Customer Reviews

Elephants on the Edge: What Animals Teach Us about Humanity

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

In response to the comments by Aldo Matteucci I'd like to inject a dose of current scientific reality into the situation. Matteucci does not appear to be familiar with the most recent neuroscience and comparative psychological research. So, I'd like to correct some of his misinterpretations of Gay Bradshaw's arguments. Matteucci makes the naive claim that the human brain is a "chaotic structure" that seems to be haphazardly put together and, by implication, so much more complex than the brains of other species that inference from humans to other animals is untenable. To the contrary, the available research converges on the finding that all animals, including humans, share the same brain structures related to the processing of emotions and that these structures and their biochemical connections to the rest of the body are among the most conserved evolutionarily. In decades of neuroscientific investigation we have yet to find a single attribute of the human brain that sets it apart qualitatively from the rest of the animal kingdom. Moreover, findings on cognitive abilities in other animals are appearing in well-respected journals practically on a monthly basis showing that so-called uniquely human capacities are distributed across many other species. Dr. Bradshaw's arguments are based on a solid body of scientific evidence, which clearly refutes Matteucci's point.

Might I suggest that the strident nature of Matteucci's criticism be best understood in the context of his archaic argument that by attending to the needs of elephants and other animals we are allowing the "starvation of billions of people". Underlying such remarks is the banal and unsupported perspective that it is "us against them" and that we must choose between humans and other animals. Matteucci appears offended by the notion that the problems faced by other species would be placed on a par with those of humans. In doing so he misses Bradshaw's most profound point that humans and other animals share critical psychological characteristics that make us all vulnerable to damage and trauma. We are all in this together.

Lori Marino, PhD
Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology Program
Emory University

Thanks to scientific discoveries that tell us more and more about the lives, abilities and consciousness of non-human animals, we have dwindling justification for drawing a line between humans and other animals. A subtitle for this powerful, deeply moving book might be, "We are them; they are us."

In this sweeping book, G.A. Bradshaw reviews what humans have done to elephants and, perhaps more important, explores what that has meant for elephants and elephant society. I think anyone who advocates for animals will find this a disturbing but deeply satisfying book. Bradshaw reminds us how much we have to learn from elephants which, in the end, will bring us back to ourselves.

Jane Goodall says it's not about animal rights, it's about human responsibility. Bradshaw's book is a landmark contribution for those who seek to accept full responsibility for ourselves and our actions.

This book has not only enhanced my understanding of elephants and other animals in radical and important ways. This beautifully written learning experience has expanded my vision about the world and the role that humanity (or the lack thereof) plays in it for all of us ... Individually and collectively. Scrupulously supported by peer-reviewed research conducted by the author and her colleagues. The ideas presented are at once both brilliantly revelatory yet make so much common sense in the ways we need to make it - instead of breaking it - in this pivotal time in our world's history. This book has changed my life on a soul level as well as make me a better researcher. We don't just owe it to the elephants to read this book - we owe it to ourselves and our own communities.

I just finished "Elephants on the Edge", which is highly researched, thoughtful, intellectual, provocative and compassionate all at the same time. I really like the fact that Bradshaw unabashedly compares what's happening to elephants to human genocide, specifically the extermination of Jews/Gypsies/Gays etc. in the Holocaust, but also the American Indian killings and other historic genocides. I have noticed that whenever factory farming is compared to the Holocaust (often by the much-maligned but extremely effective animal rights group PETA), animal exploitation deniers tend to get very upset and speciesist, so I'm pleased that Bradshaw doesn't shirk from the obvious comparison.

In this book, the problems that elephants face in the crowded 21st century are studied from a psychological POV, particularly the phenomenon of PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder). Elephants, whether in the (relative) wild, in zoos or circuses or lumber camps or temples or sanctuaries, have been taken out of their natural element. They are constantly reshuffled, unnaturally bred, brutally slaughtered, kidnapped, chained, beaten, all of which leads to the obvious for such a sensitive, intelligent, family-oriented, peripatetic, social species: extreme stress manifested in a variety of human-engendered bad behaviors, which the elephants are then punished for.

As a supporter of The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee and Dame Daphne Sheldrick's miraculous wildlife trust in Kenya, I really appreciated all the pages dedicated to the difficult work done at these two very different sanctuaries. TES cares for retired, formerly abused circus and zoo elephants, while TDSWT rescues injured young elephants from the wild and rehabilitates them. I only hope that more of these absolutely necessary kinds of support spring up to meet the needs of elephants caught in limbo.

I have no patience with those who claim that our first priority is to save ourselves, not our fellow animals, because, for one thing, environmentally speaking, we need other animal species in order for us to survive on this planet. And aesthetically speaking, what would the world be like without elephants, or with only the broken, psychologically damaged pachyderms that are enslaved in zoos and circuses and other show biz venues? To me, it would be a very sad, impoverished place. I wouldn't want to live in a world devoid of elephants, chimpanzees, dolphins, parrots and all the other highly exploited animal species.

As an editor, proofreader and small publisher, I do have one problem with the book that is actually a problem I have with many books that have come out in the last fifteen years or so: I found a number of typos, deleted words, misspellings, just general editorial sloppiness. I don't expect a book to have absolutely no errors, but I've noticed that with the advent of the PC and the ease with which people can quickly write their own books has come a lack of attention to detail. That's why I only give it 4 stars.

G. A. Bradshaw has a profound gift of narrative. In this book, she weaves a wealth of fascinating trans-species scientific information with the moving real-life stories of elephants and humans, as well. She helps the reader to understand the PTSD experience in a manner beyond anything I have previously read, even as a graduate student in psychology. An absolute page turner, this book will affect you at your core, and leave you with thoughts to ponder long after you've finished reading.

A very provocative read. Academic and yet accessible to the layperson. Bradshaw's juxtapositioning of human and elephant trauma provides opportunities for new insights into each. Concludes with a satisfying discussion of remedies. Highly recommended.

This book is deeply educational and stretches the mind of the reader. A must read for everyone who wants to learn beyond what has been taught.

Elke Riesterer

Interesting perspective and social comparison. I see our own families suffering for the same reasons (lack of parenthood), with the same results. We have so much to learn; this is a great place to begin.

A mess. Don't bother with this pretentiously technically book filled psycho-jargon that even my wife, as a psychiatrist, considered excessively. The elephants are important and deserve better, no doubt. But this book is filled with inaccurate information about others who have worked hand-on with elephants for many years. We enjoyed The Elephant Whisperer much better and it was much more direct and informative.

Using the example of elephants as a point of departure Dr. G. A. Bradshaw has set upon herself as task bringing the discussion about the treatment of wildlife on a scientific footing. Here is a quote from her sweeping conclusions: "What science has explained about the operations of elephant brains, their joys, their grief, their ways of thinking and psychological vulnerability to human violence holds true for virtually (sic) every other wildlife species: parrots..." (p. 249) leading her to conclude, two pages later: "We need no new research or knowledge before we act."

Much of what Dr. Bradshaw argues hinges on an 'experiment' she seems to have performed: she has circulated to five mental health professionals a sanitized description of the behaviour of an elephant in captivity. They have diagnosed PTSD, or complex PTSD. Written by non-professionals, submitted to professionals who did not have the chance to observe the 'patient' directly, this document would seem to me a weak reed to support her castle of conclusions.

Dr. Bradshaw sets much store in recent advances of neuropsychology and epigenetics to prove her point, first in humans, then trans-species. This is done by leaps of faith and sweeping analogies - the worst of false friends. That human brains have similarities with those of animals is a platitude nowadays. We are just beginning to have an inkling of the complexity of the human brain - a chaotic structure that seems more haphazard than planned. At this early stage any inference from the human mind to the functioning of the brain in other species would seem to translate poorly indeed.

Dr. Bradshaw is fond of 'consistencies' that buttress theories. If I have a theory that storks bring babies, and then observe storks and babies in a village, they are consistent with my theory. She furthermore puts much store in the ability of 'theories' to 'predict'. In scientific method, however, a prediction is a test to which the theory submits itself, not a prophecy. Where this kind of approach can lead is seen in the following statement: "Evolutionary theory predicts that the extensive hostility and persistent threat that humanity poses today may render prosociality and forgiveness more of a liability than an advantage," (.pg. 146). Well, this is a trans-species reformulation of crude social Darwinism.

But let's wave the magic wand and grant Dr. Bradshaw all her claims. She calls us to act. How much would implementing Dr. Bradshaw's dreams entail? We spend 60 $ per year on each of the starving billion humans. How many humans is she willing to let starve so that elephants or parrots be given the kind of care she advocates? And no counsel of perfection like "we can do both" - sorry, there is no free lunch. The difference between a politician and an executive is that the first thinks strategy; the latter thinks resources and logistics.

As a trained scientist Dr. Bradshaw had a chance to set the discussion on how to treat wildlife on a more rational footing. God knows that much is to be done here. Instead she has produced a rambling, often confused and confusing text that makes a mockery of the 'scientific method'. More to the point, having called for action, she has failed to put meaning into the word 'action'. What a pity.