Elephant Mountain: A Remarkable True Story About Elephants, Fate, and Echoes from the Past

by Debbie Ethell

Elephant Mountain is the gripping tale of Debbie Ethell, a young woman whose fascination with an elephant skull in a bone museum leads her down an unexpected path. What begins as a curiosity about the tragic love story of Morgan Berry, the man who gave us Packy (the first baby elephant born in a U.S. zoo in forty-four years), and Eloise Berchtold, one of the world’s greatest animal trainers, soon becomes a chilling mystery. The couple, each killed by separate elephants they raised, left behind a legacy tangled in secrets, cover-ups, and unanswered questions.

As former owners of a secluded elephant farm in the rugged Pacific Northwest, Morgan and Eloise’s lives and deaths hold the key to a truth long buried beneath layers of deception. Determined to uncover what really happened, Debbie draws on her experience as a conservation research scientist and the steadfast support of her best friend, who is facing a life-threatening illness. While navigating the shadows of her own past, including her ongoing recovery from alcoholism, Debbie finds courage and insight from a herd of wild elephants in Kenya, a group she has studied since childhood. Their stories of survival and loss mirror her own as she delves deeper into a mystery that will test her resolve and redefine her future.

444 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 6, 2025

About the author

Debbie Ethell is a conservation research scientist and former founder of The KOTA Foundation for Elephants, which was dedicated to increasing awareness about elephants. She has worked with organizations such as Friends of Animals, One Voice (Association de Protection Animale) in France, and the Nonhuman Rights Project on important elephant-related court cases. Debbie's writing and research have appeared in various outlets around the world, including Africa Geographic, Mother Nature Network, and several scientific journals. She enjoys public speaking and has traveled widely to share her passion for elephant protection and conservation.

Debbie lives in Portland, Oregon, with a dog named Jax and, occasionally, a wild Starling named Pip that she raised from a hatchling, who visits often, but who remains beautifully untamed.

Reviews

[Ernest Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible true story of a woman's climb out of alcohol addiction to become a pre-eminent scientist in the current understanding of elephants and animal welfare. Nurtured through a childhood fascination with elephants, she persevered to catch up and acquire the science and scholarship necessary for her to reveal her extensive study and data which existed nowhere else. Two Thumbs Up!

Pete Zseleczky