Elephant Memories

When an elephant family wanders outside the bounds of the Amboseli Reserve in Kenya, an adolescent daughter is shot by poachers. Cynthia Moss has spent decades studying these creatures in the wild and was among the first to document their rituals of mourning and burial so similar to human rites of parting. “They stood around Tina’s carcass, touching it gently with their trunks and feet. Because it was rocky and the ground was wet, there was no loose dirt, but... when they managed to get a little earth up they sprinkled it over the body.” Even more poignant because Moss… show more.

Cynthia Moss started as a Newsweek journalist and fell in love with elephants on holiday in Africa. She quit her job and became a research assistant to the Douglas-Hamilton family of elephant researchers. Moss was entranced with the idea of identifying elephants from their unique ears and soon could tell them apart. Her life as an ethologist and conservationist runs through the wonderful writing in her various books. I identify with her and her work because, like Moss, I started as a writer and became a researcher. With my colleagues, we unlocked the social behavior of orcas identifying them from… show more.

Cynthia Moss is a giant in the world of elephant research. Like Katy Payne, Moss has a beautiful writing style that gives you a peek inside the complex dynamics of elephant relationships. With Cynthia, we celebrate every success and shed tears at the many ways elephants are harmed by human habits. The dedication and passion of field scientists always amazes and inspires me.