Leaving Time
“Leaving Time” by Jodi Picoult is a gripping novel that intertwines mystery, grief, and the bond between humans and elephants. The story follows Jenna Metcalf, a 13-year-old girl searching for her mother, Alice, a renowned elephant researcher who disappeared a decade earlier under mysterious circumstances. With the help of a skeptical psychic and a disgraced detective, Jenna uncovers buried secrets about her mother’s work and the tragic events at an elephant sanctuary. The novel explores themes of memory, loss, and maternal love, while weaving in fascinating insights into elephant behavior and emotions. Picoult blends emotional depth with suspense, culminating in a surprising twist that redefines the narrative.
Chapter 6: Alice
byPicoult, Jodi
The chapter explores the complex emotional responses of elephants when encountering the remains of their own species, particularly focusing on whether they can distinguish between bones of familiar individuals versus strangers. Observations of elephants in the wild have shown clear signs of grief—silence, physical drooping, and gentle touching—when they come across elephant bones. However, scientific experiments conducted in Amboseli, Kenya, aimed to test this further by presenting elephants with various objects, including ivory, skulls, and wood, to measure their reactions and preferences.
Researchers conducted controlled experiments with elephant herds, introducing items like ivory fragments, elephant skulls, and non-elephant skulls to observe behavioral differences. The results showed elephants were most drawn to ivory, followed by elephant skulls, suggesting a species-specific recognition. When presented with skulls of elephants, rhinos, and buffalo, the elephants consistently prioritized elephant remains, indicating a clear preference for their own kind. This reinforced the idea that elephants have a unique connection to their species’ remains.
A deeper layer of the study involved presenting skulls of deceased matriarchs to herds that had known them. Contrary to expectations, the elephants did not show a stronger reaction to their own former leaders’ skulls compared to others. This raised questions about whether elephants truly grieve specific individuals or simply respond to elephant remains in general. While earlier anecdotes suggested deep, personal mourning, the experimental results seemed to challenge this, leaving room for debate about the nature of elephant emotions.
The chapter concludes by reflecting on the implications of these findings. While the study demonstrates elephants’ fascination with their species’ bones, it also complicates the understanding of elephant grief. The absence of preferential behavior toward familiar remains might suggest that elephants mourn elephants as a collective rather than as individuals. Alternatively, it could imply that the loss of any matriarch—regardless of personal connection—holds universal significance, hinting at a broader, communal sense of loss among elephants.
FAQs
1. What were the key findings from the Amboseli elephant experiments regarding their interaction with bones and ivory?
Answer:
The Amboseli experiments revealed several important findings about elephant behavior. When presented with a small piece of ivory, an elephant skull, and a block of wood, elephants showed the most interest in the ivory—stroking, carrying, and rolling it beneath their feet. In another test with elephant, rhino, and water buffalo skulls, elephants focused most on the elephant skull. However, when presented with skulls of deceased matriarchs from their own and other herds, elephants showed equal interest in all three skulls, suggesting they may not distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar elephant remains despite their clear preference for elephant bones over other objects.2. How does the chapter challenge common assumptions about elephant grief and memory?
Answer:
The chapter challenges the assumption that elephants specifically mourn individual elephants they knew well. While anecdotal observations (like those in Botswana) suggest elephants display grief for companions, the controlled experiments showed no preference for skulls of their own matriarchs over others. This raises questions about whether elephants grieve individuals or respond more generally to elephant remains. The author proposes an alternative interpretation: that elephants may value all mothers equally, implying a broader sense of kinship rather than individualized mourning.3. Analyze the significance of the ivory preference in the first experiment. What might this suggest about elephant behavior?
Answer:
The elephants’ strong response to ivory—handling it more than skulls or wood—hints at its ecological or social importance. Ivory may carry sensory or symbolic value, perhaps because it resembles tusks used for communication, tool-making, or dominance displays. This behavior could reflect curiosity, a tactile connection to their species’ identity, or even unconscious recognition of ivory as a marker of elephanthood. Unlike the skull experiments, the ivory test underscores elephants’ ability to discriminate between materials, emphasizing their complex sensory awareness.4. Critical Thinking: Why might the author conclude that “all mothers are” important based on the skull experiment results?
Answer:
The author’s conclusion reframes the data through a lens of collective empathy. If elephants didn’t prioritize their own matriarch’s skull, it might indicate they perceive motherhood as a universal value rather than a personal bond. This interpretation aligns with elephants’ matriarchal social structures, where leadership and care extend beyond immediate family. The author implies that grief or reverence isn’t limited to individual relationships but may honor the broader role of matriarchs in elephant society—a poignant commentary on shared loss and respect.5. Application: How could these findings influence conservation efforts or ethical treatment of elephants?
Answer:
Understanding elephants’ responses to remains could shape conservation strategies. For instance, if elephants are drawn to ivory, preserving tusks in protected areas might foster engagement or memorial behaviors. The mixed results about individual grief suggest that while elephants may not mourn specific individuals as humans do, their collective response to elephant remains underscores their social complexity. This could advocate for policies that minimize trauma during herd disruptions (e.g., poaching or relocation) and emphasize protecting family units to maintain their intricate social bonds.
Quotes
1. “Anyone who has ever seen elephants come across the bones of another individual would recognize the calling card of grief: the intense silence, the droop of the trunk and ears, the hesitant caresses, the sadness that seems to wrap the herd like a shroud when they encounter the remains of one of their own.”
This opening observation establishes elephants’ capacity for grief and mourning, setting up the chapter’s central exploration of elephant cognition and emotional intelligence. The vivid description makes their grief behaviors tangible to human readers.
2. “Without a doubt, the tiny piece of ivory was the most intriguing to the elephants, followed by the skull and then the wood. They stroked the ivory, picked it up, carried it, rolled it beneath their hind feet.”
This quote presents key experimental findings showing elephants’ clear preference for elephant remains over other objects. The specific behaviors described demonstrate their fascination with and reverence for elephant remains.
3. “You’d think that the elephants would have been most interested in the skull that belonged to the matriarch who had led their own herd… But that’s not what happened. Instead, the Amboseli elephants were equally attracted to the three skulls.”
This surprising experimental result challenges assumptions about elephants’ ability to recognize specific individuals’ remains, creating tension in the chapter’s argument about elephant cognition and memory.
4. “Although the study proves that elephants are fascinated by the bones of other elephants, some might say it also proves that an elephant experiencing grief for an individual must be a fiction.”
This statement captures the potential counterargument to the chapter’s thesis, acknowledging how the experimental results could be interpreted to diminish claims about elephants’ emotional capacities.
5. “But maybe it means that all mothers are.”
This poignant closing line offers an alternative interpretation of the findings, suggesting elephants may mourn all mothers universally rather than just their own. It provides a powerful, emotionally resonant conclusion to the chapter’s exploration of grief and connection.