Questioning Elephants on the Edge

Elephant survivors of trauma, including elephants in Africa or Asia who have witnessed the violent death of their family members at the hands of humans, or who bear years of confinement and pain in captivity, suffer acutely. They suffer both in the moment and, later on, as victims of post-traumatic shock.

Elephant survivors are like human Holocaust survivors in their psychology, and thus the works of Elie Wiesel and others who lay bare the shredded psyches and souls of concentration camp survivors may directly aid us in understanding and caring for traumatized elephants.....

http://www.bookslut.com/features/2009_11_015336.php

And here's what Charles Seibert has to say about Elephants on the Edge:

http://thefastertimes.com/animalmind/2009/...d-all-humanity/

"There is an important new book out that you should read called Elephants On the Edge: What Animals Teach Us About Humanity by Gay Bradshaw. A psychologist, ecologist, and animal behaviorist, Bradshaw presents here a devastating portrait of the full-scale collapse of elephant culture and society as a result of human encroachment and depravity."

The Bookslut reviewer missed the major premises of Gay's book. She says she and her friend do research for zoos -- I know there are good researchers who work for zoos but it also explains her bias. "That elephants do not belong in zoos does not allow us to conclude that elephant keepers lack the capacity to understand fully the animals’ plight," she writes. The fact is that most zoos cannot meet elephants' needs but few keepers speak out, at least not until they no longer work for the zoo, because they fear for their jobs. If that's not perpetuating the system, what is?

Yes, it was a horrible review but all of her arguments against the book convinced me it was one I wanted to buy and read.

Ah, so it was a helpful review.