There is an important new book out that you should read called Elephants On the Edge: What Animals Teach Us About Humanity by Gay Bradshaw. A psychologist, ecologist, and animal behaviorist, Bradshaw presents here a devastating portrait of the full-scale collapse of elephant culture and society as a result of human encroachment and depravity. Among the things that make Bradshaw’s work so revelatory and revolutionary is that you emerge from this book without any question whatsoever in your mind about the appropriateness of applying words like “culture” and “society” to animals other than ourselves. Combining exhaustive field research of wild and captive elephants with the latest research in psychology and neuroscience into the behavior of a broad array of species, including elephants, humans and our closest relative, the chimpanzee, Bradshaw not only breaks down the false barriers between us and other species. She goes on to pose some very tough philosophical questions about the moral burden that comes with the newly emerging knowledge of the equivalent sophistication and vulnerability of creatures other than ourselves: our shared capacity for both deep harm—physical and psychological—and for healing. The breadth of Bradshaw’s knowledge and range of references—she started out as a Jungian psychologist—will amaze you. The emotional impact and urgency of her prose will stay with you long afterwards.
Charles Siebert
Charles Siebert is the author of two memoirs, Wickerby: An Urban Pastoral, selected as a New York Times Notable Book, and A Man After His Own Heart, as well as the novel, Angus. A poet, journalist, essayist, and contributing writer for The ...
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