Though there are many animals, picking a favorite is not a difficult task. Of the approximate 7.77 million species of animals on Earth, the African Elephant is my favorite. These majestic creatures are different from any other animal I’ve ever known. Not many other animals possess the same traits or qualities as they do. The endangered mammal intrigues me because of their unique appearance, their ability to show emotions that other animals cannot, and their high intelligence level. These gentle giants are a fascinating component of the animal kingdom. To some, the African Elephant may seem a little odd, but they have their place in the world. The body of an African Elephant, though unconventional in comparison to other animals, is perfect for their way of life. Their large ears give them the ability to hear sounds up to 6.2 miles away, in ideal conditions, while also serving as a communication device. Their unusual oval-shaped feet act as a shock absorber due to the thick fatty tissue it is made up of. This allows the elephants to walk silently because sounds are muffled under their feet. Lastly, the trunk on an elephant is made up of eight major muscles on either side which gives the elephant the ability to lift up to 700,000 pounds. They can also be used as a built-in snorkel, allowing the mammal travel across larger bodies of water. Not only do the trunks of elephants help themselves, can be used to help other elephants. Elephants are one of the few animals who are
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
The official title of the world’s largest land dwelling animal belongs to the elephant, more specifically, the African elephant. Elephants also are some of the most deadly animals, which therefore increase the danger of human and elephant interactions. The more human interactions occur, the more deaths result, whether it is the elephant or the human who dies. These animals, surprisingly, are socially apt; their trunk is used for more than just eating and drinking- it is used for socializing. They are complex animals who live in large familial herds-females stay with their family throughout their entire lives while males only stay for approximately fifteen years (Elephant Protection, 1). Elephants possess a great memory and only forget what they learn occasionally and rarely, giving way to the “an elephant never forgets” saying (Maloiy, 178c). Despite how many people use the beloved saying, elephants may not be around much longer due to the shortened life span and increased mortality rates. Due to their incisor teeth, tusks, being extremely expensive and profitable, they are being murdered for the wealth they carry. This, coupled with the life span shortening because of malicious treatments and brutal practices reduces the life span of the African elephant from 56 to 16 years and the Asian elephant from 42 to 19 years (Elephant Protection, 1). According to what the statistics show, elephants may be following their ancestors to their death. Of the group of mammals called
Adversaries believe that the extinction of elephants can hardly affect other species. In fact, African Elephants are essential to the survival of other animals who rely on specific conditions to live. Elephants have been proven to be crucial to the habitats of other animals. In the article “Endangered Species Can They Be Saved?”, It is reported that African elephants may not be the only ones in danger. Asian elephants’ habitats are disappearing as a result of the loss of African elephants (Allman, Schrof). The tusks of Asian elephants are normally too small to be recognized by poachers so the only reason they too are disappearing is because of the drop of their African brethren. It has been reported by activists that elephants create salt licks that are used by other animals (About the African Elephant). In the article “Endangered Species Can They Be Saved?”, it is reported that elephants open up grassland and clear the savanna for other grazers (Allman, Schrof). If elephants go extinct, these grazers will be losing their habitats and without elephants, it would take much longer to create them
When elephants are babies, they are small and easy to restrain. So, trainers will tie them to a post or tree, and at first, they will struggle, some fight against their restraints for days—yearning for freedom—until, gradually, the elephants give up and become complacent. Full grown elephants weigh tons and could easily break away from most constraints, but, despite their massive stature, trained elephants do not fight their trainers or yank against chains, because they have learned that attempts at escape are futile and they are powerless. Physical freedom is well within their grasp, but mental freedom is not; a Thousand Splendid Suns, the Catcher in the Rye, and Song Yet Sung all demonstrate the common theme that
At 6,500 to 11,000 pounds, the Sumatran elephant is a truly massive creature. Even young elephants can weigh up to 1 ton (2,000 pounds). The females, called cows, are smaller than the males. Sumatran elephants stand 5-9 feet at the shoulder, and can be up to 20 feet in length. The average lifespan is 55-70 years. In contrast to the African elephant, the Sumatran elephant has smaller ears and a more curved spine. However, its ears are still large and provide it with excellent hearing (better than a human’s). The Sumatran elephant’s skin is leathery and grey-brown; it has lighter coloring than the Indian or Sri Lankan elephants and also has fewer areas of depigmentation. All Sumatran Elephants have large trunks, which they use to drink, smell, and collect food, as well as many other things. Their trunk has over 40,000 muscles and is their most flexible body part. Male Sumatran elephants also have tusks, which are
These trunks have about 100,000 muscles in them, which is what allows them to complete extraordinary tasks, such as lifting tree trunks. This unique feature is also used for breathing, trumping, and grabbing the next meal. Now that I have talked about the physical features of elephants, I am going to talk about their diets. Elephants are herbivores. This mean that they are not meat eaters. Their diet typically consist of plants, roots, fruits, and tree bark. According to the National Geographic, “an adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds of food in a single day.” This is about 55 times the amount the average human can eat in a day. In addition to the 300 pounds of food they eat, an elephant can drink about 50 gallons of water in a single day. Because elephants eat and drink so much throughout the day, they tend to not sleep as much as other animals. Since I have now explained some of the unique physical features of African elephants and their diets, I am going to talk about the main reason African elephants are becoming a threatened species. A threatened species is one that could become extinct in the near future. The main reason for
The nose or trunk of the elephant can be used for smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking and grabbing things like food (African Elephants). The tusks of an elephant are an indicator of age and grow for most of their life (Janssen). The elephants use their ears to cool them down. They can also be used to keep heat in (African Elephants). The elephants also spread their ears to show that they are alarmed or angry.
only traumatic for them, it is also detrimental to their health. We believe the time
Speaker Credibility - Elephants have always been my favorite animal.Since a young age when i was introuduce to the movie Dumbo i always found an intrest in Elephants. Growing up Elephants became more than just a cute animal i seen on a movie , Elephants became a symbolf of respect , good luck , strength, and wisdom. (Show them my tattoo)
Did you know that elephants can use different tools and understand the human body language? These skills can help elephants go through experiments in order to get a treat. The elephants needs cooperation skills in order to pull a rope at the same time with another elephant, and that allows them to get the treat. Each piece of writing and the video presents the idea of the experiment differently. In addition, all of the tones in each piece is very different, and that affects the way each piece explains the experiment. Within the article, passage, and video, each explains the test the elephants went through in different ways and tones.
Elephants calves can weigh 265 pounds on average at birth. Within the hour they are born calves are able to walk, see, and smell. Within a couple hours calves begin to suckle, from then on for their first three months they are completely
There are many intelligent animals in the world, but an African elephant in North Kenya is probably way smarter than you can probably imagine. A recent study aimed at finding out whether the alarm calls by the African elephants, co-existing with the local Samburu people, can distinguish between threats from humans and bees.
An African elephant has unique features unknown to any other animal. The elephant is considered to have the best memory in the animal kingdom. Just like humans, elephants are known to remember everything and are capable of holding grudges. Studies have shown that elephants remember the trainers that have abused them in the past. As a matter of fact scientists and observers are under the impression that the elephant’s brainpower challenges and overrules a human’s intelligence.
African elephants are the largest land animal on the Earth and are this size to better withstand difficult periods of time and be able to sustain themselves on a diet of coarse vegetation (1). With a large body mass however there are problems such as body temperature regulation and excessive weight. To solve for heat regulation, the elephants have evolved to have large, thin ears that when flapped the blood is drawn to the ears and heat is dispersed from the thin membranes (4). This coupled with the mud put on the skin is a very effective aid in keeping the body cool (4). In order to distribute and support the weight of the body the elephants have a cushion of fat and other tissues in the heel of their foot (10). Because of this cushion, the bones of the toes are angled upwards so that in appearance, it seems the elephants are walking on their tiptoes (10). One of the most important anatomical that an elephant possesses is the trunk. The many uses of the trunk include smelling, grabbing, breathing and social interactions amongst others of their kind (4). Close in proximity to the trunk are the tusks that mainly serve the purposes of fighting and digging (4). As for sexual adaptations the males are larger in body mass and have intra-abdominal testes (1). The female elephants are pregnant for twenty-two months, allowing the
The African elephant is the largest animal walking on earth today, weighing in at the most, six tons. At birth they weigh about 200 pounds. African elephants have large ears that they use to hear and to radiate heat. When they radiate heat they let the excess heat off their body to stay cool. Another feature of a elephant, is their trunk. They use their trunk to communicate, and to handle objects such as food. They also use their trunk to dig for their food in the dirt. The trunk is a very important