The Secret Elephants: The Rediscovery of the World's Most Southerly Elephants

When a lone bull elephant is spotted in South Africa’s Knysna forest by a forest guard – six years after the small population that lived there had been declared ‘functionally extinct’ – environmentalist and wildlife author Gareth Patterson set out in search of the truth about these elusive animals. For the next seven years he covered thousands of kilometers on foot, following ancient elephant paths through the dense Afromontane forest and the surrounding mountain fynbos. He found abundant signs to suggest that, far from dying out, the Knysna elephants are, quietly and secretly, holding their own.

The Secret Elephants is the story of these remarkable animals that fought their way back from the brink of extinction without any help from humankind.