Interesting Creatures… Elephant
Kaieteur News – Elephants are mammals of the family Elephantidae, and the largest extant land animals. Three species are currently recognized: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. Elephantidae is the only surviving family of the order Proboscidea; extinct members include the mastodons. The family Elephantidae also includes several extinct groups, including the straight-spread mammoths and elephants. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears, and convex or flat backs. Unique features of each elephant include a long proboscis called a trunk, shoulders, large ear flaps, huge legs, and hard but sensitive skin. The trunk is used for breathing, bringing food and water into the mouth, and grasping objects. Tusks, derived from the incisor teeth, serve as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps help to maintain a constant body temperature as well as in communication. The pillar-like legs carry their great weight.
Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia and are found in various habitats, including savannahs, forests, deserts and marshes. They are herbivorous, and stay near water when accessible. They are considered key species, because of their impact on their environments. Elephants have a fission fusion society, where multiple family groups come together to socialize. Females (cows) tend to live in family groups, which may include one female with calves or several females attached to their offspring. The groups, which do not include bulls, are led by (usually) the oldest cow, known as the matriarch.
Males (bulls) leave their family groups when they reach puberty, and can live alone or with other males. Adult bulls interact mainly with family groups when looking for a mate. They get into a state of increased testosterone and aggression called musth, which helps them gain dominance over other males as well as reproductive success. Calves are the focus of attention in their family groups and rely on their mothers for as long as three years. Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild. They communicate through touch, sight, smell and sound; elephants use intravenous and seismic communication over long distances. Elephant intelligence was compared to that of primates and whales. They appear to have self-awareness, and appear to empathize with dying and dying family members.
African elephants are listed as vulnerable and Asian elephants as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). One of the biggest threats to elephant populations is the ivory trade, as the animals are poached for their ivory spines. Other threats to wild elephants include habitat destruction and conflict with locals. Elephants are used as animals working in Asia. In the past, they were used in war; today, they are often controversially displayed in zoos, or exploited for circus entertainment. Elephants are well known and have been featured in art, folklore, religion, literature and popular culture.
Poaching elephants for their ivory, meat and hides has been one of the major threats to their existence. Historically, many cultures make elephant ivory ornaments and other works of art, the use of which resembled gold. The ivory trade contributed to the decline of Africa’s elephant population in the late 20th century. This prompted international bans on ivory imports, starting with the United States in June 1989, followed by bans in other North American, western European, and Japan countries. At about the same time, Kenya destroyed all its ivory stocks. CITES approved an international ban on ivory that came into force in January 1990. Following the bans, unemployment rose in India and China, where the ivory industry was economically important. In contrast, Japan and Hong Kong, which were also part of the industry, were adaptable and were not badly affected. Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Malawi wanted to continue the ivory trade and were allowed, as their local elephant populations were healthy, but only if their supplies were from elephants that had been exterminated or had died from natural causes.
The ban allowed the elephant to heal in parts of Africa. In January 2012, 650 elephants in Bouba Njida National Park, Cameroon, were killed by Chadian raiders. This has been called “one of the most serious murders” since the ivory ban. Asian elephants may be less susceptible to ivory trade, as women usually lack scalps. Still, members of the species have been killed for ivory in some areas, such as Periyar National Park in India. China was the largest market for poached ivory but announced the abolition of legal domestic manufacturing and sale of ivory products in May 2015, and in September 2015, China and the United States said, “they would legislate an almost complete ban on imports. and ivory export ”due to the causes of extinction. Other threats to elephants include habitat destruction and fragmentation. (Source: Wikipedia)