On August 12, elephants are celebrated around the world. This is the fourth annual celebration, but there are less than 400,000 African and Asian elephants remaining. Recently Cecil the lion was killed in Zimbabwe, but why aren’t we concerned with the five elephants killed in Kenya last month? Here are some reasons why elephants are such important and fascinating animals, and what we can do to help them.
1. Elephants have extraordinary memories.
Elephants are known for their memories because their hippocampus, the part of the brain where memories are stored, is so large.
2. They are talented.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAkKSQXgZUA&w=640&h=360]
Adam Stone, director of elephant husbandry at the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tenn., says that “those paintings [drawn by elephants] are done with very subtle cues, oftentimes the trainer’s hand is on the backside of the elephant’s ear, directing with the finger along the ear while seemingly out of view.”
3. Elephants are social.
Elephants purr like cats do as a means of communication. Elephants communicate within their herds or between herds many kilometers away by stamping their feet and making sounds too low for human ears to perceive. Elephants also have greeting ceremonies when a friend that has been away for some time returns to the group. They have their own language, and they have dialects within their shared language.
4. They can swim.
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They use their trunk to breathe like a snorkel in deep water.
5. They are big and prosperous.
Elephants are the largest land mammal and can live to be over 70 years old.
6. They are smart.
“They have the largest brains of any land animal in pure mass: 10 to 11 pounds and, in relation to body size, it takes up a huge amount of body space,” Stone said. At birth, an elephant’s brain size has only reached 35 percent of its potential size. That means babies have a huge capacity for learning as they grow and develop.
7. They are caring and affectionate.
Elephants are highly sensitive and caring animals. If a baby elephant complains, the entire family will rumble and go over to touch and caress it. They also sometimes “hug” by wrapping their trunks together in displays of greeting and affection.
8. They have good hearing.
Elephants use their feet to listen, they can pick up sub-sonic rumblings made by other elephants, through vibrations in the ground. Elephants are observed listening by putting trunks on the ground and carefully positioning their feet. An elephant is capable of hearing sound waves well below our human hearing limitation. The far reaching use of high pressure infrasound opens the elephant’s spatial experience far beyond our limited capabilities.
9. Elephants are believed to bring good luck.
The elephant is a symbol of strength, power, stability, and wisdom. Elephant statues are popular worldwide. It is common superstition that an elephant carving or picture should always face the door if you want to bring good luck into the house. It also protects the home when facing the entrance, making sure only good fortune passes through. Some say if the trunk is up, the elephant will shower good fortune on all who walk past it.
10. They respect their families.
Elephants herds are matriarchal. They follow the oldest female because she has the most memory and knows where the safe haven is, where the food is, and where to go in a storm. Elephants demonstrate concern for members of their families and take care of weak or injured members of the herd. They pay homage to the bones of their dead, gently touching the skulls and tusks with their trunks and feet. When an elephant walks past a place that a loved one has died, he/she will stop dead still; a silent and empty pause that can last several minutes.
11. They are altruistic towards other animals.
Just look at this amazing story between elephant Tarra and dog Bella at the Elephant Sanctuary.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbkZ2mnVzpI&w=640&h=360]
12. They cry, play, and laugh just like us.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlVgDMlugi0&w=640&h=360]
Check out this website for National Elephant Day and petition to help save the elephants!
[Lead image from Rutgers Wildlife Crime]
