Why Elephants?!

Elephants have been a passion of mine for quite some time now. It has put me on a path to educate myself, study, volunteer for elephant/human relation projects & ever growing love for them.

Of the three different elephant species existing today, most of my own personal experience is with African elephants, although my heart beats faster after spotting any species. – I have sat watching them, in close proximity for hour after hour, day after day, endlessly fascinated by the intricate details of their life.

To me, it’s all about the appreciation of nature, humans, and the animal kingdom living together in peace and harmony!!

When it comes to animals, Elephants just happen to be at the top of my list. ;-)

"Elephant Destiny--Biography of an endangered species in Africa" by Martin Meredith is one of the best books I have read about elephants and their place in history. 

It is a must-read for any elephant lover or someone who would like to understand how and when it all happened that these magnificent creatures became hunted and used for war and ivory.

I mentioned earlier that there are three remaining elephant species on this planet: the African elephant (Loxodonta), the Asian cousin (Elephas), and the so-called 'forest elephant', which is now mainly confined to the rainforests of western and central Africa.

There are very interesting differences between the African elephant and the Asian elephant, besides the obvious ear size:

- The African elephant is generally heavier and taller. They can weigh up to six tons (13,000 pound) and reach eleven feet or so at the shoulder.

- The African elephant’s back is concave or saddle-shaped, whereas the Asian’s is convex or straight.

- The African has immense triangular ears that extend beyond the neck; the ears of the Asian are comparatively small.

- The African has a flat forehead, and carries its head high; the Asian has a twin-domed forehead, and carries its head low.

- Repeated skin folds or 'rings' mark the African trunk and at its tip are two finger-like projections; the Asian’s trunk is smoother and ends in only one 'finger'.

- African elephants of both sexes usually carry tusks; with Asian elephants, tusks are confined mostly to males.

It is the most interesting and fascinating thing to watch a herd of elephants interact and go about their daily activities and to realize, that many behaviors are so closely related to the human world. 

Specifically if it comes to the topic of children, teenagers, dynamics between adults, affections for one another and having fun!

There is a story that gives an idea about the distance these animals can communicate with each other and it happened in Zimbabwe.

At a private wildlife sanctuary adjacent to the Hwange National Park a group of about 80 elephants, a familiar sight to tourist at the lodge, disappeared one day. That same day a culling operation (controlled killings of whole elephant families/groups) had started in the National Park 90 miles away! Several days later the missing elephants were found at the opposite corner of the sanctuary as far away from the park boundary and the culling process as they could be.

The story itself is a sad one, but the abilities these beings have is absolutely amazing to me! Always think we could learn a thing or two from them!

Fun facts about Elephants

To start us off on the right track, here are “14 fun facts about Elephants”, published by Smithsonian.com today, Jan 3^rd, 2012 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2012/01/14-fun-facts-about-elephants/

1) African and Asian elephants are sometimes thought to differ only by the location of the animals, but, evolutionarily speaking, they are species as separate as Asian elephants and woolly mammoths.
2) The elephant’s closest living relative is the rock hyrax, a small furry mammal that lives in rocky landscapes across sub-Saharan Africa and along the coast of the Arabian peninsula.
3) African elephants are the largest land mammals on the planet, and the females of this species undergo the longest pregnancy—22 months.
4) Despite their size, elephants can be turned off by the smallest of critters. One study found that they avoid eating a type of acacia tree that is home to ants. Underfoot, ants can be crushed, but an elephant wants to avoid getting the ants inside its trunk, which is full of sensitive nerve endings.
5) Elephants don’t like peanuts. They don’t eat them in the wild, and zoos don’t feed them to their captive elephants.
6) Female elephants live in groups of about 15 animals, all related and led by a matriarch, usually the oldest in the group. She’ll decide where and when they move and rest, day to day and season to season.
7) Male elephants leave the matriarch groups between age 12 and 15. But they aren’t loners—they live in all-male groups. In dry times, these males will form a linear hierarchy that helps them avoid injuries that could result from competing for water.
8) Asian elephants don’t run. Running requires lifting all four feet at once, but elephants filmed in Thailand always kept at least two on the ground at all times.
9) An African elephant can detect seismic signals with sensory cells in its feet and also “hear” these deep-pitched sounds when ground vibrations travel from the animal’s front feet, up its leg and shoulder bones, and into its middle ear. By comparing the timing of signals received by each of its front feet, the elephant can determine the sound’s direction.
10) Like human toddlers, great apes, magpies and dolphins, elephants have passed the mirror test—they recognize themselves in a mirror.
11) Elephants can get sunburned, so they take care to protect themselves. “Elephants will throw sand on their backs and on their head. They do that to keep them from getting sunburned and to keep bugs off,” Tony Barthel, curator of the Elephant House and the Cheetah Conservation Station at Smithsonian’s National Zoo, told Smithsonian.com. To protect their young, adult elephants will douse them in sand and stand over the little ones as they sleep.
12) Stories of African elephants getting drunk from the fermented fruit of the marula tree are not true, a study concluded. The animals don’t eat the fruit off the ground where it ferments, the fresh fruit doesn’t stay in the elephant’s digestive tract long enough to ferment, and even if an elephant did eat the fermented fruit, it would take 1,400 pieces to get one drunk.
13) Elephants have evolved a sixth toe, which starts off as cartilage attached to the animal’s big toe but is converted to bone as the elephant ages.
14) Some farmers in Kenya protect their fields from elephants by lining the borders with beehives. Not only are their crops saved, but the farmers also get additional income from the honey.
By Sarah Zielinski

My little contribution is as follows:

On 1) there is actually a 3^rd species, the Forest Elephants, and they are found from Sierra Leone to the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are a little smaller, tend to have straight tusks and they gather in large groups in clearings in the forest known as "bais". At the bais they are able to obtain mineral salts by digging down into the soil.

On 2) some people doubt this and argue that….’ this is true to a certain extent, but misleading since the relationship stems from a remote ancestor common to hyraxes, sea cows (dugongs and manatees) and elephants.’ Looks to me like a bit more research is in order!

On 4) ….and they are  VERY irritated by African bees! If coming across them, it sends the elephants off in a frenzy!

On 6) sometimes the groups can be even smaller. It could be just a mom with her calves of different age groups. It often is closely related to the area they live in, hence food to find, drought etc

On 9) Caitlin O’Connell made this discovery and you can read about it in her book ‘The Elephant’s Secret Sense’. Very interesting!

On 14) Dr. Lucy King with Save the Elephants has done extended research on this and won the CMS Thesis Award for her work just recently.

Until next  time.

Elephant news with a positive spin

Elephants; lots has been said about them and, I’m sure lots will follow. Especially now, as we are at the start of the New Year 2012 and it was just released that 2011 was the worst year for elephants in regards to being poached, ie. killed for their tusks/ivory. The numbers are staggering, which makes the rate they are being killed off and disappearing mind-boggling & very frustrating to say the least.

After having said that, this blog will be highlighting and focusing on the positive aspects and news about these amazing beings, which I happen to care for and love very much.

There will be news about the current state of course, but not JUST! 

I hope you will come along & enjoy following my quest in finding the positive for our efforts in saving Elephants!