Tremendous research went into this book, and it is remarkable for its close look at the human relationships with Asian elephants, mostly in Burma and India. This is definitely for an academic audience, but the stories about the elephants and their work in logging, in transportation, and in war would appeal to general readers with an interest in elephants, animal behavior, Asian history and conservation. Fascinating look at a little-known subject. (Full review on my blog.)

For those who appreciate elephants, Giants of the Monsoon Forest is stunning. Jacob Shell studied Asian elephants in the area between Burma, India and China. He has divided the stories into functional areas. So there are chapters on work elephants, fording elephants, war, transport and flooding.

The intelligence demonstrated by elephants is remarkable:

-An elephant carrying a huge log up a steep ramp found the log rolling up his tusks and over the top of his head. He thought about the problem, went into the forest and came back with a leafy branch which he inserted between his tusks to act as a backstop, and proceeded to amaze everyone on the project.

-An elephant caught its foot in the rocks under a raging river where it was breaking up logjams. Another came to help out, using its huge body as a breakwater so the two of them could think how to solve the problem. She pushed the stuck elephant until it could move freely, and they used their trunks to help each other ford the river and climb out. During World War II, as refugees left Burma, some women were trapped on a sandbar in a monsoon-swollen river. Again, an elephant, knowing its own bulk, made its way to them. Standing upstream, it blocked the rushing waters, and walking slowly, was able to shepherd the women across the calmed waters to shore.

-Tasked with lifting a huge log onto a flatbed truck, an elephant called Air Singh knew the log was too big and heavy to lift, but it figured out what to do. It pushed the truck around the muck (which the truck was unable to do) so it was positioned best for the operation. It carried two large logs over and placed them against the flatbed, making a ramp out of them. It nudged the big log several times so it had enough room to face the log and rolled the log up the ramp. All the activity shifted one of the ramp logs, so Air Singh kicked the log back into proper ramp position without missing a beat. Once the log was on the truck, he shoved it around until it was properly centered as a balanced load, so workers could strap it down.

-Finishing a tiring job, a man began riding his elephant home. He soon fell asleep, but the elephant kept going, delivering him home, 40 miles away, by the moonlight. With their masters shot by US soldiers, elephants delivered the bodies to their families on their own, 60 miles away.

The age -old method of controlling elephants still largely applies. Fandis capture elephants by driving them into huge pens, tie their feet, and when they calm down, begin training them. A mahout is the elephant’s trainer, coordinator, master and caregiver. Once trained, he releases the elephant every night. This serves two purposes. It saves the mahout from having to gather the 600 pounds of food the elephant needs every night, and gives it a sense of freedom. They can still mate with passing wild elephant herds.

In the morning, the mahout has to track down the elephant. This is made easier by the long chain the elephant has to drag around, leaving a trail in the mud. The elephant also has loose shackles, so it can wander, but not run. It can usually be found a kilometer or two away.

Elephants are (obviously) no dummies. They have learned to pick up the drag chain and carry it, leaving no trail. They have figured out they need to silence the wooden bells around their necks, so they stuff them with mud and leaves. This game goes on daily, for decades.

Elephants cover themselves with dirt and mud every night, because insects own the dark. The mahout’s first task with the elephant is to take it to a river and wash and brush it. After this refreshing half hour spa treatment, elephant is co-operative and ready for a day’s work. This system has been in place for several thousand years, from what Shell found.

Unfortunately, the geographic forest homeland of the elephants is in constant warfare, between tribes, between tribes and national governments, and between national governments. This has led to horrific situations. During World War II, British airmen were ordered to shoot any elephants they saw in Japanese held territory. In the Vietnam war, American airmen got the same order for elephants in enemy territory. It was enabled by napalm, stripping the forests of all vegetation where elephants might hide. The invasion of miners, developers and farmers has decimated the forests the napalm hasn’t, and the remaining forested areas can only support so many elephants. They have been in constant decline, to the point where Shell says there are only about 40,000 left. Compare this, he says, to African elephants, who are in the news all the time because of ivory poachers. There are still half a million elephants in sub-Saharan Africa.

Shell covers all the angles, including the failure of tourism as a solution. Where elephants can lead healthy lives, there is little or no infrastructure for tourism. Where there is infrastructure, there are no longer any forests. It’s unfortunate, because tourism is a ticket to survival. But the book doesn’t harp on that. It is more a joy of documenting the remarkable intellects, personalities, and altruism of such remarkable animals, throughout history, and still today. It is clearly a labor of love. Shell spent many years researching first hand, plying the mud, walking the forests, fording the rivers, ingratiating himself to mahouts, fandis, and government officials, and of course, riding the elephants. It is a worthy document of a remarkable relationship.

David Wineberg