[Elephants] often return to the bones of their dead ancestors and pay their respects

For more from Levison Wood, see our interview on

One of the things that really comes through your book is that we’re still learning so much about elephants

Well, it’s difficult to study African elephants in the wild. It’s very difficult to do controlled studies on any part of their behaviour. You can’t simply go traipsing up to a herd of elephants and examine them. And equally, elephants in captivity are outside of how they normally behave. They’re such social creatures that they simply can’t [function] on their own. And that’s why they’re so misunderstood in so many ways, which then has a massive impact on conservation.

Did you uncover any surprises during your research?

Loads. Elephants have got these ‘rumble calls’ that they do through their larynx, which transmitted seismically through the ground to other groups, up to 20km away, so other herds can hear these messages being passed. The fact that elephants can distinguish between different ethnicities of people – just by their smell and listening to their voices. They’ll also often return to the bones of their dead ancestors and pay their respects. And they can sense danger when it comes.

Elephants can transmit messages seismically through the ground – other herds can hear them up to 20km away.

They’re a lot smarter than we give them credit for.

When you’re walking across north Botswana, you’re actually being guided by a professional hunter? Yeah. You have to have an armed guide in Botswana National Park. He was a lovely guy and this was part of his job, but he also did hunt commercially as well and he was very open about that.

And there is a compelling argument on both sides, I have to say. I’m not an advocate of hunting at all, but there is a very strong argument that if it weren’t for these hunting reserves – that constitute millions of acres across Africa, far more than national parks and wildlife reserves – then what would happen to that land? It would get turned into farmland and there’d be less areas for wildlife to roam.

And actually, trophy hunting only accounts for a tiny fraction of elephant deaths, certainly a lot less than illegal poaching and far, far less than human-elephant conflict as a result of habitat loss. But we don’t sort of get up in arms about the fact that local farmers killed an elephant because it’s eaten all the crop.

With that in mind, were you depressed at the end of writing the book or do you see any hope for the future? Definitely depressed – but with a glimmer of hope, which lies in some of the people that I met who did understand the value of wildlife; they got the fact that megafauna like elephants contribute massively to tourism but, just as importantly, to the ecology of the environment. Elephants do a great job in spreading seeds, clearing excess forests and do a really important job in maintaining the natural balance in the wild. Without them, the landscape would be completely different, so people need to see a value in wildlife.

What can Wanderlust readers do to help?

Well, you can support the various charities that work out in Africa, like Tusk (www.tusk.org), or volunteer and contribute your own time. But I think tourism is such an important industry. Go there – go on safari, employ local guides and spend your money in Africa. Because if tourists stop going to places like Botswana then there’s no incentive for people to look after the wildlife.

The Last Giants: The Rise and Fall of the African Elephant is out now (£20; Hodder & Stoughton); the TV show will screen on Channel 4 later this year.