Elephant Dance

by Tammie Matson

It's the middle of the night in the Namibian desert when zoologist Tammie Matson wakes with a start to find two elephants standing beside her tiny tent. She makes a "If you just let me survive tonight I will give up Africa. I'll give it all up. Just don't let them stand on me."It's not a promise she will easily keep. At 29, Tammie has spent nearly half her life in Africa, her first love, working as a conservationist. But as her 30s approach, Tammie is conscious of not having ticked those no house, no kids and no husband. Broke and with her visa running out, it seems like Africa may just force her to give it up after all. On returning to Australia, Tammie lands a job at the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) in Sydney. There she meets Andy, a charismatic Brit, and Africa suddenly has a rival. But she's not ready to give up on the elephants yet...From the magic of Bushmanland, to the banks of Chobe River in Botswana, to the civil strife of Assam, India, Elephant Dance takes us to the heart of a conservationist's fight to find a way for elephants to live peacefully in a world with too many people, too few resources and the increasing threat of climate change.Passionate, funny, and moving, Elephant Dance is also a classic story of self-discovery, love, and the courage it takes to follow your calling, especially when it takes you places you least expected.

Genres: Nonfiction, Africa, Animals, Memoir, Travel, Namibia, India

Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2009

About the author

Tammie Matson is an Australian wildlife conservationist with a grand passion for Africa and all its wildlife, especially elephants. She worked for many years in southern Africa, before becoming the head of WWF Australia's species program in 2007, and a voice for threatened species worldwide.

Having worked on human-elephant conflict in Namibia and India, she moved to Singapore in 2012 where she is working on reducing the illegal trade in ivory and rhino horn that is decimating Africa's elephants and rhinos. She divides her time between being a mum to her son, lecturing in the environmental sciences, and undertaking freelance conservation work in Africa and Asia.

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars = Okay. Maybe not a page-turner, but not sorry I read it.

[Sportyrod · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good intentions of an elephant conservationist in Namibia. Some of the work involved had me baffled.

[Deborah Pickstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was OK but too much about the writer and not enough about the elephants. More about the elephants might have obscured the fact that Ms Matson is not a talented writer.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting book by a very interesting lady. Highly recommend to anyone interested in Elephants and Africa.

[Sue Child · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real and honest account of the elephant situation in Africa

Coming from the world of wildlife management and conservation, it’s refreshing to read the honest truth and reality of what occurs and what needs to be done in Africa. All to often everyone just wants to save all the elephants, and don’t get me wrong, I am
An elephant lover. But there is a reality to the situation and conservation requirements differ in places. Thanks Tammie for you wonderful book, I share your love of Africa and it’s wildlife

[☁︎ ☾ ｡⋆ morgan ⋆｡☽ ☁︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

the colors were eye-catching, but the rest of this was just. okay. i think it reads to children as a fine book in theory, but from my perspective, the aim of what was being told was a little confusing. was it supposed to be an insight into the author? if so, why was it filled with her opinions and thoughts but didn't go in-depth into her as a person? who is the main focus? is this supposed to give kids historical background and more information on Indian culture? the core is getting a little lost in translation. some food for thought i suppose.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything about our beloved elephants is worth eating! Thanks Tammie!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting. This book improved my understanding of the impacts of elephant-human conflict both in Africa and India.

[Kadi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love reading the parts about the elephants and wildlife, I read the next book first (elephant planet) which repeats some of the story again. I do enjoy reading about how solutions are being trialed to combat the elephant-human conflict and I do enjoy the conservation side though.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay, but the author spent too much time talking about her own feelings, opinions and loves and not enough time writing about the elephants. She writes about her experiences in both Africa and Australia as a conservationist, making the story jump around which I found distracting.

[Saturday's Child · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tammie is a dedicated person who is passionate about wildlife conservation. Her story is one that really engages the reader.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was great to ready about Tammie's experience with elephants and trying to find solutions to Elephant/Human conflict.

[Alethea · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting autobiography and look at the author's study into human elephant conflict in Africa and India and her love of the African bush.

[Sue Hoddinott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable read. Inspiring, informative and well written

[Ruth Forbes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well done, Tammie! Memoir moves along at a steady pace and paints a picture of living with wild animals (particularly elephants) in the wild of Africa and India.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable. Very inspiring.