Guest Review by Ned Gentz, MS, DVM, DACZM, Albuquerque Biological Park, Albuquerque (Click on stars for an explanation)

You may purchase this book on Amazon.com.

It takes a big book to cover a big subject like elephant care (pun intended), and this is just the book to do it. Such a text is long overdue and is a welcome addition to the zoological literature. Elephants in captive situations, such as zoos and circuses, are among the most visible of the charismatic mega vertebrates and any perceived lack of quality care is pounced upon immediately and trumpeted (pun intended) in the press and other public forums.

The book contains 36 chapters by a bevy of highly-qualified multiple authors. The initial chapters include such topics as behavior, husbandry, nutrition, preventive health care, handling, anesthesia, surgery, diseases, parasitology, therapeutics, and antemortem/postmortem diagnostics. Following these is an excellent system-by-system (integumentary, respiratory, digestive, etc.) review. The book is well-illustrated, and as in any of Dr. Fowler's books, useful tables abound.

With the current emphasis on captive reproduction by the AZA, the national zoo organization, the reproduction and neonatal care chapters are very illuminating. The veterinary problems of geographical concern section features reports from the field by veterinarians where native elephants remain, including Africa, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia. These sections add a worldview gravitas to the book.

The appendices are also extremely useful and feature several official AZA documents -- including standards for elephant management and care, as well as guidelines for elephant health monitoring, quarantine, and preshipment/transport protocols. This book is highly recommended to anyone who has to deal with captive elephants at any level, or to anyone with a general interest in these gentle giants.

Blackwell Publishing (2006).

Hard cover, 576 pages, 8.5" x 11" format, color and black-and-white illustrations.

ISBN: 9780813806761.