Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family

Rating:
Summary: Great Historical View of Amboseli's Elephants...
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing
Review: This book covers thirteen years of Cynthia Moss' research on elephants at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Several of the elephant families residing at Amboseli are featured in this book. Cynthia Moss learned to distinguish each individual elephant by such characteristics as the shape of their ears, ear markings or the size and shape of the tusks. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of elephant life like mating, draught etc. Together with fellow researcher Joyce Poole Cynthia Moss discovered that the bulls like their Asian cousins go into musth too (the period they are the most attractive to the cows). Thus a longstanding mystery was solved. But through it all shines Cynthia Moss' deep love for the elephants, she found with them so much to recommend. Learning from them. She certainly succeeds in sharing the joy of studying and living with elephants. I warmly recommend Ian and Oria Douglas-Hamilton and Joyce Poole's books too. Indeed Cynthia Moss has found new insights but this is still the book to read on elephants in the first place.

Rating:
Summary: Thorough and moving study of elephants!
Review: This book covers thirteen years of Cynthia Moss' research on elephants at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. Several of the elephant families residing at Amboseli are featured in this book. Cynthia Moss learned to distinguish each individual elephant by such characteristics as the shape of their ears, ear markings or the size and shape of the tusks. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of elephant life like mating, draught etc. Together with fellow researcher Joyce Poole Cynthia Moss discovered that the bulls like their Asian cousins go into musth too (the period they are the most attractive to the cows). Thus a longstanding mystery was solved. But through it all shines Cynthia Moss' deep love for the elephants, she found with them so much to recommend. Learning from them. She certainly succeeds in sharing the joy of studying and living with elephants. I warmly recommend Ian and Oria Douglas-Hamilton and Joyce Poole's books too. Indeed Cynthia Moss has found new insights but this is still the book to read on elephants in the first place.

Rating:
Summary: The lives of elephants revealed
Review: 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!

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Intriguing
Review: 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.