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Elephants

Elephants

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Consider the Asiatic Elephant, for example – it has doubled in number during the last four decades, and 70% of its population i.e., shockingly, outside its protected habitat comes into conflict with the human population with alarming regularity.

 

 

Asiatic Elephant (Indian Elephant)

  1. Smaller in size (4-5 Tonnes) 
  2. Females have no tusks/short tusks (about 6n long)
  3. Smooth trunk ends in single finger
  4. Intelligent: Capable of understanding 28 commands and solving practical problems
  5. 5 toes on each forefoot and 4 toes of each hind foot small ears
  6. Back curves upwards
  7. 2 Domes on forehead

Jumbo Jottings

  1. The elephant has large ears – flaps which are networked with blood vessels to control its body temperature.  The blood is cooled as the elephant has flaps its ears.
  2. The elephant’s flexible trunk, which has 1,50,000 separate muscle fascicles, can hold 6 liters of water.
  3. The elephant’s tusks are modified upper incisor teeth which grow throughout its life and are used as tools and weapons.
  4. The elephant’s skin is 1″ thick and wrinkled with a few stiff hairs.
  5. The elephant has to bathe, roll in mud, or blow dust over its body to cool down, as it doesn’t have sweat glands, except on the cuticles (i.e. around the nails).
  6. The elephant, which is capable of running up to 40 km, can easily outrun a human being and catch him.
  7. An excellent swimmer, the elephant is capable of swimming a span of 70 km, and can swim underwater by using its trunk as a smorkel.
  8. The elephant emits different sounds,ranging from squeaks to loud, trumpeting calls, with a frequency of 14-24 Hz and a sound pressure level up to 85-90 dB which lasts up to 10-16 seconds.  It uses infrasound and seismic communication for communicating up to 32 km.  It also conveys its message by pounding the earth with its feet.
  9. Due to increase in testosterone levels, the bull elephant gets aggressive and this is known as “musth”.  Bulls in musth emit a low frequency, pulsated rumble called “motorcycle”.  Their life span is up to 70 years, their gestation period is 645 days, and they mature at the age of 18.