Earth to Sky: Among Africa's Elephants, A Species in Crisis

Elephantsareamongtheearthsmostsentientbeings.Theyremember,theyexperiencegriefandjoy,fearandlove.Indeed,asourknowledgeoftheseextraordinarycreaturesincreases,themoretheytranscendallpreconceptionsofanimalbehavior.MichaelNickNichols,longtimephotographerforNationalGeographicaswellasthemagazineseditor-at-largeforphotography,hasbeenworkingwithAfricanelephantsformorethantwentyyears.InEarthtoSkyhetellstheirstorythroughpoignantimagesthatbringusdirectlyintotheirhabitatslushforestsandopensavannas,orstarklandscapesravagedbyhumaninterventiontoobservetheanimalsdailyengagementsandactivities.NicholssphotographsareaccompaniedherebythewordsofsuchcelebratedfiguresinthefieldofconservationasIainDouglas-Hamilton,J.MichaelFay,PeterMatthiessen,CynthiaMoss,DavidQuammen,andmanyothers.Inaddition,Nicholsengagesusinhisphotographicjourneywithpersonalandinformativeintroductionstoeachofthebooksfourchaptersexploringlifeinthewild,theivorytrade,familyinteractions,andprogramsfororphanedelephants.Thesurvivalofelephantsisunderdirethreatfromhumankind,mostimmediatelyfromthemarketforivory.Morethantwenty-fivethousandelephantsareslaughteredeachyear,andtheirivoryissoldatastronomicallyhighpricestocountriessuchasChina,Japan,thePhilippines,andSingapore.Africanelephantrefugesareundersiege;manyparkrangershavebeenmurderedinthefray.Themisuseofelephantsivoryasacommodityhastostopbut,asNicholsmakesclear,theissuemustbeaddressedwithafullandempatheticunderstandingofthepovertyandcorruptionthatpersistinthecountrieswhereelephantsroam.InEarthtoSkyNicholsdemonstratesthattheworldneedselephants,andinsiststhatwedoallwecantoprotecttheirspacesandtheirlives.Sadly,mostsignspointtoatragicconclusionforthesewiseandemotionallycomplexcreatures.Thisbookisanurgentcallforustobringthatprocesstoahalt,whilewestillcan.