Customer Reviews

Elephantoms: Tracking the Elephant

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Lyall Watson's newest book, "Elephantoms, Tracking the Elephant," begins with a scenario slightly reminiscent of the novel, "Lord of the Flies." A troupe of bright, but rebellious, ten through thirteen-year-old boys has a month's unsupervised living at the southern edge of the African continent. (In an emergency, a distant farmhouse phone could be used to summon help.) These are brief, entirely amiable excursions unlike, and predating by several years, Golding's mini-society with its conjectures on the inherency of human evil. In the case of Watson's group - the self-dubbed "Strandlopers" - it was a situation affording them room to cultivate independence, camaraderie and a host of other survival skills.

Whether this is where Watson's own lifelong interest in the natural world began or expanded, is moot. It included his first sighting of a wild elephant and left an indelible mark.

For those who have never read any of this author's twenty-odd books, Lyall Watson holds degrees in a number of scientific disciplines alongside a pair of doctorates in anthropology and ethology. He has traveled extensively, both as an individual and an expedition leader. Earlier books include "Secret Life of Inanimate Objects," "Dreams of Dragons," "Heaven's Breath," the best-selling "Supernature" and, most recently, "Jacobson's Organ".

The young Watson's search for remaining elephants parallels his search for a university study focus, one that would include more than the single species represented by medicine. Human influences are colorful and impressive, as science notables Raymond Dart, Alistar Hardy, and Desmond Morris wander the halls of the author's curriculum. After an internship at the renowned London Zoo, Watson returns to his birthplace to direct the Johannesburg Zoo. Here he meets another elephant and the next phase of his search.

The history of African decision-making in terms of its unique animal populations appears to have been little better than that of the rest of the world. While South Africa's Addo Elephant Park is home to a 300-member herd and has achieved international fame, it is a feeble - possibly futile - gesture alongside Watson's listing of the nineteenth century indiscriminate slaughter of hundreds of thousands of elephants in what is now Zambia. "... a further 585,000 were wiped out in the Congo in the next half century."

Lest we think the twentieth century brought more enlightened times, there is Watson's account of his beloved South Africa's government-sanctioned elephant executions. (Our own Teddy Roosevelt, indulging himself in a 1909 post-presidential bloodbath/safari, helped dispatch eleven elephants - along with 500 other animals.)

For all the sorrow attendant to this and other stories of human interaction with "lesser" species, the author manages to end on a hopeful note. Given what we have learned in the preceding pages, one feels it is a hard-won optimism.

The combination here is of naturalist survey and subtle biography. What better way for a biologist to tell his own tale than by tethering it to one of the multitude of creatures he has studied?

As always with a Watson book, there is the deft entwining of history and science, folklore and personal observation. The final product is a tightly constructed gem of educational entertainment. At its heart is a subtle reminder that we are always diminished by what we destroy.

ELEPHANTOMS is biologist Lyall Watson's homage to one of the most significant influences in his life: the African elephant. The book is an inspiring compilation of elephant lore and scientific insights, served up in vintage Watson style.
One of the most attractive qualities of Watson's work is his willingness to honor the world's great mysteries, such as the nature of consciousness and its role in the world. What is real and what is illusion? Does the mind participate in generating what we call facts? In his elephant encounters, this question recurs again and again. Watson faces these mysteries as few scientists are willing to do. The result is an enchanting display of erudition and intition, which recall's Aristotle's observation that wonder is the beginning of wisdom.
Watson vividly describes the appalling stupidity and cruelty we humans have displayed toward one of the planet's most majestic creatures. Thus ELEPHANTOMS evokes in the reader a range of emotions, from ecstasy to rage.
ELEPHANTOMS meets my requirements as a reader. It educates, inspires, and challenges. It is anchored in science and spirit, head and heart.
Thank you, Lyall Watson.

-- Larry Dossey, MD
Author: HEALING WORDS, REINVENTING MEDICINE, and HEALING BEYOND THE BODY

What is it that connects us to each other, and perhaps connects us across time. Lyall Watson is a gifted scientist who suggests some provocative possibilities in simple prose. If you don't want to think about his speculations you will still be entertained by his biographical adventures about South African Bushmen and Elephants. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is that the author spends a lot of time telling the history of various Elephant herds and the men who slaughtered so many of them, and that's really a separate tale (or is it tail?)

I enjoyed this book. The author discusses his encounters with elephants over the course of his life in South Africa. Lurking beneath the surface is the possibility that the elephant's existence may go beyond the physical level. Elephants appear where they have not been seen for years. Lyall Watson encounters men whose life seems strangely connected on the spiritual level with the elephant.

At times I was not sure whether Watson was sticking to non-fiction or whether maybe he was twisting the facts a little to make a better story. Perhaps, as is often the case, truth is stranger than fiction. Nevertheless, the case is made that elephants are sensitive, social, and mysterious beings who deserve a place to thrive on Earth.

Just returned from South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwa. Spent 2 weeks in the bush with a naturalist. The book was recommended by a naturalist who rescued 3 elephants a few years ago. They are considered semi habituated and we loved meeting them and interacting with them. I thought this book was great after our experience with the elephants.

I was only recently introduced to Lyall Watson's writings. Having first read Gifts of Unknown Things, I knew I'd found a writer of "lyrical fact," a talented man who perceives things from a multitude of viewpoints, blending them together with wisdom and a superb talent for linking very disparate things. I promise you that you will never again see elephants without being absorbed by your new knowledge of their gifts.

Marvelously written with elements of mystery and science. This is well worth reading, along with To the Elephant Graveyard, which is somewhat similar.

I have had this book awhile, and have read, and reread it often. I know a lot about elephants through years of reading. There has not yet been a book written yet on elephants that is of such high literary quality as this one, in addition to providing us with many facts, and also a descriptive narrative of his journey. In some spots, it is almost poetry. How lucky the author was able to experience firsthand what he writes about. The best part was the end, when the whale, down in the ocean (in a part whales seldom, if ever, frequent) meets up with the elephant standing above, and they both trumpet their greetings, or some kind of communication. It remains for me one of the most special animal encounters of which I have ever heard. I bought this book for a friend also because I was so moved by it. Great work here---R-E-A-L-L-Y Great work!

This book was recommended for the reading I am doing in preparation for my first trip to Africa. Once I picked it up, it was hard to put down. Lyall Watson's writing is quite engaging. I appreciated the facts about elephants that were intertwined within Watson's life experiences. But most of all I enjoyed the glimpse into the psyche of an elephant from Watson's perspective. Having just returned from a week of snorkeling with the humpback whales, it was easy for me to make the connection between elephants and whales that Watson conveyed. A very sad picture is painted of the future of the elephant in the areas visited by Watson, but it is work like his that might make a difference. I look forward to reading more of Lyall Watson's books.