Sunday, March 14, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
For kids: facts about elephants!
Learn facts about elephants, including what they eat, how they live, how big they are, how they talk and more!
Do elephants live together?
Elephants live in families. Several families live together in a "herd." The leader of the herd is usually the oldest female elephant. She is called the "matriarch." All the babies and other females follow her.
A young male elephant stays with the herd until he is fourteen or fifteen years old. Then, he goes out on his own. The young male will try to find a female elephant for a companion
What do elephants eat?
Elephants are plant-eaters. Because they are such big animals, they need to eat large amounts of leaves, grass and tree bark. They spend as much as twenty hours a day eating! A full-grown African elephant can weigh more than 10,000 pounds!
Teeth and Tusks
Elephants have four teeth and two "tusks." The tusks are the long horn-like parts that come out the sides of their mouths. These tusks grow about seven inches a year, and can get up to twenty feet long! The tusks are made of ivory, which is very valuable.
The elephants four teeth are molars. About every four years, the molars fall out and are replaced by new ones. The molars of an adult elephant can be up to ten inches long!
Ears and Trunks
The ears of a full-grown African elephant are about five to six feet long and four feet wide. They sometimes flap their ears to cool themselves.
An elephant's trunk is actually part nose and part upper lip. Elephants can breathe through their trunks. They can also smell and pick up things with it. They can use it to put food into their mouths, and can even spray water with it! The trunk is used to feel things, too!
How do elephants cool themselves?
When it is hot, elephants like to get into water and mud. They also use their trunks to spray water and dust on their bodies. Wrinkles on their skin trap the water and help with the cooling.
How do elephants talk?
Elephants talk to each other by making sounds called "tummy rumbles." They also make a "trumpeting" sound to call to each other.
How long do elephants live?
Elephants can live as long as eighty years!
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You can see elephants in zoos. Many zoos work hard to keep the elephants happy, by providing them with the kind of habitat they would have if they were out in the wild.
A great number of elephants have been shot so people could get their ivory tusks. People all over the world have tried to stop this cruel killing of elephants. Now, very few are killed for their ivory, and there are laws to protect the elephants.
In the past, many elephants were trained to perform tricks for circuses. They were often treated in a cruel manner. Today, there are laws to protect elephants and to ensure they are well-cared for.
Elephants should be treasured. They are the "gentle giants" of the animal kingdom!
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Wonderful Elephants!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Elephants latest news
2010-11-15 - HAMBURG, GERMANY.
First European Elephant Management School
"Elephant Management School in Hamburg, is holding its held annual course in
November. The First European Elephant Management School is a practical orientated course on different elephant management tactics. Free contact as well as protected contact management techniques and procedures will be trained".
November. The First European Elephant Management School is a practical orientated course on different elephant management tactics. Free contact as well as protected contact management techniques and procedures will be trained".
2010-07-02 - BRIGHTON, UNITED STATES
When a crew digging ground for a swimming pool found the jawbone of an extinct beast in Jim Leyden´s yard, the Tipton County homeowner confessed that he was disoriented. "I grew up in New Jersey. I might find a body, but not a prehistoric animal," Leyden said of the discovery at his Brighton home.
05 Jun 2010,Palakkad
Palakkad: A wild elephant which fell into an open well in Venoli Vadakkethara, near Puthussery in Palakkad district was rescued on Friday night. The wild elephant was rescued after 20 hours of toiling by forest officials and locals.
The elephant fell into the 25-feet-deep well early on Friday morning when a herd of eight elephants came to the spot searching for food.
Police, Fire Force, Forest Officials and locals were engaged in the rescue operations.
Water was drained and a portion of the well demolished to rescue the elephant, who is three-years-old.
2010-05-12 - Louisville, Kentucky, United States.
Baby elephant Scotty passes away
Scotty, a three-year-old elephant at the Louisville Zoo has died. Scotty had been experiencing severe gastric and intestinal problems. He had been under close surveillance, and Wednesday night he took a turn for the worse and he had to be put down. His condition, known as colic, is not uncommon in elephants. Visitors have already made a makeshift memorial spot in his remembrance.
25 Apr 2010,Trissur
Thrissur: An elephant was collapsed due to exhaustion in between Thrissur pooram. The elephant named Erattupetta Ayyappan, was fainted of fatigue due to severe exposure to sunlight. The incident occurred while the Elanjithara melam was taking place. The onlookers helped the elephant by pouring water in its body; the elephant stood up after 15 minute.
2010-03-27 - Cooch Behar, India
Wildlife wardens have found the carcass of an adult cow elephant in the Chilpata Forest Range of West Bengals Cooch Behar District. Bania Range forest officials were patrolling the area, when they discovered the dead elephant. A divisional forest officer and veterinarians were called in to determine the exact cause of death.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
'Pygmy' elephant sighted again in Peppara forest
Peppara: The existence of Kallana or the pygmy elephant have been a hot topic of debate for cryptozoologists and wildlife enthusiasts in Kerala and outside. The almost mythical Kallana has been spotted again in Peppara forest region by a photographer and a tribesman.On March 17 Pathanamthitta based photorapher Ajantha Benny and Mallan, a member of Kani tribe spotted the animal as it came down near a water body in Marakappara.Though the existance of mini pachyderms are part of the ’kani’ tribal lore, the world got a sneak peek into the secret life of the mini pachyderms after Saly Paode, a wildlife photographer had a shot at one of them with his camera in January 2005.The pygmy elephants are known as ’kallana’ and ’thumbiana’ in the language of the ’Kani’ tribe. The ’Kallana’ photographed by Benny is only five feet tall and the tail is lengthier than the common Asian elephant. The animal seem to be aged with its ribs visible.Saly says in his website that the Kallana looks like miniature Indian elephant in all respects but, do not grow above about 5 feet in height. The front leg foot print is just large enough to accommodate a palm of human hand while the hind foot prints are smaller. After 2005 sighting the forest department had launched a hunt to locate the ’Pygmy’ elephant but the project was not successfull. Pygmy Elephants are cryptids, reported to be living in both Africa and Asia. The African Pygmy Elephant (Loxodonta pumilio) is currently considered to consist of small African Forest Elephants (L. cyclotis). The Borneo Elephant or Borneo Pygmy Elephant (Elephas maximus borneensis) is a subspecies of the Asian Elephant and found in north Borneo.
16 March 2010
Elephant, Kerala, Festival - ആന, ആരാധന
ആനയില്ലാത്ത ഉത്സവം കേരളീയര്ക്ക് സ്വപ്നംകാണാന് പോലുമാവില്ല. അയ്യപ്പന്വിളക്കുമുതല് വേലയും പൂരവും കഴിയുംവരെ ആറുമാസത്തിലേറെ നീളുന്ന ഉത്സവക്കാലം. ഇടവഴിയിലൂടെ ചങ്ങലക്കിലുക്കവും ആനച്ചൂരും അടുത്തടുത്തുവരുമ്പോഴേ ഈ ഉത്സവക്കാലത്തിന്റെ വരവ് നാട് തിരിച്ചറിയും. ദൂരക്കാഴ്ചയില്പ്പോലും കൊമ്പും തുമ്പിക്കൈയും തലയെടുപ്പും കണ്ട്, ഹായ് ഗണപതി, രാമചന്ദ്രന്, അര്ജുനന.
23 Feb 2010 ...
Guruvayur temple loses one of its oldest tuskers
Guruvayyur: Guruvayur 'Komban' Ramachandran (68) one of the oldest tuskers in the elephant family of the Dewaswom Board is dead. ...
2010-03-10 - Sydney, Australia
Dead baby elephant calf born alive in Sydney zoo
An elephant gave birth to a calf at Sydneys main zoo on Wednesday, surprising vets and keepers who two days earlier declared the baby had died in the womb. The Asian elephant mother delivered the male baby in the early hours of Wednesday in what Taronga Park Zoo officials said was "unbelievable good fortune".
2010-03-09 ,Tuesday
For Baby Elephant, the coming 24 hours is grave
Read more:
In Australia, the Asian Baby Elephant at Taronga Zoo Luk Chai which born without prior notice during the night must want the unusual concern from Veterinary panel.
Luk Chai. the male calf is now with his mother Porntip. He is having the weight of hundred kilograms. Taronga is kept in the warm elephant shelter at the zoo as per the staff authorities told. Now the visitors cannot visit him in the Zoo of Australia.
The Australian Zoo authorities of Taronga say that the first twenty-four hours is too much dangerous for Luk Chai to alive. A keen care is being given round-the-clock mutually to Luk Chai, the Asian elephant and her mother Porntip. The Taronga Zoo management team also revealed that all the concerned details about the Taronga’s recovery and insights will be given in afternoon.
2010-03-08 - Pretoria, South Africa ,Monday
Plan to kill elephants stirs outrage
Animal Rights Africa and the DA have lambasted a top official in the department of environmental affairs for suggesting that culling some of the countrys elephants was "inevitable". Fundisile Mketeni, the departments deputy director-general for biodiversity and conservation, told parliaments portfolio committee on environmental affairs last week that the growing elephant population was a threat to national parks.
Diet
Elephants spend most time of a day for eating...Large stomach ....Large appetite... Digestive system is inefficient to absorb maximum nutrients. So they eat approximately 250Kg of food everyday and 150L of water.
Elephant's favored food includes coconut leaves, palm leaves, bananas, mangoes, coconut, sugar cane, bamboo, Pine apples, berries, corn, jungle shrubs, palm fruits, wood apples, rice and jaggery.
In Kerala, during Sukhachikitsa (Rejuvanation Therapy) Rice, Green gram, horse gram, Chyvanaprasam, Ashtachoornam, Turmeric powder, Tefroli powder, Sharkoferrol, Mineral mix and salt are given.
Elephant's favored food includes coconut leaves, palm leaves, bananas, mangoes, coconut, sugar cane, bamboo, Pine apples, berries, corn, jungle shrubs, palm fruits, wood apples, rice and jaggery.
In Kerala, during Sukhachikitsa (Rejuvanation Therapy) Rice, Green gram, horse gram, Chyvanaprasam, Ashtachoornam, Turmeric powder, Tefroli powder, Sharkoferrol, Mineral mix and salt are given.
In Kerala elephant's fodder includes the bark of Karimthakara, Neerkadambu, Vaka, Teak and Ilavu. A preparation made of Wheat powder, crushed rice, Barley with Ghee, molasses and gingely oil is a special food to the elephants. They also like Lotus, Aambal, Karuka, Karimbu(sugar cane), Jadamanchi, Arayal, Cheeralam, Blanka locally available in Kerala. Cardamom, Pepper, Asafoetada , Jeeraka, Turmeric powder are also favourite of this wild beast.
Ghee is added to the fodder of elephants suffering from weakness of the body. Gingeley oil is a medicine for immune deficiency and give relaxation from ailments due to rheumatism. Kudam puli is considered as a medicine for digestive problems.
Ghee is added to the fodder of elephants suffering from weakness of the body. Gingeley oil is a medicine for immune deficiency and give relaxation from ailments due to rheumatism. Kudam puli is considered as a medicine for digestive problems.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Male elephant found dead in Shimsha Forest Range
A ten-year-old male elephant died under suspicious circumstances at Shimsha Forest Range in the Mallavali Taluk in the district. According to DFO Vinya Kumar, who visited the spot, the elephant was suspected to be poisoned and might have died two days ago.
It was noticed by the Forest Officials today. The post-mortem was done and a case was registered.
It was noticed by the Forest Officials today. The post-mortem was done and a case was registered.
Thai elephant gives birth to first known male twins
Bangkok, March 7, 2010
A Thai elephant has given birth to the world’s first known male twins, local media reported on Sunday.
The twin males were born to Phang Thong Khun, a 35-year-old in the north-eastern province of Surin, The Nation newspaper reported.
A crowd cheered when the twins were born about two hours apart early Saturday morning, elephant trainer Prapai Mokhorn trainer told The Nation.
The still-unnamed baby elephants are the first known male twins.
Female twins named Phang Jum and Phang Jim were born in Thailand 15 years ago.
Twin pachyderm births are rare, and the survival rate is low. Domestic elephants number about 100,000 in Thailand a century ago, when they were employed in logging and transportation in most parts of the kingdom. Their numbers have since fallen to fewer than 4,000 with most working in the tourism industry.
A Thai elephant has given birth to the world’s first known male twins, local media reported on Sunday.
The twin males were born to Phang Thong Khun, a 35-year-old in the north-eastern province of Surin, The Nation newspaper reported.
A crowd cheered when the twins were born about two hours apart early Saturday morning, elephant trainer Prapai Mokhorn trainer told The Nation.
The still-unnamed baby elephants are the first known male twins.
Female twins named Phang Jum and Phang Jim were born in Thailand 15 years ago.
Twin pachyderm births are rare, and the survival rate is low. Domestic elephants number about 100,000 in Thailand a century ago, when they were employed in logging and transportation in most parts of the kingdom. Their numbers have since fallen to fewer than 4,000 with most working in the tourism industry.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost (particularly cost of upkeep) is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth.
The term derives from the sacred white elephants kept by Southeast Asian monarchs in Burma,Thailand Laos and Cambodia. To possess a white elephant was regarded (and is still regarded in Thailand and Burma) as a sign that the monarch reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity. The tradition derives from tales which associate a white elephant with the birth of Buddha, as his mother was reputed to have dreamed of a white elephant presenting her with a lotus flower, a symbol of wisdom and purity, on the eve of giving birth Because the animals were considered sacred and laws protected them from labor, receiving a gift of a white elephant from a monarch was simultaneously both a blessing and a curse: a blessing because the animal was sacred and a sign of the monarch's favour, and a curse because the animal had to be retained and could not be put to much practical use, at least to offset the cost of maintaining it.
The Order of the White Elephant consists of eight grades of medals issued by the government of Thailand.
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