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The Secret Elephants Book
Reviews and Praise
Patterson tells the elephants' story with great
sympathy...a fascinating
story...
Getaway, March 2010
The Secret Elephants is a worthy tribute to these mighty creatures.
Leadership, March 2010
Patterson leads us on his adventure, building up suspense until he
makes
discoveries that until now were unheard of...
Its a captivating read and an unforgettable adventure.
www.wildcard.co.za March 2010
Odyssey Magazine Dec/Jan 2010.
Editors Choice.
'Heartwarming and touching, this is
one for those amongst us who have a special place in their hearts
for the giants of Africa'.
Once thought nothing more than a myth,
the elusive and human-shy, remnants of the Knysna elephants have
shown themselves to very few people. One amongst those fortunate to
have caught a glimpse of them is Gareth Patterson, better known for
his work with African lions. In 2001 Patterson began an independent
study of the Knysna elephants and covered thousands of kilometres on
foot over the next seven years as he followed their ancient trails
through the dense Afromontane forests and surrounding mountain
fynbos of this south-eastern coastal area. Far from being a mere
remnant slowly dying out, these elephants have adapted to man's
overwhelming presence and appear to be at least holding their own,
almost always out of view but alive and well.
With DNA evidence to support his
fieldwork findings, it is now clear that there at least five young
females in the Knysna area and there is in all likelihood a small
but thriving herd of these amazing animals. Heartwarming and
touching, this is one for those amongst us who have a special place
in their hearts for the giants of Africa.
Odysseymagazine.co.za
Cape Times - Books, October 30,
2009. Jo-Ann Bekker
Conservationist rediscovers
secret elephants of the Knysna forest.
''The Secret Elephants - Patterson's
ninth book - is his account of rediscovering ''the world's most
southerly elephants'' He recalls countless walks along ancient
elephant paths through the forest, adjacent plantations and mountain
fynbos, and the elation of finding signs of the elephants...''
''Above all he salutes the elephants
who have brought themselves back from the brink of extinction...''
Gareth Patterson, the conservationist
who returned George Adamson's lion cubs to the wilds and later
exposed canned lion hunting, has spent the past eight years tracking
elephants in the Knysna forest.
The Secret Elephants - his
ninth book - is his account of rediscovering ''the world's most
southerly elephants.''
In conversational prose, Patterson
dispels SANParks' assertions that there is only one elephant left in
the forest, and the reason the pachyderms died out is because the
Afromontane forest vegetation does not contain sufficient nutrients
to sustain a viable breeding herd.
He recalls countless walks along ancient
elephant paths through the forest, adjacent plantations and mountain
fynbos, and the elation of finding signs of the elephants : spoor,
branches recently snapped by trunks, tusk-punctured signs, dung, mud
marks on trees where the animals rubbed themselves, and temporary
tunnels through thick vegetation after an elephant has passed
through.
After a few years of following clues
(and he believes being observed in turn by the animals he is
tracking) Patterson finally glimpses dark shapes moving through the
foliage and hears the animals feeding.
But the closer he gets to coming face to
face with the elephants, the less important it becomes to Patterson.
He discovers what he calls ''the secret elephant place'' - a
deserted spring in a mountain clearing. But when he hears two
elephants about to enter the clearing - possibly the first
opportunity of photographically proving that more than one elephant
exists - he feels like a trespasser, and retreats, never to visit
the site again.
He collected dung, had the DNA analysed
in the United States, and co-authored a journal article which
revealed that the samples were taken from five females elephants who
are related. Although they are genetically the same as the Addo
elephants, the Knysna five have a greater genetic diversity than
their Eastern Cape relatives.
With the DNA studies and his field
observations Patterson estimates at least nine Knysna elephants
remain.
After dissecting droppings and
half-digested vegetation, he is confident that African elephants -
who live predominantly on grass elsewhere - are finding sufficient
nourishment in the Knysna area. They do not browse exclusively in
the forest, but feed extensively in fynbos clearings and eat vast
quantities of restios, which are high in phosphorus (essential to
fertility).
In addition, he found the elephants
regularly consume a mineral-rich medicinal mushroom - the tree
fungus Ganoderma applanatum - which contains antiviral,
antibacterial and anti-parasitic properties. He found no record of
elephants elsewhere eating these mushrooms, but primates are known
to relish the same fungus.
And he learnt that generations of people
in the Knysna area have boiled elephant droppings, strained the
liquid and drink it as a medicinal tea to detoxify and boost health
- exactly the same way Ganoderma is prepared in Africa, the East and
northern Europe.
Patterson does not personify the
elephants and his names for the individuals he follows are strictly
descriptive: Strangefoot, the Young Bull, and the Youngster.
Although he believes he can share an
affinity with them (he mentions several incidences of 'telepathic
communication'') he always makes a clear distinction between what he
has observed and what he feels.
Patterson continually doffs his hat to
the forestry guards and Wilfred Oraai in particular, who have
tracked and observed the elephants for decades and know them and the
forest better than he ever will.
Above all he salutes the elephants who
have brought themselves back from the brink of extinction with no
thanks to human hunters or conservationists.
Jo-Anne Bekker
From the Foreword of The
Secret Elephants
'' ... Gareth Patterson has
documented the elephants secret world with empathy and
understanding, as one who regards himself in harmony with it. Few
could have done this with more perception than Gareth, and I hope
his moving narrative will ensure that the Knysna elephants are
viewed with wonder and awe as a national and international treasure,
symbolic of endurance against all odds, as well as symbolic of the
precarious nature of their beleaguered species...''
''With elephants, one reaps what one
sows, and Gareth Patterson through his beautiful book has sown the
seeds of love and understanding of the wonderfully mysterious and
secretive remnant elephant community''.
Dr Dame Daphne Sheldrick DBE
MBE MBS DVMS
1992
Global 500 Laureate
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