Romance, reverence, research, rights: Writing about elephant hunting and management in southern Africa, c.1830s to 2008

Jane Carruthers

doi:10.4102/koedoe.v52i1.880

Abstract

The protection and management of large mammals in Africa’s national parks is not a matter to be left solely for the attention of natural science and scientists. The way in which the natural world is conceptualised by the humanities and social sciences is also significant, because nature is cultural as well as scientific. This article is an interdisciplinary appraisal of the manner in which the writing (e.g. discourse, vocabulary) about elephants in various literary and scientific texts has altered over time. It aims to provide an analysis of some of the literature about elephants in order to examine literate society’s changing responses to the hunting and management of elephants in southern Africa over the past two centuries. The review suggests that new research questions regarding animal cognition and empathy have been generated by these changing attitudes, in conjunction with fresh directions in ecological understanding.Conservation implications: Biodiversity conservation is an inexact science, and even the distinction between conservation research and conservation management is not clear-cut. Moreover, a degree of emotion is evident in scientific and popular discussions around what should be ‘saved’ and how best this might be achieved. Nature is cultural as well as scientific and interdisciplinary insights from the humanities and social sciences may beneficially inform protected area management.

Highlights

Adams and McShane (1992:59) have observed of elephants, ‘No other species carries as much symbolic or emotional force
Elephants seem appropriate as a particular subject for investigation by scholars in many disciplines, including the humanities and the social sciences, because of their status as the largest African land mammals and their enormous economic and ecological significance; they raise emotions and topics surrounding bioethics and animal rights to a greater degree than any other creature (Scholes & Mennell 2008; Wemmer & Christen 2008)
Local South African writers on the Kruger National Park approached their subject from another perspective

Summary

Introduction

Adams and McShane (1992:59) have observed of elephants, ‘No other species carries as much symbolic or emotional force. In southern Africa, the debate is intense for the opposite reason; many people believe (sometimes on the basis of incomplete evidence) that there are too many elephants – that there ought to be intervention to limit their numbers and minimise their environmental impact (Scholes & Mennell 2008).

Results

Conclusion