“In the nineties there was some trouble with elephants in South Africa,” I said. “Whether there were too many of them or whatever, I don’t know, but anyway the authorities set up this program. They shot all the adult elephants, captured the young ones, and moved them to a different part of the country. Those elephants are adult now. And they’re deeply traumatized. They’re aggressive, hostile to humans, and antisocial. They’ve got all the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The point is they’re sensitive. They saw their parents killed, and elephants always react when one of the herd
...more
