Elephant Polo : Dr Joyce Poole's message

[Guest guest]

Hello,

 

As written in this forum a while ago, we had the great privilege of

the anti elephant polo campaign being endorsed by Dr Joyce Poole, Director

of Research and Conservation of Elephant Voices. There was a problem

accessing the Elephant Voices website since it was under construction and I

was also unable to locate Dr Poole's biography on the web. But I am pleased

to announce that both these issues have been resolved. The website is now

accessible and please find attached Dr Poole's profile for your reference.

Quite apart from her brilliant academic record(Dr Poole did her doctorate

from Cambridge University in England and conducted post doctoral research at

Princeton University in USA), Joyce Poole has served as the Head of the

renowned Kenya Wildlife Service from 1990-1994.Joyce Poole’s critical

finding that ivory poaching destroys the social fabric of elephant society

was instrumental to the international ban on the ivory trade. Her

understanding of male elephant behavior, and the importance of social

learning and role models in elephant society have been key to the adoption

of more humane elephant management practices.

 

Dr Joyce Poole has been a researcher at the renowned Amboseli Elephant

Research Project and has worked as a consultant to several international

organisations including the World Bank, IUCN, WWF and the African Wildlife

Foundation. She has very kindly and generously offered to host the anti

elephant polo website link on her own website and I am sure this will spread

the message of the campaign far and wide. Her organization, Elephant Voices

collaborates with many leading organizations and luminaries in the

conservation sector and I am sure that the hosting of the anti elephant polo

website by Elephant Voices will attract attention from many quarters

internationally to this issue. This is an extract on the partners of

Elephant Voices from their website:

 

" Collaboration is essential to achieving the goals of ElephantVoices. Our

web of colleagues, like the social network of elephants, extends far and

wide. So many individuals could be mentioned here - we have listed just a

few.

Cynthia Moss, Soila Sayialel, Norah Njiraini, Katito Sayialel, Purity

Wanjiko, Harvey Croze, Betsy Swart, Phyllis Lee, Keith Lindsay, Hamisi

Mutinda, Winnie Kiiru, Lucy Bates, Karen McComb, David Sitonik, John Kioko,

Beth Archie, Julie Hollister Smith, and Susan Alberts are Amboseli Elephant

Research Project (AERP) colleagues and collaborators. Sarah Benson-Amram and

Blake Murray have worked with us as assistants. We work closely with Patrick

Omondi and Moses Litoroh and numerous others at Kenya Wildlife Service, and

Paula Kahumbu of WildlifeDirect.

 

In Sri Lanka we work with Manori Gunawardena, Asha de Vos, Sumith

Pilapitiya, Lalith Seneviratne as well as individuals within Sri Lankan

Department of Wildlife Conservation, the Department of Forestry and

Minneriya and Kaudulla National Parks.

 

Beyond the circle of Amboseli and Minneriya-Kaudulla we collaborate with

scientists from other African and Asian elephant projects. Katy Payne and

the entire Elephant Listening Project, Iain Douglas-Hamilton and Save the

Elephants team, Melissa Groo, Angela Stoeger-Horwath, the late Hezy

Shoshani, Shermin de Silva, and Caitlin O'Connell to name but a few.

Furthermore, we have worked with Phil Kahl and Billie Armstrong to define

elephant displays and Charles Santiapillai regarding the Elephant Terms

Glossary.

 

Within our advocacy work our collaborative efforts include people from all

over the world, among those Katherine Meyer, Tanya Sanerib, Catherine Doyle,

Mariana Tosca, Lisa Kane, Jean Harris, Karen Trendler, Glynis Vaugan, Karen

Bonido, Rob Atkinson, David Hancocks, Peter Stroud, Raman Sukumar, Vivek

Menon, Carol Buckley, Pat Derby, Ed Stewart, Nicole Paquette, Suzanne Roy,

Ros Clubb, Gay Bradshaw, Amy Mayer, Margaret Whittaker, Gail Lauley, Keith

Lindsay, Phyllis Lee, Cynthia Moss, Will Travers, Mel Richardson, Colleen

Kinsley, David Jay, Georgia Mason, Mark Bekoff, Melissa Groo, Andrea Turkalo

and many others.”

 

 

 

I also hope that we would be able to gain from Dr Poole’s vast experience in

elephant research on issues apart from elephant polo.

 

 

 

In my opinion, the anti elephant polo campaign is privileged and honoured to

have someone like her extending her stamp of approval and this lends a lot

of credibility to the campaign. One can only thank her for her kindness and

magnanimity and appreciate and acknowledge her outstanding research that has

educated and enlightened so many of us across borders. Thank you very much

indeed, Dr Joyce Poole.

 

 

 

Good wishes,

 

 

 

 

Hello! Hope these help - they are also on our website.

 

 

 

If you haven't done so already, please send us a link to your website so

that we can link it on ours.

 

 

 

Best,

 

Joyce

 

 

 

Joyce Poole

 

Elephant Ethologist and Conservationist

Research and Conservation ElephantVoices

http://www.elephantvoices.org/\

____________________

 

 

Joyce Poole, one of the world’s foremost authorities on elephants, has

studied the social behavior and communication of African elephants for over

thirty years and has dedicated her life to their conservation and welfare.

At the age of 19 she began her life’s work in Amboseli National

Parkstudying under mentor, Cynthia Moss. Dr. Poole is still a member

and Trustee

of the world’s longest study of elephants, which forms an unparalleled body

of knowledge.

 

Dr. Poole received her BA with high honors from Smith College in 1979, her

Ph.D. from Cambridge University in 1982 and did post-doctoral research at

Princeton University.

 

Dr. Poole’s observations and discoveries about the intimate social and

sexual lives of African elephants include the discovery of the heightened

sexual and aggressive phenomenon of musth in male elephants, the use of

powerful calls to communicate over long distances, the production of calls

below the level of human hearing and the ability of elephants to imitate

sounds of other species and machines.

 

Joyce Poole’s critical finding that ivory poaching destroys the social

fabric of elephant society was instrumental to the international ban on the

ivory trade. Her understanding of male elephant behavior, and the importance

of social learning and role models in elephant society have been key to the

adoption of more humane elephant management practices.

 

As head of the Elephant Program of Kenya Wildlife Service from 1990-1994,

Dr. Poole was responsible for elephant conservation and management

throughout Kenya. Her knowledge and enthusiasm inspired many young Kenyans

who hold key elephant management positions in the country today. In 1996 she

was awarded a Smith College Medal for her research and training in Africa.

 

Dr. Poole’s work and discoveries continue to make headlines, giving insight

into the minds and behavior of this fascinating and threatened species. She

has written numerous popular articles, scores of scientific publications,

four of which have appeared in Nature, and she has authored two books, Coming

of Age with Elephants and Elephants. Having participated in over 75 TV

documentaries, Joyce continues to set the spotlight on elephants and their

interests.

 

Using her in depth knowledge of elephant society, Dr. Poole works

consistently for the better treatment and protection of the species,

influencing management policies for wild and captive elephants. She is a

leading author of The Elephant Charter and has appeared as expert witness on

behalf of elephants in legal cases around the world. As Director Research

and Conservation for ElephantVoices, and working with husband Petter Granli,

Joyce Poole’s mission is to continue to inspire wonder in the intelligence,

complexity and voices of elephants and to secure a kinder future for them

through research and the sharing of knowledge.