Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family [Paperback]

Cynthia J. Moss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 15, 2000

Cynthia Moss has studied the elephants in Kenya's Amboseli National Park for over twenty-seven years. Her long-term research has revealed much of what we now know about these complex and intelligent animals. Here she chronicles the lives of the members of the T families led by matriarchs Teresia, Slit Ear, Torn Ear, Tania, and Tuskless. With a new afterword catching up on the families and covering current conservation issues, Moss's story will continue to fascinate animal lovers.

"One is soon swept away by this 'Babar' for adults. By the end, one even begins to feel an aversion for people. One wants to curse human civilization and cry out, 'Now God stand up for the elephants!'"—Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times

"Moss speaks to the general reader, with charm as well as scientific authority. . . . [An] elegantly written and ingeniously structured account." —Raymond Sokolov, Wall Street Journal

"Moss tells the story in a style so conversational . . . that I felt like a privileged visitor riding beside her in her rickety Land-Rover as she showed me around the park." —Sarah Blaffer Hrdy, New York Times Book Review

"A prose-poem celebrating a species from which we could learn some moral as well as zoological lessons." —Chicago Tribune

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Amboseli National Park, near Mt. Kilimanjaro in southern Kenya, is home ground to some 600 elephants; this herd has been relatively free from human interference and was a major focus for field study. Moss, author of Portraits in the Wild, has been involved with the elephants of Amboseli since 1973; she and her colleagues have made a substantial contribution to our knowledge of elephant biology and behavior. Here, she follows one extended family through 13 years of good times and bad times, observing details of their daily lives. The book is organized by year and topic: each chapter begins with a synthesized narrative that introduces a single phase of lifesuch as mating, migration, social behavior, births and calves (this is the first study of elephant newborns and their development)that relates to family history. This is a captivating story of individual animals', rather than the author's, adventures. Moss affirms the old tale about elephants assisting one of their own who is injured or dying; she also reports that they recognize bare and bleached bones of their species. Any reader interested in animals will be captivated. Photos.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Moss builds upon earlier elephant studies, such as Iain and Oria Douglas-Hamilton's Among the Elephants (1975), by producing a complete census of the elephants in one area, Amboseli National Park in Kenya, and focusing on population dynamics and such little-understood behavior as childbearing and -raising. Moss focuses on a single family and uses semi-fictionalized episodes written from the elephants' point of view to generate sympathy, but also provides detailed and objective information. Her final chapter addresses the problems of elephant control and conservation, arguing pragmatically that ivory dealers have a stake in preserving the species. Suitable for both general libraries and zoological collections. Beth Clewis, S.I.L.S., Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 364 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (July 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226542378
• ISBN-13: 978-0226542379
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #181,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Historical View of Amboseli's Elephants..., November 30, 1999

By 

M. Mueller "paramedic" (Juneau, Alaska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elephant Memories: 13 Years in the Life of an Elephant Family (Paperback)

Moss' "Elephant Memories" provides intimate detail of her experiences with Amboseli's elephant herd in the 1970's-early '80s. Some of the material is dated as she has since learned new truths and details of elephant behaviors since this book was first published. One example was the discussion of the twin calves: Equninox and Eclipse. Moss was wondering if these male and female calves would be free-martens like cattle twins and unable to reproduce. Well, since those early days, the female has since matured and has had a calf. So the free-marten theory was disproved. But it was interesting to ponder. Basically, the story follows the lives of four closely related family groups--the "T" familes. In her research, she names most of the family members in one family starting with the same letter. So most of the "T" family members names start with the letter "T". I found the book to be entertaining, an elephant saga, yet informative, also. Moss teaches yet inspires empathy for these magnificent creatures. The celebration of elephant births and sorrow of their deaths with the continuation of their daily hardships--drought, killings, hunger and human encroachment are discussed in easy to read detail. "Elephant Memories" is part elephant soap opera and part Moss' speculations regarding her dealings with these pachyderms. There are two separate inserts of photos--one section is in black and white, the other is in color. For anyone who follows Moss' books and videos, it is a must to read this book. It shows photos of elephant's when she first started taking their photos up to the 13 years she researched them before publishing the book. It is interesting to see the "before" and "after" pictures of some of the younger elephants who then grew up. "Elephant Memories" is a great read. I've gotten a lot of detail in my own quest for elephant information by reading this book.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, January 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family (Paperback)

This is an excellent book. At first, the book seems confusing as the author continuously refers to the individual elephants on a first name basis when one has no idea of who these "people" are. As the names become more familiar and the individual stories develop, the strange names develop into a wonderful, although at times anthropomorphic story on the natural history of these gentle animals. As she warns us, the author takes the liberty of adding unwitnessed, fictional pieces to most stories, which can be confusing and at times blur the objective observations that she makes with subjective, although probably real, assumptions.
But this book is not a hard core technical text, despite glimpses of it being so in the beginning. The book is about remembering the wonderful social and behavioral characteristics of individuals that make up a population. From matriarchs to lonely males, from birth to death during periods of drought or at the hands of Masai warriors, this book gives a comprehensive insight into relevant issues affecting the survival of the African elephant. The author comes across as a human being, with emotions that go beyond the hard-core science. Although her prose is dry at times, this book is very enjoyable and opens a magnificent window into the world of the Amboseli elephants.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The lives of elephants revealed, January 18, 2002

By 

Claus Hetting (Gentofte, Copenhagen Denmark) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book. Cynthia Moss takes the reader deep into the intricate social lives of Africa elephans in Amboseli National Park (Kenya), and leaves a profound impression. How very sensitive these animals are, and how endearing. It is entirely clear how these creatures have suffered at the hands of humans, but also nobody can read this book and not feel the urge to conserve this fantastic species. Also it may inspire some to travel to Amboseli to see the elephants 'in person' - an experience that you will never forget!