Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants

""I was hearing faint sounds that might have been overtones of stronger sounds that the elephants, but not I, could hear."" In a chronicle that effectively blends memoir with the drama of scientific discovery, Payne (Elephants Calling), an acoustic biologist at Cornell, describes her role in the discovery of infrasonic communication between elephants. As she does so, she recounts her 13 years' study of African elephants--observing their social and family structures and behaviors, including the digging of wells. A scientist's respect for the elephants, ""my gray friends,"" and for the native scouts informs her work. Payne writes, ""You appreciate the value of silence when you watch elephants at night.... Every animal in the herd listens when the herd is listening. To use silence so well: if I could choose for people one attribute of elephants, I'd choose this."" Payne can be passionate, especially regarding the issues of poaching and the harvesting of ivory, and she is convinced that any decision about ivory harvesting must take into account both the experience of elephants themselves as well as the historic relations between indigenous peoples and wild animals. Payne believes that ""[i]n such a world animals reveal things to each other, and even occasionally to people like me: their attention to us is commensurate with ours to them."" This book will make a wonderful addition to the library of any animal lover or of anyone fascinated by intra- and interspecies communication. Maps and drawing by Laura Payne. (Aug.)