An Elephant Bloodline

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An Elephant Bloodline

Author: Howard Blight ISBN: 9780958496919

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There are presently more elephants on the sub-continent than there have ever been. How does their method of bulk feeding impact on biodiversity as a whole?

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"To remark that elephants simply never forget sell them short.
Recent research suggests a lot more, and Howard Blight’s captivating new book offers a picture in which humans and elephants share a kind of real intelligence." Lyall Watson
Author of SUPERNATURE and ELEPHANTOMS

‘Two elephant-calf half-sisters are separated in the waters of a flooded river after members of their family are gunned down by Shadrach, the legendary hunter and poacher. Over the years they rise through the ranks, eventually each becoming matriarchs of their own herds. They wander through The Kruger National Park, observing the effect of the increasing elephant population on biodiversity, or ecological stability. As adults they eventually meet one another again, under extraordinary circumstances.’

There are presently more elephants on the sub-continent than there have ever been. How does their method of bulk feeding impact on biodiversity as a whole?

In 2003, a group of five sub-adult bulls broke out from the Kruger Park into the Balule Game Reserve and finally into the commercial farming district near Hoedspruit in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Because the animals were threatened with being shot by nature conservation officers, the elephant taming and training company EFAF (Elephants for Africa Forever) was called in. World-renowned 'elephant whisperers’, Rory and Lindie Hensman, translocated four of the five named characters in An Elephant Bloodline to the EFAF facilities in Limpopo Province.

The fifth, Knobnose has been destroyed by the authorities

An Elephant Bloodline records the way elephants are born, communicate with and care for each other. Taken from real life experiences, the book records incidents of a puffadder bite, broken limbs and a broken back, as well as death by predators and near-death from thirst. In other words, it narrates the full spectrum of happenings in the natural world that may impact on elephant families.

When Howard set out to trace the fortunes of the elephants he knew, his research and experiences incorporated other stories - of ancient wilderness rites, of the management of South Africa's wild places, and of the future of biodiversity. This is that story.

"Mr. Blight has written a book that gives us much to think about. It deserves serious reading."
Dr. Ian Player
Naturalist and conservationist

"An Elephant Bloodline will transport you into the realistic world of Africa today, it has a good educational side to it and is a fabulous easy read for anyone who loves Elephants, Animals, Africa and its people''
Vicky Brooker.
Animal action

"A beautiful tapestry created from the marriage of myth and fact, transporting the reader into the intimate life a group of elephants. A well paced read which holds the
interest of the reader. A book that could make a valuable contribution to the curriculum of senior school learners."
Cecilia Knox
Animal Welfarist

"The writer cleverly combines his profound knowledge of the African elephant, the African bush, and the people of Africa with the dire necessity for future generations to understand the reason for practical, unemotional, and long-term sustainable conservation of all our flora and fauna in a balanced eco-system in today's rapidly changing Africa."
Rory Hensman
African Elephant Whisperer

'Howard Blight weaves together the symbiotic worlds inhabited by elephants and Africans. One is left sure in the knowledge that these great beasts with silent footsteps ultimately demand of us that which we so reluctantly give - our own humanity. Fascinating.'
John van de Ruit
Author of Spud

Author Detail

Howard Blight’s Sepedi name is Phophoroga (pronounced po-po-ro-kwa), which means ‘We see you and then you move on, and we see you again and then you’re gone’. He studied at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, and was appointed in 1991 as a Wildlife Consultant in Zimbabwe.

In 2003, he co-founded Elephants for Africa Forever (EFAF), which tames and trains wild African elephants that would otherwise be culled, by using the bilateral ‘ask-and-reward’ principle. He lives in Tzaneen, Limpopo, South Africa.