Cynthia J. Moss, Harvey Croze, and Phyllis C. Lee (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226542232
- eISBN:
- 9780226542263
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226542263.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Animal Behavior / Behavioral Ecology
Elephants have fascinated humans for millennia. Their ivory has been sought after and treasured in most cultures, and they have delighted zoo and circus audiences worldwide for centuries. But it was ...
More
Elephants have fascinated humans for millennia. Their ivory has been sought after and treasured in most cultures, and they have delighted zoo and circus audiences worldwide for centuries. But it was not until the second half of the twentieth century that people started to take an interest in elephants in the wild, and some of the most important studies of these intelligent giants have been conducted at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. This book provides a summation of what has been learned from the Amboseli Elephant Research Project—the longest continuously running elephant research project in the world. It presents more than three decades of uninterrupted study of over 2,500 individual elephants, from newborn calves to adult bulls to old matriarchs in their 60s. Chapters explore such topics as elephant ecosystems, genetics, communication, social behavior, and reproduction, as well as new developments from the study of elephant minds and cognition. The book closes with a view to the future, making arguments for the ethical treatment of elephants and suggestions to aid in their conservation.Less
Elephants have fascinated humans for millennia. Their ivory has been sought after and treasured in most cultures, and they have delighted zoo and circus audiences worldwide for centuries. But it was not until the second half of the twentieth century that people started to take an interest in elephants in the wild, and some of the most important studies of these intelligent giants have been conducted at Amboseli National Park in Kenya. This book provides a summation of what has been learned from the Amboseli Elephant Research Project—the longest continuously running elephant research project in the world. It presents more than three decades of uninterrupted study of over 2,500 individual elephants, from newborn calves to adult bulls to old matriarchs in their 60s. Chapters explore such topics as elephant ecosystems, genetics, communication, social behavior, and reproduction, as well as new developments from the study of elephant minds and cognition. The book closes with a view to the future, making arguments for the ethical treatment of elephants and suggestions to aid in their conservation.
