The eye of the elephant : an epic adventure in the African wilderness

Two naturalists describe how a battle to save the elephants of Africa turned into a fight for their lives when commercial poachers heard of their work. By the authors of Cry of the Kalahari . 60,000 first printing. National ad/promo. Tour An “exciting” true account of battling the elephant poachers of Zambia by the author of Where the Crawdads Sing and her fellow biologist ( The Boston Globe ). Intelligent, majestic, and loyal, with lifespans matching our own, elephants are among the greatest of the wonders gracing the African wilds. Yet, in the 1970s and 1980s, about a thousand of these captivating creatures were slaughtered in Zambia each year, killed for their valuable ivory tusks. When biologists Mark and Delia Owens, residing in Africa to study lions, found themselves in the middle of a poaching fray, they took the only side they morally could: that of the elephants. From the authors of Secrets of the Savanna, The Eye of the Elephant is “part adventure story, part wildlife tale,” recounting the Owens’s struggle to save these innocent animals from decimation, a journey not only to supply the natives with ways of supporting their villages, but also to cultivate support around the globe for the protection of elephants ( The Boston Globe ). Filled with daring exploits among disgruntled hunters, arduous labor on the African plains, and vivid depictions of various wildlife, this remarkable tale is at once an adventure story, a travelogue, a preservationist call to action, and a fascinating examination of both human and animal nature. "After being expelled from Botswana for writing their controversial best seller, Cry of the Kalahari, Delia and Mark Owens set off on a journey across Africa, searching for a new Eden. They found it in the North Luangwa Valley of Zambia, an area the size of Delaware with no roads, no buildings, and no people. Hippos and crocodiles swam in the rivers, lions stalked the bush, and elephants wandered into camp to eat the fruit of the marulu trees. But the peace and quiet were soon shattered by gunfire; poachers were killing a thousand elephants a year. When they learned that the people in the villages around the valley depended on poaching to survive, Delia and Mark became a one-woman, one-man economic development team, helping villagers start sewing and woodworking shops, fish farms and grain mills, all the while trying to convince them that in the long run wildlife could be worth more to them alive than dead. But some of the big commercial poachers decided that the Owenses should die, and Delia and Mark's battle to save the elephants turned into a fight for their own lives." "Cry of the Kalahari was one of the great wildlife adventure stories of all time. Remarkably, The Eye of the Elephant is even more dramatic, more exciting, more poignant."--Jacket The authors of Secrets of the Sahara battle the elephant poachers of Zambia in this "exciting ... part adventure story, part wildlife tale" (The Boston Globe). Intelligent, majestic, and loyal, with lifespans marching our own, elephants are among the greatest of the wonders gracing the African wilds. Yet, in the 1970s and 1980s, about a thousand of these captivating creatures were slaughtered in Zambia each year, killed for their valuable ivory tusks. When biologists Mark and Delia Owens, residing in Africa to study lions, found themselves in the middle of the poaching fray, they took the only side that they morally could: that of the elephants. The Eye of the Elephant recounts their struggle to save these innocent animals from decimation, a journey not only to supply the natives with ways of supporting their villages, but also to cultivate support around the globe for the protection of elephants. Filled with daring exploits among disgruntled hunters, arduous labor on the African plains, and vivid depictions of the various wildlife, this remarkable tale is at once an adventure story, a travelogue, a preservationist call to action, and a fascinating examination of both human and animal nature

Expelled from Botswana for writing Cry of the Kalahari, the Owenses set off across Africa. They settled in Zambia, where they soon found their peace shattered by the gunfire of elephant poachers. This is the story of the couple's battle to save the elephants and their own lives.

In a remote Zambian valley where elephants gracefully wandered into camp to eat fruit from the trees, the authors of the bestselling Cry of the Kalahari discovered a new wilderness Eden. But peace was shortlived when they were drawn into a struggle that threatened their lives. Photos.

"[R]ecounts the Owens struggle to save these innocent animals from decimation, a journey not only to supply the natives with ways of supporting their villages, but also to cultivate support around the globe for the protection of elephants. Filled with daring exploits among disgruntled hunters, arduous labor on the African plains, and vivid depictions of various wildlife, this remarkable tale is at once an adventure story, a travelogue, a preservationist call to action, and a fascinating examination of both human and animal nature." -- Amazon.com After being expelled from Botswana for writing their controversial bestseller Cry of the Kalahari, Mark and Delia Owens set off on a journey across Africa, searching for a new Eden. They found it in Zambia, but elephant poachers soon had them fighting for their lives when they tried to stop the slaughter. 16 pages of photos, half in color. Two naturalists describe how a battle to save the elephants of Africa turned into a fight for their lives when commercial poachers heard of their work. By the authors of __Cry of the Kalahari__. 60,000 first printing. National ad/promo. Tour AIRBORNE OVER THE KALAHARI for the first time in years, I felt as though I was meeting an old friend again in some secret corner of the earth known only to the two of us.