Wild Elephants

In Wild Elephants, Art Wolfe seeks to capture on camera just what makes elephants so special and so worth saving.

Legendary for their size and intelligence, elephants are one of the most charismatic of megafauna. That they are under siege from poachers is no secret, and the rapidity of their declining numbers is horrifying. However, amidst the steady stream of bad news, all is not lost. Ivory prices are declining, global education seems to be succeeding, and recent government crackdowns are beginning to stem the flow of illegal ivory.

While Wild Elephants features photographs of both African and Asian species, the emphasis is on the African savanna or bush elephant. Samuel Wasser's informative text focuses on his current groundbreaking research on the impacts of the illegal trade in elephant ivory along with legal culling practices as a means of population control of this highly intelligent, tightly knit social species.

Wild Elephants is a celebration of these wondrous gentle giants, of the renewed efforts countries are taking to protect their natural heritage, and of what we can do to empower local populations to safeguard the survival of a magnificent species.

About the Author

Throughout his career, Dr. Samuel Wasser has participated in conservation programs around the world and is acknowledged worldwide as a pioneer of noninvasive wildlife monitoring methods. He is the director of the Center for Conservation Biology and holds the endowed chair in Conservation Biology at the University of Washington. In 2018, the Animal Welfare Institute awarded Dr. Wasser the prestigious Schweitzer Medal for his groundbreaking work.