Elephants have fascinated man since early civilisation. They have been used as symbols of wisdom and power; they have featured in myths and religions, and appeared on coins, in architecture, sculpture and painting, in folklore and nursery tales.
Ancient writers dwelt on their intelligence, their capacity for learning and their gentle character. Modern biologists have discovered they possess one of the most advanced and harmonious social organisations in the world of mammals, with many human-like characteristics, enjoying close family ties, forming life-long friendships, acting out or loyalty and compassion and, most strikingly, mourning and burying their dead.
Yet elephant history has been dominated by periods of brutality and persecution. African elephants were used in ancient times to fight in wars. The Romans threw them into gladiatorial games. But, above all, it was the demand for their ivory, prized for centuries as a badge of wealth and status and used in modern times to manufacture piano keys and billiard balls, that has made Africa's elephants one of the world's most vulnerable animals on earth. In the late twentieth century, the onslaught was so severe that the African elephant was placed on the list of endangered species.
In this book, acclaimed African expert Martin Meredith takes us on a journey through the past and present in the extraordinary world of elephant society.
