Elephantoms - Tracking the Elephant

Lyall Watson, Penguin, London, 2003
Softcover, ISBN 0 670 04789 9, 153mm x 234mm, 219 pages
R154-00

Not having read anything by Lyall Watson before, I was intrigued by his style. At some points in the narrative I initially had to wonder whether or not he was being serious about some of his apparently autobiographical experiences and those of others he has met. He is.

Tellingly, Watson says of Raymond Dart, his early mentor and well known palaeontologist, that he was ‘never slow to leap to great conclusions'. And while acknowledging the uncharted nature of the supernatural territory he covers in the course of the book, the author nonetheless boldly goes where not too many have gone before. He raises some fascinating concepts and speculates with an enthusiasm and wonder that many will find compelling. Others might not find these concepts so compelling, but will nonetheless be enchanted and entertained by Watson's obvious passion for elephants and the great lengths he has gone to, to research fully a multitude of aspects. He weaves these facts into his own life story and development - itself an interesting account - in a highly readable, entertaining and educational text that ranges from an idyllic South Africa upbringing and formative holidays on the Cape coast, to studies in Johannesburg and London (latterly under Desmond Morris), work in the Johannesburg Zoo and then for the BBC, and always Watson's return to the common thread of elephants and elephant experiences in his life.

Fans of Lyall Watson will no doubt love the book. For those not yet familiar with what is a distinctive style, this may be the right introduction. Regardless of one's own view of the world we live in, Watson's attempts to understand and explain the apparently inexplicable are admirable and thought-provoking.

- Chris Roche -

Posted: Mammals by CC Africa, Date: 22 November 2006