The Last Elephants

In this comprehensive volume of essays and extraordinary photos, environmental activist Bell and journalist Pinnock (Wild as It Gets) call attention to the threat posed to elephants by poachers. The authors give voice to the people working daily to preserve savanna populations and provide a platform for wildlife photographers to showcase eye-opening images from Africa. The text deals with elephants’ value both to the environment and to poachers, emphasizing that pachyderms are “constant gardeners” whose “feeding habits create microhabitats for smaller creatures.” In addition, they are “major tree pruners... composting machines and fertilising agents.” Other sections focus on attempts in recent decades to halt the reckless slaughter of elephants and to significantly curb the trade in ivory, for centuries used variously in “piano keys, artistic carvings, cutlery, daggers and jewellery.” Bell and Pinnock conclude with ways to mitigate the problem, offering a list of NGOs to support and discussing what the reader should and should not do to help. Bolstered with striking, sometimes magnificent images of elephants in their native environs, this collection proves to be marvelously informative and widely appealing. With more than 250 color photos. [em](Apr.) [/em]