Saving African, Asian Elephants

On April 16th,, people around the world come together to celebrate ‘Save the Elephant Day’, a global initiative dedicated to raising awareness about the plight of elephants and advocating for their protection and conservation. It arguably feels similar to World Elephant Day

Any opportunity to consider and aim to protect the splendid creature that is the elephant, is important and worthwhile!

Graphics of elephants

ELEPHANTS AND POACHING

did you know????

You can tell three species apart from their ears

There are three species of elephant: African Savanna (bush), African Forest, and Asian. The ears of African elephants are much larger than their cousins and are described as being shaped like the African continent, whereas the ears of Asian elephants are shaped like the Indian subcontinent. Elephant trunks are different – African elephants have two ‘fingers’ at the tip of their trunks, whereas Asian elephants have one.

Radical skills – trunks

Elephants use their trunks to suck up water to drink – it can contain up to 8 litres of water. They also use their trunks as a snorkel when swimming.

Their tusks are actually teeth

Elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth which first appear when elephants are around 2 years old. Tusks continue growing throughout their lives.

Tusks are used to help with feeding – prising bark off trees or digging up roots – or as a defense when fighting.

But these beautiful tusks often cause elephants danger. They’re made from ivory; a much desired object. Read on to find out why elephants are under threat.

Elephants have thick skin

An elephant’s skin is 2.5cm thick in most places. The folds and wrinkles in their skin can retain up to 10 times more water than flat skin does, which helps to cool them down. They keep their skin clean and protect themselves from sunburn by taking regular dust and mud baths.

Communication is via vibrations

Elephants communicate in a variety of ways – including sounds like trumpet calls (some sounds are too low for people to hear), body language, touch and scent. They can also communicate through seismic signals – sounds that create vibrations in the ground – which they may detect through their bones.

A baby elephant (calf) can stand quickly

Amazingly, elephant calves are able to stand within 20 minutes of being born and can walk within 1 hour. After two days, they can keep up with the herd.

This incredible survival technique means that herds of elephants can keep migrating to find food and water to thrive.

An elephant NEVER forgets

The elephant’s temporal lobe (the area of the brain associated with memory) is larger and denser than that of people – hence the saying ‘elephants never forget’.

Tragically…. African elephants are being decimated

Around 90% of African elephants have been wiped out in the past century – largely due to the ivory trade – leaving an estimated 415,000 wild elephants alive today.

Asian elephants are also under threat, having declined by at least 50% in the last three generations. There are only around 48,000–52,000 individuals left in the wild. As their habitat changes, fragments and is lost to human settlements and agriculture, populations of Asian elephants are finding it harder to follow their traditional migration routes to reach water, feeding and breeding grounds, and they’re coming into often dangerous contact with people.

ELEPHANT CONSERVATION GROUPS

_ These are African-focused unless otherwise stated