Elephants on the Edge: What Animals Teach Us about Humanity

by G.A. Bradshaw

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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Nature, Wildlife, Biology

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll begin by saying this wasn’t really the book I was expecting it to be. The wayward young elephants of South Africa’s national park are only a piece of the puzzle here. Instead, ELEPHANTS ON THE EDGE is a psychological study with pachyderms as its main subject.

I learned a lot, even though the text could be quite dense. Information charges the reader like an angered elephant. I will say if a person is completely resistant to comparisons of animal and human minds and the traumas that have affected them, this book and its approach aren’t likely to win them over.

[Ryan Holiday · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you look at some of the commonly known trivia about animals - that elephants grieve and occasionally bury their dead, that chimps can speak sign language, that some species of monkeys display exhibit traits like fairness or cognitive dissonance - it's shocking to see how much it conflicts with currently used preservation tactics. For instance, take the culling of a herd of elephants through relocation or hunting. We all sit and watch National Geographic specials that marvel at their social structure, their abilities to communicate with each other and form relationships and then simply assume that these efforts have zero repercussions.

The book's premise is that these species suffer trauma much in the same way that people do. It mentions a herd of elephants in Africa where two rogue teenage males deliberately killed dozens of rhinoceros without explanation - this, they say, is no different than the gang violence we see in inner cities, cities racked by the same dislocation, disappearing resources and exploitation. Whether you agree with it or not, there is something to be said for books that turn over entire lines of thinking. I especially like books that take logic and findings from unrelated fields and apply them in interesting and provocative ways. This book does just that.

[Gabrielle Macklin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book looks at the history of elephants and people interactions in Africa, India and the United States. The book looks at how science has proven that elephants are sensitive, intelligent, emotional beings. The book looks at the neurological and psychological similarities ad differences between humans and elephants. The book reminds us that we have been mistreating these amazing animals for as long as they can remember (and it's true that they remember way longer than we do; it's in the book).

A book all about the connections between elephants and humans? I was intrigued, and after the introduction I was hooked. I read at every opportunity for 2 days and I wish I wasn't such a fast reader because I wanted to continue reading it.

I don't know how to do a book review, but I don't think it's about going chapter by chapter and explaining the book. However some highlights of the book seem right to me.

**

Back in 2000, there were reports of young bull (male) elephants attacking rhinos across South Africa. These attacks were fatal, sexual and above all, perplexing. The book tries to explain not only the reasons behind the attacks, but what we can learn about human violence and potential solutions by looking at these attacks. The book also tries to make us understand why we find the attacks to be so disturbing, even though normally interspecies (between species) violence is not something new (welcome to the predator-prey relationship).

What the book explains is that unlike humans, elephants are able to be intelligent, emotional, social animals without resorting to violence. They live in structured herds and there are never fights for dominance within herds or between them. They are a peaceful species, both to other elephants and other animals (self-defense aside). Which is why elephants attacking rhinos blew the minds of scientists and public alike. A normal reviewer might tell you what they discovered, but really, read the book.

**

Humans have not treated elephants well in a really long time. In Africa they put it back to European colonization. In the United States they put it back to the first circus elephant. In India... harder to put a date on it. But it's been a while since we've shown elephants the respect we should. Which is interesting, because study after study show that they think and feel emotional and psychological stress just as humans do. So the circus trainers who chain and isolate their elephants, the hunters who bring down a cow (female) and live-capture the calf (baby), the Mahout who beats their elephants into submission, all create victims of abuse and trauma that show the exact same symptoms that humans do. Time and time again in the book, they show examples of elephants with PTSD, depression and suicidal tendencies. Sound familiar?

And it's not subjective. Neurological tests on humans and elephants show that their brains are behaving in exactly the same way after these major life-altering traumas.

So while we as people speak out about genocides of people, call isolating children abuse and combat domestic violence against women, we turn away from the exact same abuse and genocide in a species that reacts in the exact same way. And when humans rebel against their abuse, they are freedom fighters (and more power to them). When elephants rebel (and trust me, they are smart enough to understand revenge and vengeance), we kill them and call them terrors.

I don't really see the fairness, do you? For more examples and information, read the book.

**

I think I could go on for days, and ask any of my coworkers, I did. This book made me wonder about how we treat animals in general, how many other species might be at our level (or higher) in intelligence and emotion, but we can so simply turn away. Now of course, I just finished eating chicken for lunch, so I don't know how much I have changed, but thinking about it is the first step, right?

And as a marine biologist, I easily moved Bradshaw's arguments toward my own loves, whales and dolphins. Clearly cetaceans are brilliant and feeling animals with complex social systems, but just as clearly we are able to turn a blind eye to their inappropriate use and killings. Or we see it, feel sad for a day, but then move on.

There are more movements for the freedom of people against abuse (killing included) than animals. Which I understand, we are a selfish species. And I am NOT saying these are bad. I'm just saying it's unfair, because why shouldn't animals with equal-human (I hate the term near-human. When was the last time whales started Ocean War I?) intelligence get equal human rights? The right to food, habitat, and safety? How hard are those, really?

I don't know if I did this book justice. The elephants in it are exceptional stories, as are the people who have devoted their lives to saving them. The science is sound and the scientists she cites are at the top of the field of elephant biology. There were times where I was reading stories or more often than not statistics, where I had to put the book down and walk away, because of the overwhelming sadness that came from reading it. But I could only stay away for about 2 minutes before the book pulled me back into itself. It's an addicting read.

I recommend it to every biologist, if only just to make us think about the way we ourselves use animals in the name of science. Do we have the right? And of course, I recommend it to every human soul, to make us rethink the way we treat each other, but above all, how we treat animals. Because isn't one of the early warning signs someone might be a serial killer is animal abuse?

Think about it. Read the book.

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A review of this book, by me at least, would have to be very short or very long! There is so much going on here, much of which is beyond my learning. In a nutshell, Bradshaw discusses elephant behavior, including some recent aberrant behavior, and studies it in the context of what kind of beings elephants are and what human kind is putting them through, whether it involve circuses, zoos, culling or whatever. Elephants, left to their own ways, inhabit a very intricate, social society. Human inflictions like killing a baby's parents in front of them has a major impact on their psyches. Bradshaw argues, very effectively, that we need to understand these elephants in a way not at all dissimilar to our understanding of humans who deal with PTSD and the like.

Bradshaw also exposes many instances of abuse of elephants in the context of zookeepers who purport to appreciate and even love the animals. This abuse coupled with the inherit unnaturalness of the zoo "exhibit" environment - elephants tend to travel many, many miles in their natural, wild state - makes for a stressful environment for an elephant trapped in a zoo, or even worse, a circus. On a personal level, Bradshaw's exposure of some of these facts is going to cause me to rethink any support I give to zoos from here on out, making it parallel to the impact Wayne Pacelle's The Bond had on my diet.

There were bits of this book that were too specialized for me, that I had to basically skip over because Bradshaw was so far over my head. But in the end, it was a valuable educational experience for me, and based on that, I would recommend it to anyone wondering about our relationship to the amazingly intelligent, beautiful pachyderms we "share" the planet with.

[Papalodge · Rating 3 out of 5]

The psychology of elephants and other animals (including humans)presented in a non stop flow. Moe information presented than you usually get offered in college courses. Take an aspirin and enjoy the read. Wrap your mind around this - 'neurobiologically, the bull's hyperaggression is consistent with an intense state of amygdala-hypothalamic sympathetic hyperarousaland weakened higher right orbitofrontl inhibitory system associated with imapired developmental trauma.'...and that's jsut the guys.
That every behavior has a reason is brought to light again and again. The comparisons drawn between humans and thinking animals runs throughout this work.
The chapters I especially liked were The Biology of Forgiveness, and Am I an Elephant? That is not to minimalize the other chapters - they were all rewarding. Where Does the Soul Go? - delving into Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka,Josef Mengele, Vietnam War, and various Zoos - epxlores dissociation (personality disorders) in particular.
A good book to read on a rainy day or snowy night.
Wrap your thoughts around the possiblities and open your mind a bit.

[Ali Baylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and extremely disturbing look at the psychological crisis that elephants face, based on the story of some elephants in Africa that are raping and killing rhinos. The emotional needs of elephant culture are explained in detail, and this book has convinced me that elephants should no longer be allowed to be in zoos, circuses, or other forms of human entertainment or even educational venues. other than sanctuaries for those recovering from lives in zoos or circuses. Elephants are as smart and socially developed as the great apes; they pass on cultural values, mourn their dead, and rely on old matriarchs to keep the culture and bonding of the group intact. Because of habitat destruction, many elephants are now being raised by young, single moms with no elders to help. These are the elephants that are now becoming psychologically disturbed and killing rhinos for no apparent reason, other that loss of connection with their needed emotional based. Sound familiar?

[José Toledo · Rating 5 out of 5]

One cannot read this book and remain unchanged. The author makes her point with force about something that should be common sense: destroying the family and emotional life of these highly intelligent animals leads to heartbreak and enduring trauma for the survivors, and destroys a little more our already battered sense of humanity. People and elephants, especially in Africa, have been interdependent since ancient times. The author demonstrates, with great intellectual clarity, how the arrival of colonialism and its lingering aftermath tore apart the bonds between people and other animals. Her final call is to restore peace within and among ourselves and the other species. If you read this book and remain unchanged, it is your humanity that comes into question.

[Kim Stallwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most important and impactful books I have ever read about animals. Essentially, it's an exploration of trans-species trauma, with the focus on elephants and their circumstances in the wild and in captivity. I shall want to read this again as it is forming an essential part of my research into a book I'm writing. Highly recommended!

[Ronnette Benke · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s not the book. I started this and couldn’t get into it. I don’t know if it’s how it’s written but I would reread the page over and over. I love elephants so I thought it would be a good read. And it probably is. I just couldn’t connect in the beginning. Maybe because it’s an academic read. Not sure. So this star is not about the book — just me not connecting with it.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad but hopeful.

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elephants are amazing and delicate creatures. We need to do more to save them!

[Peach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, and by "enjoyed" I mean, it really bummed me out with the onslaught of depressing information. It was painfully informative and used human psychology as a fairly effective foil for elephant psychology, but skated along anthropomorphic comparison due to the enormous emotional intricacies of elephant (versus human) culture, which I understand can be difficult to avoid when covering such a deeply intimate and complex social order, and it was easily forgiven. Somewhere toward the end, the narrative took a catastrophic nosedive. The voice got lost in what I imagined to be the passion of the author's position as the champion of pachyderm the world over. The last quarter of it felt rushed and irritated rather than having a healthy emotional distance provided by scientific observation and anthropological sensitivity in regards to the populations who've evolved with these animals over many centuries and their respective struggles. The book was interesting, but fell flat toward the end with an unnecessarily aggressive tone and redundancy.

[Jasmin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very insightful book about elephants as sentient beings with their own cultures, and the hardships they face via human beings. Full of examples and numerous stories illustrating the plight of elephant culture, this book is well written and powerful. My only criticism is that there is a lot of information to get through with heavy repetition which, though effective at getting the point across, can make getting through the book taxing at times. I feel like this book discusses issues that everyone should be aware of, but might not be accessible to all readers.

[daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very moving book, arguing for a trans-species ethic/morality. I'm not sure how convincing I ultimately find her conclusions (i.e., that animals in captivity are morally comparable to Holocaust victims), but it's sure to be thought-provoking and illuminating to how PTSD affects humans and other animals.

Also, through this book I found out about a wonderful elephant sanctuary in Tennessee: http://elephants.com. They do good work for elephants who have been too damaged by zoos or circuses to be "useful" any more. The restoration—and even forgiveness—of these elephants is inspiring.

[Howard Berger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, eye opening book. Her most compelling arguments described how elephant behavior is remarkably similar to ours. They react to trauma and stress in many similar, disturbing ways. It does make me rethink supporting zoos that keep elephants.
She sometimes delves too deeply in psychology speak and looses her lay audience in jargon that she does not always define well. I found it got a bit repetitive toward the end and would have preferred anecdotes to more psychological jargon. It was generally a good read though.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting, albeit very disturbing book. I could only get halfway through before the stories of abuse and destruction really started to wear on me. Still Elephants on the Edge does what it's intended to do. It raises consciousness of the plight of elephants by humanizing them. If you liked the case studies in your intro to abnormal human development, then you might like this one. I'm off to read something happy.

[Marian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that elephants can act like humans is shocking. Elephants grieve and bury their dead!
They also speak kind of sign language and they sometimes young males kill with no reason.
It creates a new line in thinking about animals, specially elephants.

[Susie]

I ran out of time on this one before I had to return it ot the library, so I'll pick it up again.

[Anuj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am shocked and horrified! we humans are a disgraceful species!