My novel Burning Embers is set in 1970s Kenya, and as such I was able to bring in descriptions of many of the wonderful creatures that are native to the land. Of them, one of my favourites is the elephant. Majestic, mighty and breathtakingly large – the largest land mammal. There’s a gentleness about their manner, and yet they can be fierce and, of course, deadly. But most of all, when you look into an elephant’s eyes you can feel its intelligence. They are among the most intelligent animals on earth, with a brain remarkably similar to that of the human.

In the book I touch on the hotly topical issue of hunting and poaching in Kenya at the time, and one of the animals under threat is the elephant. In the decade following the 1970s, the elephant population halved due in large part to the ivory trade. Tragic indeed.

In researching Burning Embers, I read into Kenyan history, culture, legend and folklore. I particularly enjoyed reading proverbs, and I weaved some into the fabric of the story. I was struck by how many African proverbs relate to the land’s native creatures, and the characterisation of the elephant was intriguing.

Many proverbs relate to the size and strength of the animal:

• Wise men say that with ropes made from a woman’s hair, one can easily tie an elephant.
• When two elephants jostle, what gets hurt is the grass.
• An elephant does not die from one broken rib.
• Even if the elephant is thin he is still the lord of the jungle.
• The elephant that is stuck in the mud will tear down the tree with it.
• An elephant which kills a rat is not a hero.
• The hunter in pursuit of an elephant does not stop to throw stones at birds.
• The lion may be king of the jungle but he knows, he shouldn’t stand in the way of the elephant.

But then some also touch on vulnerability:

• Even an ant can hurt an elephant
• The jungle is stronger than the elephant.

What stayed in my mind the most from my reading, though, was the vulnerability, emotional response and intelligence of the elephant. Have you heard of the mythical elephants’ graveyard? It’s a place that crops up in various legends and works of fiction. Supposedly, elephants who know that death is calling leave their herds and travel to the graveyard, where they lie with the remains of thousands of their kinds. Fantastical? Perhaps. But there is some basis for the legend, for elephants are in fact drawn to bones.

Researchers in Kenya and the UK studied elephants’ reactions when they found bones. Those belonging to any other species were ignored; but when the bone was of an elephant, some African elephants become agitated. They recognise that the skeletal remains as belonging to their own kind, and they are moved by that fact. New Scientist published a fascinating article on the research at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn8209.

As for the other well-known legend relating to elephants – that they never forget – it has been proven as true. According to  Scientific American, it’s no myth. Elephants remember faces and they retain a mental map of the areas over which they roam. Given that we have established that elephants are mighty, strong beasts and that they never forget, you would think hunters in the times of Burning Embers would have been warier about upsetting these animals. Thank goodness for worldwide conservation work and the vilification of hunting that has helped to keep these wonderful animals alive.

Photo credit, with thanks.