The Roots of Heaven
by Romain Gary
Published in 1958, The Roots of Heaven tells the story of Morel, a World War II POW, who has made it his life's mission to save the elephants. Finding himself in French Equatorial Africa ... which we know now as the country of Chad ... Morel is desperately trying to persuade the colonialists there to sign his petition to ban hunting for ivory. He confides to Minna, the novel's heroine, that while he was imprisoned during the war, he thought constantly about elephants to distract himself from his misery. He felt that they had, in some sense, actually saved him ... and so he owes them something in return. Despite initial defeat, Morel persists until one by one, his naysayers begin to join him until an eclectic but passionate cast of characters have rallied in support of saving the elephants.
This was interesting to read at this time in our history, when questions of the environment and ecology are swirling around in the muck and turmoil of our difficult political conversations. Sixty years after this novel was published, the world's elephants are still in danger with thousands being killed every year for their ivory. National Geographic tells us that in the 1800's, there were 26 million elephants roaming Mother Earth, but because of the ivory trade and exploitation of these majestic creatures, in 1989, there were only 600,000. A short-lived, worldwide effort rallied the population briefly, but it did not last, and the numbers are plummeting again. There's a documentary called Battle for the Elephants that's now on my viewing list so I can learn more. And I plan to monitor the Great Elephant Census to understand more about this crisis.
Yet in 2017, the U.S. reversed a ban on imports of elephant trophies, including mounted heads and ivory.
I'll just leave that sentence there.
This was interesting to read at this time in our history, when questions of the environment and ecology are swirling around in the muck and turmoil of our difficult political conversations. Sixty years after this novel was published, the world's elephants are still in danger with thousands being killed every year for their ivory. National Geographic tells us that in the 1800's, there were 26 million elephants roaming Mother Earth, but because of the ivory trade and exploitation of these majestic creatures, in 1989, there were only 600,000. A short-lived, worldwide effort rallied the population briefly, but it did not last, and the numbers are plummeting again. There's a documentary called Battle for the Elephants that's now on my viewing list so I can learn more. And I plan to monitor the Great Elephant Census to understand more about this crisis.
Yet in 2017, the U.S. reversed a ban on imports of elephant trophies, including mounted heads and ivory.
I'll just leave that sentence there.
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