“I know what you’re thinking,” Jon said thoughtfully. “Staying for me isn’t enough, is it?”
I smiled. “Maybe I could also fly for the Red Cross.”
“Who would have thought I’d fall for a bloody martyr.”
“Why don’t we start with that date that you promised me?”
“Once I’m mobile, how about a trip down the Zambezi?” His eyes lit up. “In the meantime, I could start the Sated Rabbit right here. Hmm? Catherine? What do you think?” His mind started churning. “I would open with my mushroom stroganoff recipe, sautéed with a bit of butter and cream, oh, and maybe a sprig of rosemary….”
I laughed as I put my arms around him. We kissed, uncertain of our destiny, but with an absolute commitment to the present.
Author’s Note
In December 1991, my boyfriend and I decided to spend a year traveling in Africa, in between degrees. But after being seduced by Africa, we never left. And from there, my boyfriend became husband, and elephants became the subject of my scientific career. While working for the Namibian government in the Caprivi region of Namibia in the early 1990s, I was struck by the realities of the elephant-human interface and the contrast between dedicated conservation staff trying to protect elephants and their habitat on the one hand, and farmers having to live with elephants eating their crops on the other. I had since wanted to write a fictional account that illustrated the contrasts of modern Africa in the face of elephants on the brink of extinction.
Over the intervening years, although elephant conservation efforts have improved in some places across Africa, in others, the situation for elephants is getting worse, given recent political instabilities in North Africa, a rise in crime syndicates on the continent, and the increase in the demand for ivory in China, all contributing to a rise in the price of ivory and a staggering increase in elephant poaching in some countries. Having written five nonfiction books about elephants, I revisited the idea of fiction as another approach to drawing attention to them and their plight.
Ivory Ghosts is a fictional account of people, places, politics, events, and situations that represent the urgency of the elephant crisis in Africa. I set this story in the Caprivi (now called Zambezi) region of Namibia because it is near and dear to my heart and allowed me to evoke a strong sense of place.
Acknowledgments
In the early 1990s I found myself in the middle of Africa surrounded by elephants, lions, and angry farmers plagued by crop-raiding elephants. I was privileged to have worked for the Namibian government as an elephant researcher in the Caprivi region of Namibia, and it was Jo Tagg, our supervisor and mentor, whose dark wit kept me sane and inspired the heart of this story more than twenty years ago. A huge set of thanks goes out to Jo and his team of dedicated rangers and staff who put their lives on the line day and night to keep the wild places of Caprivi wild.
I am most grateful to my Random House team at Alibi for bringing this book to light. A very special thanks to Senior Editor Dana Edwin Isaacson, for falling in love with this story and providing several incisive sets of notes that led to bringing my editor, Anne Speyer, and me together. The two of them held my hand through to the finish line. I’d also like to thank Randall Klein, whose early notes and encouragement got Dana’s attention. I am also deeply indebted to Anne for her patience and support during final revisions, and for the enthusiasm of my PR team, Heidi Lilly, Kim Cowser, Katie Rice, and Gina Wachtel.
I am indebted to my first agent, Karen Nazor, as my first book, The Elephant’s Secret Sense, was born of her faith, John Michel’s hard work, and Free Press’s (Simon & Schuster) Leslie Meredith’s passion for elephants. Later, my agent John Michel encouraged early versions of this fictional story, followed by Andrew Paulson. I am grateful to Amy Berkower and her editorial assistant at Writer’s House, Genevieve Gagne-Hawes, for their encouragement, and to thriller editors Marjorie Braman and Patricia Mulcahy. I also thank Sharon Straight at National Geographic and Jeff Kleinman at Folio Literary Management for their support.
I’d like to acknowledge Stanford University Continuing Studies Creative Writing program instructors Jacob Molyneux and Marvin Diogenes for encouraging early drafts of this story. I’d also like to acknowledge the University of California, Davis’s Art of the Wild Writer’s Conference grant that allowed me to workshop early versions of this story and, particularly, Al Young and fellow conference mate Christie Brigham. Early drafts were read and commented on by two writing groups: Ann Davidson, Rob Sparr, Martha Hoops, Brian McCauley, and later, Allie Akmal and Gabby Nabi. I am also most grateful to a second group of readers: Melanie Rusch, Karla Wagner, Laura Furness, Tracy Elfring, Tanya Meyer, and my sister, Siobhan O’Connell Scro. Last-minute much-appreciated reads came from Thelma Alane, Vera Neuhaus and my mom, Aline O’Connell. My continued gratitude goes out to my parents, Dan and Aline O’Connell, who have always been my biggest fans. Finally, my perseverance was supported by the enthusiasm of my husband, Tim Rodwell, whose confidence in my ability to turn obsession into story and his many patient critiques led to a much stronger narrative in the end.
BY CAITLIN O’CONNELL
Ivory Ghosts
The Elephant’s Secret Sense
An Elephant’s Life
A Baby Elephant in the Wild
The Elephant Don
The Elephant Scientist (with Donna Jackson and Timothy Rodwell)
PHOTO: © TIMOTHY RODWELL
A world-renowned expert on elephants, CAITLIN O’CONNELL holds a Ph.D. in ecology and is a faculty member at the Stanford University School of Medicine, as well as director of life sciences for HNU Photonics. She is the author five nonfiction books about elephants, including the internationally acclaimed The Elephant’s Secret Sense, An Elephant’s Life, A Baby Elephant in the Wild, and Elephant Don, and co-author of the award-winning The Elephant Scientist. She is the co-founder and CEO of Utopia Scientific, a nonprofit organization dedicated to research and science education, and the co-founder of Triple Helix Productions, a global media forum with a mandate to develop more accurate and entertaining science content for the media. When not in the field with elephants, O’Connell divides her time between San Diego and Maui, Hawaii, with her husband, Tim Rodwell, and their dog, Frodo.
caitlineoconnell.com
@ElephantSkinny
http://elephantskinny.tumblr.com
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Ivory Ghosts Page 29