65 pages • 2 hours read
Lawrence AnthonyThe Elephant Whisperer
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1999A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Bonding With Animals
Anthony explains the title of the book in the Prologue: While he is perceived to be the “elephant whisperer,” he asserts that the elephants are the ones who whispered to him. The context of the book is thus established early on, with the narrative exploring how Anthony builds a relationship with the elephants. This points to one of the central themes of the book: the value of communication and establishing a genuine relationship with animals.
Anthony learns to communicate with the elephants and gradually earn their trust. The possibility of bonding is established from the very first night Anthony spends outside the boma, when he makes a connection with the matriarch and manages to successfully convince her not to break out. The fact that this ritual continues over a number of days, with Nana acquiescing to Anthony’s pleas each time, establishes the connection as more than a chance occurrence. He is eventually able to pick up on the “rumblings” elephants use to communicate with one another, sensing the herd’s presence or absence in any area even without laying eyes on them. Although Anthony cannot actually hear the rumblings, he believes he perceives them subliminally. Thus, even without a common “language” between Anthony and the herd, there is communication still taking place.
Anthony forges connections not just with Nana but Frankie and Mnumzane too. The strength of these connections is demonstrated in how both elephants, on different occasions, are able to snap out of their rage and abandon an otherwise lethal charge: Frankie breaks her charge when Anthony and Françoise are on the quad bike, while Mnumzane finally stops flipping over the Land Rover when he recognizes Anthony inside it. The rest of the herd similarly acknowledges and responds to Anthony, largely because of their matriarch’s trust in him. He is able to call out to the herd and have them follow him where he wants on multiple occasions, like when he takes them to meet ET in the boma or leads them to Thula and Mnumzane’s bodies.
An important piece of the puzzle, as Anthony discovers, is that communication is a two-way street. When Nana and Mnumzane approach Anthony on foot in the wild for the first time, he realizes that Nana is waiting for him to acknowledge her. Elephants, just like humans, thus display the need to have their communication acknowledged and reciprocated. More importantly, they actively seek out or listen for the humans, initiating contact themselves on numerous occasions. Thus, once Anthony has established a relationship with the herd, they begin to visit him at his house and even turn up at the lodge. Once Anthony is able to see and establish a two-way communication with the herd, their relationship deepens and strengthens beyond what he believed possible.
Ultimately, Anthony views his bond with the elephants with grace, respect, and humility. He does not press beyond what is necessary, having only set out to bond with the elephants to help them overcome their mistrust of, and hostility toward, humans. Once this is done, Anthony chooses to cease his interactions with the elephants over time, not because he doesn’t cherish their bond but because he wants them to remain truly wild and free. This, in turn, ties into a second central theme of the book: Interconnectedness in Nature.
Interconnectedness in Nature
Anthony’s efforts at conservation and his experiences along the way display an innate understanding of how nature works. He sees and respects the balance and interconnectedness that is inherently present in nature, and he works to preserve this rather than control or manipulate it. Thus, Anthony’s actions are always aimed at preserving and retaining what exists in nature in the best possible way, intervening only when necessary and stepping back as soon as possible.
Anthony displays his understanding in his observations about the herd. He describes the clear hierarchy present among the elephants and Mnumzane being gradually ostracized by the rest. Even as Anthony empathizes with Mnumzane’s heartache at being pushed out of his family with no other bulls for company, Anthony also notes that this is the way of life with elephants in the wild. He does not interfere, even when witnessing Nana and Frankie use Mnumzane as a battering ram against the electrical fence of the boma. Anthony understands and respects the order of things, as he has also witnessed the elephants’ capacity for care and compassion toward their own. Power struggles are a way of life in the wild, and the balance of power is shifted once again when Mnumzane matures and quickly establishes himself as the alpha.
Anthony’s concern and respect is not exclusive to the herd, extending to all the living beings on his reserve, from rhinos and crocodiles to even the snakes. Despite Anthony’s bond with Mnumzane, he actively works to protect the rhino from the elephant and sharply chastises Mnumzane when the latter eventually kills a rhino. Similarly, although one of his dogs is killed by a crocodile and a second dog almost goes the same way, Anthony bears no ill will toward the creature—rather, he is clear that it is afforded the same protection extended to all living beings on Thula Thula. In fact, Anthony is viewed by others as almost a magical person for his insistence that even the snakes on his reserve are not to be killed.
Anthony’s attitude toward the living beings around him reflects a respect for the ways of nature. He believes that each creature deserves to occupy space in this world, and there is a sense of camaraderie and interconnectedness he perceives among all living beings. He sees this between different species as well, and this comes through in his recounting of how Nana sets free the nyala kept in the boma or how elephants, crocodiles, and men all take shelter in the same spot when a fire ravages the reserve.
Furthermore, just as this interconnectedness between life is a function of the common drive to survive, Anthony also recognizes that death, too, is a part of nature. Although with a heavy heart, he decides that Mnumzane must be put down when he becomes a threat to humans and animals. Ultimately, his actions constantly display an understanding of, and respect for, the balance in nature between life and death and the need for this cycle to continue. Hence, he works to help this cycle continue in the most natural way it can.
The Challenges of Conservation
The book opens with Anthony responding to a call about poachers in Thula Thula. He reveals they have been targeting the reserve for a year now. Poaching is just one of the many challenges Anthony faces in running the reserve, highlighting the tremendous effort and energy required in conservation work.
The large-scale poaching issue is eventually resolved when Anthony discovers that Ndonga and the Ovambos were responsible for it. However, intermittent poaching issues continue popping up, first with ivory poachers and then again with vulture killings. Anthony and his rangers face a fair amount of danger in these situations. With the ivory poachers, a shootout ensues. Similarly, the fire on the reserve is also believed to have been started by poachers, with arson being a common poaching tactic, attempting to distract manpower to one side of the reserve.
Anthony also has to contend with local politics that threaten or subvert his plans. Thula Thula is part of the larger Royal Zulu conservation project, which reserves lands for conservation rather than cattle grazing. Anthony thus faces huge opposition from the cattle owners, who believe Anthony is depriving them of their livelihoods. They actively try and poison Anthony’s relationship with the Nkosi and even begin planning an assassination attempt. His position as an outsider is used by the cattle cabal to their temporary advantage. As a Westerner in Africa, Anthony has to contend with his own whiteness and how this is perceived by the locals. Anthony thus consciously works to educate and include the locals in his conservation work. He talks to local chieftains to keep them informed of not just the Royal Zulu project but also the goings-on in Thula Thula. He also employs people from local communities to ensure they see conservation as a positive initiative that also benefits them.
Anthony also acknowledges there is a limit to what human intervention can do in conservation. Sometimes natural disasters occur, such as thunderstorms and flash floods that almost engulf part of the reserve. Sometimes there is a limit to possibilities for care, as when Thula does not survive despite the medical help she receives. Sometimes one cannot have all the information one needs, such as when Anthony belatedly realizes that Mnumzane’s ill temper was caused by pain from an infected tusk. All these incidents serve to underline the kind of effort and work it takes to preserve, conserve, and protect life in the wild.
