What Was The Cultural Importance Of 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.

On the battlefield elephants had to “charge the enemy” by running through their formations. As the opposing army was unaware of what was to happen, having an enormous animal running at high speeds towards you can be quite frightening. Eventually using elephants in war became more common and “anti-elephant tactics” became increasingly efficient. “The invention of gunpowder and the advent of cannon spelled the end for elephants of war.” (War Culture – Animals of war. 2012) As life moves forward, human civilization kept utilizing more animals for war. To counter-measure War elephants the Romans started using War Pigs in 275 BC. “The Romans method for using pigs involved dowsing the pigs in flammable tar or resin, setting them alight, and driving them towards the elephants.” (War Culture – Animals of war. 2012) While the history of using animals in war continues, the most popularly used animal in war today, are dogs. Dogs have been

The elephants tusk is a modified tooth made of ivory, they are used for digging, debarking trees, moving object and making contact with one another. The elephant uses it’s large ears, that can be up to 180cm wide, to cool their blood and distribute it around their bodies to decrease their body temperature by fanning themselves. Their big ears also contain many blood vessels that give off body heat to help the African elephant survive the hot weather.

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

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).

The Sumatran Elephant is a highly endangered animal. This animal has been forced closer and closer to human territory because of their failing ecosystem. This causes them to more likely raid crops and come in contact with humans. They then hunt

Elephants have been used in war for 2,300 years. The first known use of them was in Ancient Greece and they have more recently been used in the Vietnam War. Alexander the Great was well-known for the “most-instrumental spread of elephants as a weapon of war” (Knodell, 2014). “Elephants were the tanks of the ancient battlefield” (Knodell, 2014). The mere sight, or smell, of these beasts could cause the enemy to retreat. If the enemy did not retreat, however, the elephants would often disrupt their formation. Even cavalry horses were afraid of the smell, sight, and sounds of the oncoming elephants. The horses would refuse to proceed.

The year is 1,002,016 and it’s scorching hot! The African Bush Elephant’s trunk has evolved to be six inches longer. The ancient elephants had a different variation of the trunk, some of them had a smaller trunk, some elephants with longer trunks. Now that there was different types of elephants natural selection came into place so, more and more of the elephants had longer trunks, but as time has passed water became scarce. As a result, the elephants with the smaller trunks in the population diminished. Since they were not able to survive. The elephant with the longer trunk were able to survive more. Now the trait will help the elephant survive since, it was able to adapt to their new dry sandy habitat since it be able to smell the water

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

Mammoths’ are in the Elephantidae (elephant) family and are part of the mammalian class. The word mammoth implies that this nonhuman species is huge; their tusks alone can be over thirteen and a half feet long. These tusks are much longer than their elephant relatives. The tusks are used for moving snow to get to the grass, and fighting for territory or a mate. The Wooly Mammoth stands at

[5]Because the African elephant is so big it lives in grassy plains and woodlands or equatorial forests of central and western Africa.

Elephants are an endangered species and their fatality rate is rapidly inclining. According to Graham Boynton, there happens to be fewer African elephants being

The African elephant is part of the Big Five group of animal species that include the rhino, leopard, lion and the buffalo. They are the largest land animals on land reaching the size of 8 meters long and 8 tones in weight. The elephant’s trunk is used to communicate and to hold food and other things. They differ from the Asian elephants in the sense that the African elephant’s trunks are extended meaning they are longer than the Asian elephant which has one extension making it shorter. Elephants love water and they show their love by spraying themselves and use their trunks to shower. The trunk is also used for “smelling, breathing, trumpeting, drinking, and also for grabbing things—especially a potential meal” (National Geographic). The trunk is a very special part of the body where it has over 50, 000 muscles.

In order to preserve and increase the number of the elephants in Asia, these animals should be protected and reintroduced to the wild and their habitats must be restored and expanded.

A cultural event that I think conveys deep meaning is basketball. This cultural event symbolizes teamwork. A person can’t just go into a basketball game thinking that they will do everything. A person can’t carry the whole team because at one point the pressure will get to them. Playing as a team, everyone has one goal in mind and that is to win as a team. You have to keep passing to your teammates until there is an opening and whoever is open is the person that should score. I know this cultural event conveys deep meaning because I have seen people to try to go out on their own and it just doesn’t work. When a person plays with the team, they can see that everything is easier. You have to rely on your teammates and hope for the best. I learned