Conservationist/Naturalist
Author/Photographer
Pursuing a dream in troubled Zimbabwe
(Reprinted just 4 months after initial release)
An unplanned visit to South Africa's Kruger National Park changed Sharon Pincott's life as she knew it. She was a high-flying Information Technology specialist Down Under, but now she dreamed of working with Africa's wildlife. Eventually, she abandoned her life of privilege and luxury and moved to Zimbabwe - a country in turmoil - to live and work among elephants on land bordering Hwange National Park. It was a startling contrast to her former life. In time, Sharon formed extraordinary relationships with wild elephants, having learned to know them intimately. She treasured escapades with friends, both human and animal, in spectacular remote places. But, as she soon discovered first-hand, the beauty and wonder of wild Zimbabwe had a dark foreboding side. Snaring of wildlife was rife, and when land invaders claimed the area where Sharon's elephant friends roamed, she went into battle for their land and their lives - while fighting for her own wellbeing, in her homeland of choice.
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The Elephants and I is also available
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(Sharon's royalties from the sale of this book help to fund her
ongoing voluntary work with The Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe)
Reviews for the highly acclaimed The Elephants and I
“Sharon Pincott has written a memoir worthy of her elephant friends. A very moving story.” – Gareth Patterson, international best-selling author of Last of the Free
*
“Sharon Pincott is the Joy Adamson of Zimbabwe. It takes a very special person to battle the loneliness and isolation of the African bush. Sharon’s passionate commitment to the Presidential Elephants – in the face of soaring political tensions … – is contagious. We salute her courage and dedication.” – Wilf Mbanga, Editor, The Zimbabwean
The concept of a Presidential Herd of Elephants is probably unique to Zimbabwe, hailing from a happier time in that now sad country. We met these special elephants in the late 1990s when my wife and I were doing a Land Rover 4×4 trail recce for a local hotel group. We were staying at the Hwange Safari Lodge just outside the Hwange National Park, and one evening the word went out that the Presidential Elephants had arrived.
They had indeed arrived and were just outside the lodge’s perimeter fence, great, grey shapes in the half-light. It was our first encounter with this unique herd, then under the protection of President Robert Mugabe, and it was certainly a project that captured the imagination. And it certainly captured the imagination of Sharon Pincott, an Australian IT specialist and executive who gave up the good life at home to work with Africa’s wildlife, ultimately the Presidential Elephants.
Her story is a remarkable one, ably told in her just published book, The Elephants and I*. Sharon’s new found passion for Africa began with a business trip to Johannesburg and a brief sortie to the Kruger National Park, where she met her first elephant. Subsequent trips back to Africa on volunteer missions took her to Uganda, Kenya, Namibia and Zimbabwe, but it was Zimbabwe’s Hwange, that made her realize that she had to come back to stay.
This she did in 2001, her assignment being to research, on a full time and voluntary basis, the Presidential Elephants in their home range on the Hwange Estate, 140 square kilometers of unfenced conservation land adjacent to the National Park. For nearly eight years Sharon struggled against constant shortages, (fuel, food, just about everything), poaching and illegal and legalized (by the powers that be) hunting, and finally land grabs. She suffered on-going obstructionism, naked racism, an assault and even death threats, but she stuck it out.
She continued her work for as long as she could, in fact Zimbabwe’s Presidential Elephants are now probably the best documented herd in Africa, and she’s still up there, hanging in.
Sharon Pincott is a remarkable woman; courageous, stoic, determined and resourceful. Her story of her trials and tribulations, and the fun times, in Zimbabwe makes good reading. I loved the descriptions of some of her less hazardous experiences with wildlife and her beloved Range Rover, as well as some of the really evocative situations, such as Gs’n’Ts in the sunset. It’s a good book, reminding us of just how much we owe people like Sharon, and what can happen when a country goes wrong.
* The Elephants and I, Sharon Pincott, Jacana, Johannesburg, 2009
*
BRITISH AIRWAYS COMAIR
HORIZONS MAGAZINE
Page 99
1 May 2009
The Secret meets Born Free in this story of an Australian woman’s bond with ‘the Presidential Elephants of Zimbabwe’ and her efforts to stay positive and protect them in a time of political upheaval, poaching and land invasions. In 2001, former high-flying IT specialist Sharon Pincott – now nicknamed Mandlovu (Mother Elephant) – became an unpaid volunteer reporting on the wellbeing of elephants roaming the Hwange Estate. The 400-strong herd had a ‘special protection decree’ from Robert Mugabe until October 2003, when hunters were allowed back in. First (false) impression: dangerously naïve Aussie faces midlife crises (‘It [Africa] was the perfect place to rejuvenate my soul’). Final impression: a courageous and determined conservationist outlasts fear and intimidation to stay on and fight for her beloved animals.
*
A moving account of Africa’s power to attract, inspire, and change the course of one’s life, giving it a new meaning. Sharon’s story is of courage, adventure, love and commitment to the elephant of Zimbabwe.
– Kuki Gallmann, Author of the international bestseller, I Dreamed of Africa
*
Sharon Pincott has written a brave and passionate book about her work in Zimbabwe trying to protect the special herd called the ‘Presidential Elephants’. Against all odds and her own safety she has stayed in this troubled country for over eight years trying to deal with poaching, land grabbing, unethical hunters and personal harassment. Sharon vividly portrays both the tragedies and joys of her mission. Her writing about the individual elephants and their behaviour is fascinating. I highly recommend this book for its insights into some of the conservation challenges in Africa, into elephant behaviour and into the personality of an extraordinary woman.
– Cynthia Moss, World-renowned Elephant Specialist, Amboseli, Kenya
*
During the fifty years since I first went to Africa, I have collected or been given a considerable number of books written by those who have been to Africa but very few stand out in my memory as being exceptional. I was privileged therefore to be asked to contribute a few words to this very special book written by a great lady who writes with such dedication, feeling and passion for the gentle giants of Africa. [Sharon] writes as only someone who has Africa in her blood can, of the despair and the delights of the so-called dark continent. Wildlife deserves a better deal than it is getting from Man, the most lethal animal on the planet and when I leave Africa now after every visit I cry tears of joy and anger. Sharon’s book will, I know, bring similar feelings to the reader.
– David Shepherd OBE, FRSA, Founder of the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, UK
*
What a remarkable piece of writing! In The Elephants and I, Sharon Pincott takes us on an incredible journey into the very heart and soul of Africa, its natural splendour and, of course, the gentle giants that traverse the continent. Such a tale is long overdue. While many have been lured by Africa’s wildlife and beauty, few have managed to capture this splendour with such finesse and grandeur. It is in the joy, the sorrow and the lonely reality of a country and a species in serious trouble that Sharon is able to remind us of what it was like.
– Jason Bell-Leask , Director, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Southern Africa
*
Sharon Pincott had the courage to leave a cushy life … the grit to stand up against [those] who looked the other way as the earth’s largest land mammals were slaughtered … But perhaps what took the most pluck was for her to write this story openly … if everyone had the spunk of Sharon Pincott we would have few conservation problems on our earth.
– Delia Owens, Ph.D and co-author of the international best-seller Cry of the Kalahari
*
A heart-rending story, set in difficult times: Sharon Pincott exudes passion, courage and dedication as she tells it like it really is. And there’s still room for humour amongst the tragedy – you’ll be inspired!
– Nicholas Duncan, President, SAVE Foundation of Australia
*
Sharon’s story speaks of a genuine passion and enthusiasm for her new African home – joy at discovering a new world … While the tale of a modern girl giving up city life for the faraway African bush is a few decades past qualifying for remarkable, it is lifted by the fact that she chose to swap a secure life in suburban, comfortable Australia for one of increasing political uncertainty in Zimbabwe … finding herself pitted against land-invading ‘settlers’ and snares while seeking to protect her increasingly persecuted elephants. This [book] is for those who look out of the window at work, wondering ‘what if’ they pursued their dreams.
– Angus Begg, CN award-winning journalist/TV producer, South Africa
*
After reading [this] book you will feel as though you have been to Africa and experienced the wonderful world that it truly is.
– Rob Faber, Managing Editor, The Elephant, The Netherlands
Inspiring tale of love, care for the voiceless
The book begins with a spontaneous visit to South Africa's Kruger National Park – a trip that would change the course of her life as she knew it. A particular distant encounter with a glorious elephant in the stillness of nature kindles her desire to return to this enchanting splendour.
Having been charmed by Africa's sights, she embarks on numerous trips to the mythic continent.
In a series of travels to central Africa she finds herself in landlocked Zimbabwe. Here in the bush she makes memorable friendships with both animals and human beings. But sadly, as Pincott discovers when she loses one of her friends, life does not come without death. For her it is Andy's death that inspires her to take on a life complete with risks, reflection and legacy.
She chooses to leave Australia, including a career as an information technology specialist, and takes a leap that sees her looking after the elephants of this troubled nation.
Pincott writes with love about her moving accounts with animals and her wondrous escapades with friends. Armed with little scientific knowledge, she prompts herself to learn as much as she can about Africa's big-eared giant species.
This memoir also provides insight into Zimbabwe's darker side, revealing a deeper sense of meaning to Pincott's brave plunge. At the time of her arrival, Zimbabwe was going through a number of indefensible issues, one being a plummeting economy. And it doesn't take long before she has to deal with land invasions, rife snaring and poaching that threaten the lives of her elephant friends.
In this portrait of both bliss and dismay emerges a mighty heart on a quest to fight for those who have no voice. According to Kuki Gallmann, author of international bestseller I Dreamed of Africa, The Elephants and I is "a moving account of Africa's power to attract, inspire and change the course of one's life, giving it a new meaning".
Pincott has written a story that will engage not only animal lovers but also those who know little about Africa's conservation challenges.
- Zintle Makeng, City Press, South Africa 26-Jul-209
