{"product_id":"the-elephants-secret-sense-the-hidden-life-of-the-wild-herds-of-africa-9780226616742","title":"The Elephant's Secret Sense: The Hidden Life of the Wild Herds of Africa","description":"While observing a family of elephants in the wild, Caitlin O'Connell noticed a peculiar listening behavior--the matriarch lifted her foot and scanned the horizon, causing the other elephants to follow suit, as if they could \"hear\" the ground. \u003ci\u003eThe Elephant's Secret Sense\u003c\/i\u003e is O'Connell's account of her groundbreaking research into seismic listening and communication, chronicling the extraordinary social lives of elephants over the course of fourteen years in the Namibian wilderness. \u003cbr\u003e This compelling odyssey of scientific discovery is also a frank account of fieldwork in a poverty-stricken, war-ravaged country. In her attempts to study an elephant community, O'Connell encounters corrupt government bureaucrats, deadly lions and rhinos, poachers, farmers fighting for arable land, and profoundly ineffective approaches to wildlife conservation. \u003ci\u003eThe Elephant's Secret Sense \u003c\/i\u003eis ultimately a story of intellectual courage in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"I was transported by the author's superbly sensuous descriptions of her years spent studying the animals. . . . Conjures a high-class nature documentary film in prose.\"--Steven Poole, \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"A ride as rough and astonishing as the roads of the African floodplain.\"--Joan Keener, \u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"A successful combination of science and soulfulness, explaining her groundbreaking theory of how elephants use seismic communication. . . . O'Connell's account is studded with sympathetic insights and well-turned phrases.\"--\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"This fascinating book reads like a fast-paced detective story of a scientific discovery and adventure set in contemporary Africa. . . . By the end, O'Connell takes her rightful place among the leading biographers of the African elephant.\"--Iain Douglas-Hamilton, author of \u003ci\u003eAmong the Elephants\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/01\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226616742\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 240\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.79lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.94h x 6.34w x 0.57d","brand":"Caitlin O'Connell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":36635217658012,"sku":"9780226616742","price":15.3,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_25bcbe90-d763-4323-82e7-de5aa2ef68fd.jpg?v=1603838905","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-elephants-secret-sense-the-hidden-life-of-the-wild-herds-of-africa-9780226616742","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}