Elephant Memories: Thirteen Years in the Life of an Elephant Family Book

I felt like I was in the Land Rover with Cynthia Moss as she described in great detail the behaviors of elephants. In her thirteen years observing elephant behavior, Cynthia watched the younger and older elephants sparring, rolling and bathing in mud. She learned that elephants are quite tactile, touching and leaning against each other. Their greeting ceremonies are elaborate. The grumble, lift and spread and flap their ears, trumpet, scream, spin, urinate and defecate. Greetings among elephants last as long as ten minutes! These greeting ceremonies prove the bonds among the many family members have for one another. When one animal is dying, others in the family try to hold the elephant up, finally burying the dead elephant with branches and earth, leaving her behind only when necessary.

During the drought periods, Cynthia Moss carefully recorded elephant behavior in their relentless pursuit of water and food, watching how the once playful elephants became wary and thin, many losing their ability to feed their young. Half of the baby calves died during Cynthia's watch in 1974.

During better times, when water and grass was plentiful, Cynthia observed the estrous behavior of elephants. The larger bulls are what the female elephants tend to wait for, tending to run away from the younger males. When an older bull has set his smell and eyes on his female, and she has smelled his powerful smell with his secretions from afar, the male mates with her after she runs, and he chases and catches and mounts her, protecting her for 2-3 days until he tires of her and goes back to his "male" family to hang out. The other males know their place until the bull leaves.

The more aggressive females in the family lead the others to food. Their experience show the others how to survive. When a female has been "had" by her male, the others in the family surround the female and grunt and trumpet in celebration of "new life."

The elephants are pretty well protected in the Amboseli park. The Maasai only spear the elephants to show their strength, but otherwise leave them alone, showing animals respect. There are still hunters and poachers who shoot the elephants for their ivory.

Humans are identified by their teeth; Elephants can be identified by their ears, for their ears are distinct with tears and veins.

Cynthia describes watching the elephants as a "soap opera," for every day there are new discoveries in elephant behavior. This was an easy book to read, and VERY informative! I look forward to more reading before my daughter and I go on safari the summer of 2015!