Elephant
hideElephants are large land mammals of the order Proboscidea and the family Elephantidae. There are three living species: the African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant (also known as the Indian Elephant). Other species have become extinct since the last ice age, the Mammoths, dwarf forms of which may have survived as late as 2,000 BC, being the best-known of these. They were once classified along with other thick skinned animals in a now invalid order, Pachydermata.
Elephants are the largest land animals. The elephant's gestation period is 22 months, the longest of any land animal. At birth it is common for an elephant calf to weigh 120 kilograms (260 lb). They typically live for 50 to 70 years, but the oldest recorded elephant lived for 82 years. The largest elephant ever recorded was shot in Angola in 1956. This male weighed about 12,000 kilograms (26,000 lb), with a shoulder height of 4.2 metres (14 ft), a metre (yard) taller than the average male African elephant. The smallest elephants, about the size of a calf or a large pig, were a prehistoric species that lived on the island of Crete during the Pleistocene epoch.
The elephant has appeared in cultures across the world. They are a symbol of wisdom in Asian cultures and are famed for their memory and intelligence, where they are thought to be on par with cetaceans and hominids. Aristotle once said the elephant was "the beast which passeth all others in wit and mind". The word "elephant" has its origins in the Greek ἐλέφας, meaning "ivory" or "elephant".
Healthy adult elephants have no natural predators, although lions may take calves or weak individuals. They are, however, increasingly threatened by human intrusion and poaching. Once numbering in the millions, the African elephant population has dwindled to between 470,000 and 690,000 individuals according to a March 2007 estimate. While the elephant is a protected species worldwide, with restrictions in place on capture, domestic use, and trade in products such as ivory, CITES reopening of "one time" ivory stock sales, has resulted in increased poaching. Certain African nations report a decrease of their elephant populations by as much as two-thirds, and populations in certain protected areas are in danger of being eliminated Since recent poaching has increased by as much as 45%, the current population is unknown (2008).
For more information about Elephant, read the full article at
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News tagged with elephants
S.Leone elephants 'wiped out' by poachers: official
Nov 26, 2009 |
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Poachers "wiped out" the entire elephant herd in Sierra Leone's only wildlife park, wildlife managers said Thursday after police said they had arrested a gang of 10 poachers.
Beehive fence deters elephant raiders
Jun 05, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A fence made out of beehives wired together has been shown to significantly reduce crop raids by elephants, Oxford University scientists report.
Uncertain future for elephants of Thailand
Biology /
Jul 26, 2008 |
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Worries over the future of Thailand' s famous elephants have emerged following an investigation by a University of Manchester team.
India to move all zoo elephants to wildlife parks
Nov 13, 2009 |
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(AP) -- All elephants living in Indian zoos and circuses will be moved to wildlife parks and game sanctuaries where the animals can graze more freely, officials said Friday.
Indonesian elephant fossil opens window to past
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jun 23, 2009 |
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(AP) -- Indonesian scientists are reconstructing the largest, most complete skeleton of a prehistoric giant elephant ever found in the tropics, a finding that may offer new clues into the largely mysterious ...
Elephant populations decline in the wild, but zoos may not be the answer
Biology /
Jan 04, 2009 |
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In Chad, the ivory poachers have upgraded to automatic weapons. Having bolstered the population at this "last stand for elephants" in central Africa, the Wildlife Conservation Society estimated recently that the numbers had ...
Dinosaurs May Have Been Smaller Than We Thought: New Study
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Jun 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- For millions of years, dinosaurs have been considered the largest creatures ever to walk on land. While they still maintain this status, a new study suggests that some dinosaurs may actually have weighed ...
Carbon payments payments could protect orangutans, pygmy elephants in Borneo
Jun 04, 2009 |
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A new report published today provides compelling evidence that paying to conserve billions of tons of carbon stored in tropical forests could also protect orangutans, pygmy elephants, and other wildlife at risk of extinction. ...
Diet secrets of 'the Royals' -- Elephant tail hair isotopes show cattle out-munch pachyderms
Apr 13, 2009 |
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Two weeks after the rains begin, an elephant family named "the Royals" usually switches to a grass diet to bulk up for pregnancy and birth. But when they wandered off their African reserve one rainy season, ...
Elephant legs are much bendier than Shakespeare thought
Biology /
Aug 22, 2008 |
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Throughout history, elephants have been thought of as 'different'. Shakespeare, and even Aristotle, described them as walking on inflexible column-like legs. And this myth persists even today. Which made John Hutchinson from ...
Why being big like an elephant puts a spring in your step
Sep 07, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Large, lumbering animals such as elephants move much more efficiently than small, agile ones such as mice, University of Manchester scientists have shown.
When it comes to elephant love calls, the answer lies in a bone-shaking triangle
Biology /
Feb 13, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Many a love-besotted soul has declared they would move the world for their true love, but how many actually accomplish that task in their quest to unite with a lover?
Ivory poaching at critical levels: Elephants on path to extinction by 2020?
Biology /
Jul 31, 2008 |
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African elephants are being slaughtered for their ivory at a pace unseen since an international ban on the ivory trade took effect in 1989. But the public outcry that resulted in that ban is absent today, ...
Orphaned elephants forced to forge new bonds decades after ivory ban
Biology /
Jan 20, 2009 |
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An African elephant never forgets - especially when it comes to the loss of its kin, according to researchers at the University of Washington. Their findings, published online in the journal, Molecular Ecology, reveal that ...
Indian engineer invents device to stop rampaging elephants
Nov 23, 2009 |
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An Indian inventor has created a device to stop rampaging elephants in their tracks, amid concern about human injuries and deaths when they run amok, his company said Monday.
