Passionate,funny, and wise, Elephant Dance is also a young woman's story of self discovery, love and the courage it takes to follow a calling, especially when life has other plans. But she's not ready to give up on the elephants yet.įrom the magic of Bushland in Namibia to the civil strife of Assam, India, Elephant Dance takes us to the heart of a quest for elephants to live peacefully in a world with too many people and too little space. On returning to Australia, Tammie unexpectedly lands a job at the World Wide Fund for Nature in Sydney.She meets Andy, a charismatic Brit, and suddenly Africa has a rival. Africa - with its big skies and extraordinary wildlife - is her first love, and Tammie has just landed her dream gig researching human-elephant conflict.īut as her thirties approach, Tammie is conscious that Africa has left little room for pursuit dreams that are becoming increasingly important a partner,kids a house.With her visa running out and close to broke ,it seem like Africa may just force her to give it up after all. At 29, Tammie has spent half her life in Africa working as a conservationist. Totally vulnerable in her tiny tent, she promises the night 'If you just let me survive tonight I will give up Africa, I'll give it all up. Today, she balances her passionate commitment to conservation with running her ethical safari business, Matson & Ridley Safaris, and being a mother to two sons under age 8.Its in the middle of the Namibian desert when Tammie Matson wakes to find two bull elephants standing just inches from her head. She has met presidents and traffickers in palaces and tourist markets, journeying to the dark heart of the dark illegal ivory and rhino horn industry in South East Asia. She has survived charges by lions, been almost crushed by elephants in the Namibian desert, stood up to angry Zimbabwean war veterans and seen first hand the brutal war against ruthless poachers and the bloody carcasses of the wildlife she loves. Inspired by a visit to Zimbabwe at the age of fifteen, Tammie achieved what many said could not be done as a young woman from North Queensland, by first becoming a wildlife researcher in Africa, then achieving a PhD in zoology and becoming a published author – all before she turned 25.įrom the jungles of Borneo, to the plains of Africa, to the black markets of Vietnam, Dr Tammie Matson has been on a mission for over two decades to save endangered wildlife. Dr Tammie Matson is a world expert on elephants and has inspired thousands of people, from children to adults, to achieve their dreams through her award-winning books, speeches and African adventures. Tammie Matsons Elephant Dance is a personal memoir of an Australian conservationist in Africa, and her professional and personal journeys both there and in.

Elephant Dance by Tammie Matson