Description
In the tradition of Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey, a renowned animal trauma specialist offers an unusual glimpse into the elephant mind and makes an appeal for new notions of human uniqueness and treatment of animals
Drawing on accounts from India to Africa and California to Tennessee, and on research in neuroscience, psychology, and animal behavior, G. A. Bradshaw explores the minds, emotions, and lives of elephants. Wars, starvation, mass culls, poaching, and habitat loss have reduced elephant numbers from more than ten million to a few hundred thousand, leaving orphans bereft of the elders who would normally mentor them. As a consequence, traumatized elephants have become aggressive against people, other animals, and even one another; their behavior is comparable to that of humans who have experienced genocide, other types of violence, and social collapse. By exploring the elephant mind and experience in the wild and in captivity, Bradshaw bears witness to the breakdown of ancient elephant cultures.All is not lost. People are working to save elephants by rescuing orphaned infants and rehabilitating adult zoo and circus elephants, using the same principles psychologists apply in treating humans who have survived trauma. Bradshaw urges us to support these and other models of elephant recovery and to solve pressing social and environmental crises affecting all animals, human or not.
Author: G. A. Bradshaw
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 10/26/2010
Pages: 352
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.04lbs
Size: 8.92h x 5.96w x 0.76d
ISBN13: 9780300167832
ISBN10: 0300167830
BISAC Categories:
- Nature | Animals | Mammals
- Nature | Animal Rights
- Science | Life Sciences | Zoology | Mammals
About the Author
G. A. Bradshaw, who holds doctorates in ecology and psychology, is director of the Kerulos Center. Her work on elephants, chimpanzees, parrots, and other animals is frequently featured in the national media, including the New York Times, NPR, 20/20, Time magazine, the London Times, National Geographic television, and National Geographic magazine. She lives in Jacksonville, OR.