BEATING ABOUT THE BUSH

Chimpanzees and guerillas launched Richard Barnes into the world of elephant conservation. He describes his experiences in the bushlands, rainforests, and savannas of East, Central, and West Africa. The aftermath of a guerilla raid found him in a Tanzanian wilderness where he stalked elephants to record their behavior. Later, he and his wife lived in a remote corner of Gabon while figuring out a census method for elephants hidden in the equatorial rainforests. How do you count elephants that are invisible in dense undergrowth? The answer may surprise you. His experiences in West Africa, where elephants remained in small patches of habitat in Ghana and Togo, provided a stark contrast to East and Central Africa. A thread linking these episodes is the relationship between rural communities and elephants. This book will appeal to anybody interested in the natural world, the environment, or travel.

Richard Barnes PhD is a zoologist who has studied a wide range of animals, from hares to Homo sapiens. He has wandered in wildlands---through deserts, bush, swamp, and rainforests---spread across the African continent, from east to west. Now retired, he lives with his wife Karen in San Diego, California.