Endangered Asian Elephants

Not surprisingly, elephants are known for being more emotional and empathetic animals than the rest. According the three articles, “Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk”, “Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Task”, and “Elephants Console Each Other” elephants understand when they need each other’s assistance. All two authors describe the studies of elephant behavior differently, but with a similar purpose.

Elephants -- specifically my fifth grade animal report -- have played such a pivotal role in my life that I have even thought about choosing a career that involves elephants. Whether that be becoming a veterinarian specifically for elephants, examining ways to

Most animals stuck in zoos live by themselves even if they are meant to live in herds. While in the wild, playful african elephants live peacefully and splash each other with their trunks. In zoos with cages there is not enough space to play and enjoy themselves. The average size of elephants is 7 feet, and they live in 12 foot enclosed cages, so that leaves them with only 5 feet to move around. Elephants can not move, nor use their trunks and this causes them to die

Explanation and Analysis: There really are a lot of characteristics overlooked when talking about Elephants as a whole species.

Secondly, zoo animals are kept in enclosures that don’t allow them to live their lives in a natural way. The elephant, Happy, from the Bronx Zoo is kept in solitude which is not ideal for elephants. Tullis says, “Happy has lived alone, separated from the zoo’s two other elephants. Her solitary confinement is quite unlike the life of a wild elephant. In nature, elephants live in closely bonded matriarchal families.” Moreover,

Keeping animals in a man made and man run site can make this impossible for these animals. Dr. Hone also states,”some of these collapses have been sudden, dramatic and unexpected or were simply discovered very late in the day.” Dr. Hone is expressing that when species go extinct, scientists do not realize it quick enough to do anything about it. If for some reason, elephants went extinct in the wild, we wouldn’t have a problem. If we see a species start to go extinct, we can also know how to help them and what with from the study of these animals as I explained in the second paragraph. In the Zoo, the animals will be fed correctly and will not be hunted by other

For about twenty eight years now the Asian elephant has been struggling for existence. They have been classified as endangered species by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Twenty eight years is quite a large amount of time for an animal to be classified as endangered so The Zoological Society of London decided to look into this issue. Asian elephants have been transferred to captivity for quite some time in the North American region. The Elephas maximus have been captured from these countries in southern Asia and brought over to North America and have experienced many complications that can hinder the genetic diversity of the evolution of the species. Captive populations of the Elephas maximus species may be essential for genetic preservation and aid in decreasing the deterioration of the authentic population (Brenneman et al. 2011).

It's a widely known fact that poaching has been detrimental to the welfare and very existence of elephants. Despite countless efforts to thwart poaching and ivory trade missions, the number of elephant deaths at the hands of poachers is still critically high. IB Times reported in 2015 that due to poaching, a staggering 35,000 African elephants are killed each year—that translates to nearly 100 elephants

They also noticed that out of the 149 elephant sample they had, two of those elephants were killed for the mean while the other 149 were killed for the ivory (Jachmann & Billiouw, 235). This making a big concerned. Out of all those 149 elephants being poached, only two being used for a living is impressive. The rest were just killed for only two little things, that have a value but yet is not worth the killing of a mammal.

The author of this article, Michael D. Lemonick, discusses how some animals aren't able to be kept humanely in captivity. This article mainly focuses on elephants that are kept in captivity. Normally elephants roam up to, if not more than, 30 miles a day and they socialize with up to 20 other elephants a day. While in captivity, elephants are not experiencing their lives the way they should. If an elephant is in an exhibit that is too small for them, they can develop serious health issues such as, foot problems, arthritis, and even premature deaths. Most zoos aren't equipped to take care of elephants like they should. Lemonick discusses zoos across the country that have stopped exhibiting elephants altogether, due to severe issues seen in elephants.

The poaching of elephants for their tusks has driven the animal in some countries - such as Sierra Leone and Senegal - to the point of extinction. More than 30,000 elephants were slaughtered in Africa last year alone, 382 of them in Kenya. (Stewart, 2013n n.p.).

The population consists of two main species of Elephant, the Asian and the African. The Asian elephant is divided into three subspecies: the Indian, Sumatran, and the Sri Lankan (“Asian Elephant”). African elephants are split into

Jumbo is not the only sign of poor treatment of elephants in zoos, in fact, there is currently an elephant named Happy, who is living in a lifetime of misery. The Bronx Zoo is one of the most famous, loved zoos in the world. The zoo has done remarkable work in the world of conservation, however, something most people do not know is that the Bronx Zoo was named the worst zoo in the world for elephants. How do we know this? We know this from learning about Happy the elephant. When Happy was a baby she and her 6 siblings were torn from their families in Thailand to live in zoos. (None of the elephants were unhealthy, and were not needed for a breeding program ). The seven siblings were split, which is something that never would happen in the wild, and Happy and Grumpy were sent to the Bronx zoo where they were placed with two other elephants. The other two elephants did not get along with Grumpy, and

77 elephants were examined at a British zoo, and only 11 of them were able to walk correctly. It is said that advancements are being made to improve elephant environments in captivity, but numerous zoos have shut down their elephant attractions (Smith, 2008).

The study and research of reproduction in elephants is increasingly critical in consideration of the quickly dwindling population numbers and estimates. The current Asian elephant population is estimated to lie between 50,000-70,000 across the world, with 15,000 of these individuals in captivity. African elephant population numbers are low as well after serious culling through hunting and poaching. These numbers make the low reproduction rates a great concern as elephants do not currently sufficiently reproduce at an adequate rate to sustain population size.12