Stressed Out Elephants

This well-written, lengthy New York Times Magazine article, entitled "An Elephant Crack-Up?", by Charles Siebert, suggests that human stresses may have taken elephants over the edge.

"It has long been apparent that every large, land-based animal on this planet is ultimately fighting a losing battle with humankind. And yet entirely befitting of an animal with such a highly developed sensibility, a deep-rooted sense of family and, yes, such a good long-term memory, the elephant is not going out quietly. It is not leaving without making some kind of statement, one to which scientists from a variety of disciplines, including human psychology, are now beginning to pay close attention."

North Carolina Zoo veterinarian Dr. Mike Loomis has long been working with African elephants in Cameroon where elephant/human interactions are also resulting in losses of human and elephant lives.