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___puddin's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.5
A gorgeous story of wildlife restoration and rescue. Engrossing and emotive.
Beware of animal abuse and depictions of violence against them, especially in the final part. I know the horrors of poaching need to be highlighted to the world, but there is one scence from the final few chapters that hurts my soul still.
Beware of animal abuse and depictions of violence against them, especially in the final part. I know the horrors of poaching need to be highlighted to the world, but there is one scence from the final few chapters that hurts my soul still.
suebrownreads's review against another edition
4.0
This one barely makes 4 stars. If you have already read The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony (the author's husband,) then be prepared to hear many of the same stories all over again. The last few hours of the book are all new information on the orphanage/rehabilitation center though, and I enjoyed it very much. The incidents with the poachers are hard to hear, literally devastating, and makes you wonder about people who can commit this kind of cruelty for such a ridiculous reason like the medicinal properties of a rhino horn. Heartfelt thanks go to all the brave and dedicated people who work tirelessly to protect elephants and rhinos as well as other African animals that fall prey to poaching. You are doing the best of work in this world full of greed and disregard for other living beings.
ashleykhoffman's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
I love that Francoise has the same writing tone as her late husband, because it made this feel like the third book in his series (after The Elephant Whisperer and The Last Rhinos), but with the voice of the matriarch. Her take on the reserve and day-to-day operation was very different than his, so it made it fun to hear her side.
There were a lot of heavy stories in this. There is a lot of grief and a lot of death; there is also hope. It is such a hard field of work/study right now to work with animals who are poached, and I think Francoise's whole team approaches what they can with grace and dignity for the animals, even when it breaks their hearts.
My only real qualm in this comes from my career in zoological education and conservation biology... I did not always like how she talked about the animals emotions. Anthropomorphic attributions to animals have created a lot of misunderstandings in animal care communities and conservation work, so I just didn't like instances where she straight up said how the animal was feeling or what they were thinking with no science to back it up. I know she was looking for emotional driven empathy, but it's something that personally gives me the ick.
There were a lot of heavy stories in this. There is a lot of grief and a lot of death; there is also hope. It is such a hard field of work/study right now to work with animals who are poached, and I think Francoise's whole team approaches what they can with grace and dignity for the animals, even when it breaks their hearts.
My only real qualm in this comes from my career in zoological education and conservation biology... I did not always like how she talked about the animals emotions. Anthropomorphic attributions to animals have created a lot of misunderstandings in animal care communities and conservation work, so I just didn't like instances where she straight up said how the animal was feeling or what they were thinking with no science to back it up. I know she was looking for emotional driven empathy, but it's something that personally gives me the ick.
biggerstaffk's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
slow-paced
4.0
rachelklopp's review against another edition
5.0
This is by no means a light read. There were moments of great joy for the animals, but there was also immensely heart-wrenching stories that I hated to read and know were all true.
I could not finish the last chapter, it was too much for me, and I instantly started crying…but I’m calling it finished. I got the gist of what happened in that chapter and worry reading even more details would be too damn much for me. Genuinely, I think it was one of the saddest things I’ve ever read.
Overall, this was a great look into the workings of an animal reserve in South Africa, and there are a variety of lovely animals you learn so much about. Those stories bring light into the book.
I don’t regret reading it, I think it had important details that I felt like I shouldn’t look away from, but I’m not jumping at the opportunity to read more books that include details about the horrors of poaching.
I could not finish the last chapter, it was too much for me, and I instantly started crying…but I’m calling it finished. I got the gist of what happened in that chapter and worry reading even more details would be too damn much for me. Genuinely, I think it was one of the saddest things I’ve ever read.
Overall, this was a great look into the workings of an animal reserve in South Africa, and there are a variety of lovely animals you learn so much about. Those stories bring light into the book.
I don’t regret reading it, I think it had important details that I felt like I shouldn’t look away from, but I’m not jumping at the opportunity to read more books that include details about the horrors of poaching.
mitziselene's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.5
uditnair24's review against another edition
5.0
Somehow I felt that the writing style was very similar to that of the author of elephant whisperer. This book was also filled with same elements that is emotions of animals, survival instincts, respect for wild and various other. The author tries to continue the legacy of Anthony Lawrence through continuing with thula thula reserve and of course taking care of the formidable herd of elephants with other animals. Unlike elephant whisperer this book focuses a lot on what goes in the backstage of a private reserve. Whether its fighting the poachers or finding financial collaboration or putting animal's safety over its grace and dignity. This book also had places and instances when you realise how formidable and serene wild animals are. As a whole it's a holistic read.