Elephant Transit Home, Sri Lanka

Photo courtesy of Alison Stankrauff

Selectors: Rachael Clark and Richard Buboltz

“But perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that there are no walls between humans and the elephants except those we put up ourselves, and that until we allow not only elephants, but all living creatures their place in the sun, we can never be whole ourselves.”

― Lawrence Anthony, The Elephant Whisperer: My Life with the Herd in the African Wild

LOVE & BANANAS: AN ELEPHANT STORY is a heartwarming and hopeful story about a team of elephant rescuers, led by world renowned Asian elephant conservationist Lek Chailert, as they embark on a daring 48-hour mission 500 miles across Thailand to rescue a 70-year old captive blind Asian elephant and bring her to freedom.

DEEP LOOK is a ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios.

Wild Things documentary on elephants in Kilimanjaro and the challenges they face as the farming industry interrupts their migration paths to safe ground in the dry season.

 The Jeheskel (Hezy) Shoshani Library Endowed Collection (formerly known as the Elephant Research Foundation Library, or ERFL) is a diverse collection of information and display resources about elephants and their relatives, both past and present.

 The collection of more than 1,100 items continues to grow. It contains published materials, archival material gathered and created by Shoshani during his research, and biological samples.

Subjects Include:

• Elephants
• Mammoths
• Biology
• Conservation
• Endangered Species
• Circuses

For more information, please visit the WSULS Special Collections.

About Elephant Research Foundation Founder Jeheskel (Hezy) Shoshani 

Jeheskel Shoshani was the driving force behind the establishment of this collection. It was originally the library of the Elephant Research Foundation, an international nonprofit formed by Shoshani.  In 2002, the collection was moved to Wayne State University.

Hezy being investigated by orphaned elephants

(Photo by Ian Redmon)

 Hezy became interested in elephants after reading "Burma Boy" by Willis Lindquist. His primary research was the evolutionary biology of elephants, their anatomy and physiology, and how to apply this knowledge to our understanding of elephant behavior and ecology. He taught at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan USA, for approximately 25 years.

In 1977 he established the Elephant Research Foundation (an international nonprofit organization) and was the editor of its publication, Elephant. Hezy published about 200 scientific and some popular articles and was the editor of two books on elephants and their relatives: a popular book, "Elephants: Majestic Creatures of the Wild" (2000, Checkmark Books, New York) and a technical volume (with Pascal Tassy), "The Proboscidea: Evolution and Palaeoecology of Elephants and Their Relatives" (1996, Oxford University Press, England).

From 1998 to 2006 he taught at the University of Asmara, Eritrea, and conducted research on mammals in general and elephants in particular, funded by the Born Free Foundation in the UK. In January 2003, on an expedition to search for elephants, Hezy almost lost his life when one of his beloved research subjects charged him. Fortunately, he escaped with only minor injuries. In 2007, he relocated to Ethiopia. He taught biology at Addis Abab University and studied the same population of elephants. They crossed the border from Eritrea seasonally.

Hezy was the prime mover in creating the Elephant Research Foundation Library and in the decision in 2002 to move that collection to the Wayne State University Libraries. Sadly, Hezy died on May 21, 2008, as a result of terrorist bombing of a public minibus in Addis Ababa. His work in Ethiopia on the northern elephants is being carried on by his colleagues, and the Elephant Research Foundation continues to manage the move of the collection to WSULS. The board of Directors of the ERF decided to rename the library as a tribute to the lifelong efforts of Hezy Shoshani.

Elephant, the official scholarly organ of the Elephant Interest Group (EIG), was published at intervals between July 1977 and 2000.

Excavation in Progress at the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD

On May 18, in 1868, Wayne State University was officially founded as the Detroit Medical College. The first academic term began on Nov. 3, 1868.  On April 22, 1956, the Michigan Legislature adopted Act 183 “to establish and regulate a state institution of higher learning to be known as Wayne State University.” 

Throughout 2018, the WSU Libraries invite you to join us as we celebrate our University's rich history and sesquicentennial. The official celebration period will run from Jan. 1, 2018 to Nov. 1, 2018.  In addition to the Subject of the Month displays, please check the University Calendar for Special Events and Exhibits.

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