Secrets of the Savanna: Twenty-Three Years in the African Wilderness Unraveling the Mysteries of Elephants and People.

SECRETS OF THE SAVANNA: Twenty-Three Years in the African Wilderness Unraveling the Mysteries of Elephants and People MARK AND DELIA OWENS

In the early 1990s, the United Nations banned the ivory trade worldwide, putting out of business poachers and many other Africans who had made their livelihoods from ivory. At the time, Mark and Delia Owens, conservationists and authors, traveled to Zambia's North Luangwa National Park to see how that nation's people and wildlife, especially elephants, were faring. This story describes the complex interaction between people and wildlife in Africa and how a conservation attempt has meant the loss of work and resources for some people. The Zambian government funded programs to smooth the transition of a poaching economy to one based on the trade of goods other than ivory. The authors were involved in such efforts in several villages. However, facing widespread corruption and hostility from Zambians reluctant to give up their ivory business, this endeavor often proved daunting and dangerous. Though poaching in the region has decreased enormously, it will take many years for the elephants to recover, the authors write. Houghton Mifflin, 2006, 230 p., color plates, hardcover, $26.00.