Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants

Did you know that elephants communicate with sounds that are below the range of human hearing? Similar to whales, they can speak over long distance with each other using infrasound. I can't help but wonder if their infrasonic vocalizations are what contribute to the palpable energetic vibrations I felt, sitting amongst the clusters of elephants in Northern Kenya.Katy Payne is one of the elephant researchers in Amboseli Park, Kenya, that helped to discover the infrasonic rumbles of elephant communication (along with Joyce Poole and Cynthia Moss) during the late 1980's and early 1990's. She is also an eloquent writer with a passion for the elephants she studied for many years.In Silent Thunder: In the Presence of Elephants, she shares some facinating stories of what it's like to be in the bush with wild elephants...and one gripping story of an encounter with a lion. Her personal accounts hint of her strong intuitive gifts, where she touches on her precognitive dreams. She stops short of using direct language on some of these topics, which left me longing to hear more of what the real Katy Payne is all about. But I applaud her for bringing up spiritual topics at all. It's unusual for a scientific researcher to make personal revelations. I found it refreshing that she did.

I read this book before departing for Thailand to study elephants. It is a disturbing book, but I recommend it. We need to treat these noble beasts better and it's not easy considering their size and how much they must consume in a day. It all got me started on a quest to learn more about Elephants. We found several elephant rescue camps in Thailand that use tourist money to acquire urban elephants and ones that are used in Berma for logging...very bad for their backs. We signed up for three days where we would have our own elephant and would have to care for it. I found myself bonding with my Minoy, a large female that was assigned to me. It's hard to believe, but she bonded with me as well. When I left there was a very large tear in her eye. Elephants are amazing animals. This book was helpful to me in understanding how elephants communicate. I could feel them "talkin" to each other through my legs, but could not hear the subsonic messages.

I thought it would be a book about the way elephants communicate, instead it was a description of a woman's various experiences in Africa, with some descriptions about elephants.

Who knew that elephants are so sensitive to sound frequencies far below what our ears can detect? Not only that, they have some kind of telepathic connection as well. These gentle giants are extremely emotional, loyal, passionate and compassionate towards one another. They form tight family bonds and grieve for their dead. They are so endangered they could become extinct within a decade.I hope this kind of illuminting research will make the world aware of the critical danger elephants face, and take steps to ensure their survival. there's the World Wildlife Fund, and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, among many. And the iWorry campaign has petitions to sign to stop the illegal poaching of elephants for their tusks.

I chose this because I love elephants and am deeply concerned they will not be on this earth much longer. Katy Payne has done enormous work studying them, but it's been 13 years since she published this book. Thousands of elephants have been slaughtered by poachers for the ivory trade, including many she studied. It makes me sick to read about them.

What a brilliant book. I loved reading about Katy Payne's experiences. I feel deeply moved by her point of view. Not only was it educational and informative, her expression touches the heart deeply. Thank you Katy for a wonderful inspiring book, sharing your experiences with these majestic beings, giving us insight into their habits and behavior.

I was introduced to Ms Payne through an interview with her on a podcast and I was fascinated by her story. This book filled in many of the pieces. Its beautiful in its observations and it is an interesting view about the life of a scientist studying among locals. I really enjoyed this.

Fabulous, well written and edited

The great Katy Payne discovered (relatively recently) that elephants use subsonic frequencies to communicate. All beyond us as so much of nature is, this book gives a glimpse into the world of the beautiful elephant.

Finora il mio libro preferito di elefanti e ne ho tantissimi. Katy Payne scrive in modo intelligente e molto informativo. Sto imparando molto, utile per una che pianifica un viaggio per osservare elefanti specialmente i piccoli.

Très bon livre . Tous les livres sur le comportement des éléphants m’intéressent beaucoup . Une très belle lecture

Love reading this story. Like being with her as she discovers about the elephants. Stories like this make me want to learn more!

Quality of paper and printing not good.