Turning to the elephant's biological history, Wylie describes the three remaining species - the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant - and the controversial international efforts for elephant conservation. With ivory poaching and human encroachment into the animal's natural habitats, Wylie argues that we face a uniquely poignant conservation crisis in which elephants and humans both consume limited natural resources unsustainably.
Dan Wylie is Associate Professor of English at Rhodes University in South Africa. He is the author of several books, including Myth of Iron: Shaka in History (2006) and Toxic Belonging?: Identity and Ecology in Southern Africa (forthcoming, 2008).