Giants and men

Writing and researching his latest book put renowned author linkurl:Dale Peterson,;http://ase.tufts.edu/faculty-guide/fac/dpeterso.english.htm yet again, in unfamiliar territory.

Peterson -- who has written books on the history of psychiatry, personal computing, apes, and primatologist Jane Goodall -- says that his __modus operandi__ is to dive into book topics he knows little about. For linkurl:__Elephant Reflections__,;http://www.amazon.com/Elephant-Reflections-Dale-Peterson/dp/0520253779 Peterson again came face-to-face with an imposing subject: the largest land mammals on Earth. "Actually it was similar to several of the books I've done, similar to the books I've done about computers. I didn't know anything about them when I started either," he says. "I went into a new subject and just jumped into it."Researching the book took Peterson and linkurl:Karl Ammann,;http://karlammann.com/ the world-famous wildlife photographer and conservationist whose stunning elephant photos accompany Peterson's text, from the jungled mountains of Burma to the verdant plains and dappled forests of Africa in search of their quarry.The author took some time to chat with __The Scientist__ about his experiences with elephants and the survival prospects for the majestic and endangered giants.

Notes from photographer Karl Ammann excerpted from __Elephant Reflections__:__I believe that both the conservation community and most of the conservation media are far too content to go with the ivory story. It's a sexier tale, after all, and it allows us to focus our blame on a distant and rather vague "ivory mafia" in Asia rather than on particular poachers, lax law enforcement officers, and meat traders in Africa. The ivory story is also a simpler one to tell, and perhaps easier to bear. But the consumption of all kinds of wild animal meat in Central Africa has become profoundly commercialized during the past several years. This commercialization has, in turn, caused the consumption of game meat -- including elephant meat -- to explode in scope and impact. The uncontrolled nature of the commercial meat trade is now the most important threat to forest elephants, and it needs to be publicized, understood, and addressed by individuals, organizations and governments....I am convinced that even if we were able to end all trade in ivory tomorrow, it would do little to stop the poaching of the remaining Central African forest elephants.__linkurl:__Elephant Reflections,__;http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10944.php by Karl Ammann and Dale Peterson, University of California Press, Berkeley, 2009. 288 pp. ISBN: 978-0-520-25377-3. $39.95.
**__Related stories:__***linkurl:A Sultan's gift?;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/54784/
[July 2008]*linkurl:When I see an elephant...paint?;http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/53264/
[1st June 2007]*linkurl:The task of keeping elephants;http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/23540/
[June 2006]

Meet the Author

Bob Grant

From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.

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