LOVE, WAR, AND CIRCUSES: The Age-Old Relationship Between Elephants and Humans

The long history of human-elephant interaction has been a tug-of-war between adoration and abuse, as Scigliano's richly informative work ably demonstrates. Investigating the affinity that people around the world hold for these creatures, freelance writer Scigliano posits that humans may have more in common with elephants than any species other than apes. He explains how proto-man may even owe its descent from the trees to the world-changing power of elephants' ancestors. Elephants are second only to humans in their ability to transform the landscape around them and historically have spread over as much ground as we have. The author also notes that human life spans are similar to those of elephants. Early Europeans held the same racial prejudices against the African species as they did the humans of that continent, and the process of acquiring ivory helped usher in the slave trade. While pachyderms have been used in war and sent between nations as tokens of peace, they are now corralled in zoos and circuses, which, as much as they entertain, have sparked protests over animal abuse. In this clear and enjoyable work, Scigliano nicely balances this complex relationship using anecdotes from science and history, personal experience and research; he presents the many arguments of the fight for elephants' survival, spelling out the various positions taken by both supporters and detractors. (June 19)