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Over the vast land mass, from The Cape of Good Hope in the south to the Mediterranean Sea, more than 20 million elephants lived at one time across the continent of Africa. From the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Indian Ocean in the east, elephants flourished as did all wildlife in those days when the landscape was in a healthy balance. The years went by and trails were etched into the surface of the earth as elephants migrated from one place for food and water to the next, following the same routes, century after century. So, great are their demands for both commodities, movement was constant and the paths they traveled wore deeper and deeper. Like a modern-day highway map, the network of elephant trails in Africa in many places persists to this day and segments can be seen from high in earth’s atmosphere. Even though heartless human beings ended up killing 95% of Africa’s elephants for sport and for ivory, many of the paths of migration were still in use the year I came into this world.
During the 100 years prior to my birth, Africa had been carved up and carried away, primarily to the nations of Europe. As the harvest grew, these same nations laid claim to vast portions of the continent, creating new nations, several bearing the names of the conquistadors such as The Belgian Congo, Dutch South Africa, French Guyana, German South-West Africa, and Portuguese East Africa. Even before the period of colonization, the Chinese and the Arabs had made inroads into north and east Africa. Then, following the European rush, the United States joined in the exploitation. Slaves captured in the interior, bound for the Western World, were forced to carry ivory tusks on their way out to the coast. Live elephants and other iconic wildlife, once unknown to the outside world, were captured and shipped away to appear as curiosities in zoos and circuses.
