to touch and
smell me as I walked by in awe where the elephants stayed when they
weren't performing. One elephant, perhaps cramped from the long train
ride between cities, decided to take a break as a parade of elephants
was led around the parking lot for exercise. The elephant sat on a car,
and well, the elephant came out on top.
It wasn't until I went to Thailand as an adult that I saw elephants in
their natural surroundings. Seeing elephants wandering through tropical
forests, with branches to grab and rivers to swim, was much different
than in the confines I'd seen them before. Asian elephants used to be
found widely throughout much of tropical Asia. As their habitat is
diminished when forests are cut down or land is used for growing crops,
Asian elephants in the wild are confined to relatively small areas.
African elephants still have more space to roam, but were threatened
severely by those who wanted their ivory. In years since the ivory trade
was made illegal, the numbers of elephants started to climb in Africa. I
have heard rumblings in my family of going to see the elephants there,
in their free-roaming family groups.
