Latest Elephants Stories
By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The remains of 100 African elephants killed for their tusks have been found in Chad not far from Sudan's troubled Darfur region, conservationists said on Wednesday. The discovery was made earlier this month by a team led by Mike Fay, a renowned conservationist and explorer with the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society and National Geographic. "... his team discovered five separate elephant massacre sites totaling 100 individuals during...
By Ed StoddardJOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The remains of 100 African elephants killed for their tusks have been found in Chad not far from Sudan's troubled Darfur region, conservationists said on Wednesday.The discovery was made earlier this month by a team led by Mike Fay, a renowned conservationist and explorer with the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society and National Geographic."... his team discovered five separate elephant massacre sites totaling 100 individuals during a...
By Ed Stoddard JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The remains of 100 African elephants killed for their tusks have been found in Chad not far from Sudan's troubled Darfur region, conservationists said on Wednesday. The discovery was made earlier this month by a team led by Mike Fay, a renowned conservationist and explorer with the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society and National Geographic. "... his team discovered five separate elephant massacre sites totaling 100 individuals during...
BANGKOK - Eight elephants, whose shipment to Australia was blocked by protesters last month, were due to leave Thailand on Sunday after their convoy managed to get away from a rally to stop them from leaving the quarantine center.The elephants traveled in a motorcade of trucks guarded by police motorcycles on a six-hour journey late on Saturday to the eastern naval airport of U-Tapao, as activists were racing their cars on highways trying to stop the trip, but blocked by police.The animals,...
By Chaiwat Subprasom KANCHANABURI, Thailand -- Thai activists formed a human blockade at an animal quarantine site on Tuesday to prevent a convoy of elephants leaving for Australian zoos, a last bid to stop a controversial animal-exchange plan.Dozens of people sat in front of the site's gate in the western province of Kanchanaburi as the eight elephants, in quarantine for 20 months, stood confined in 10-wheeler trucks.Staff sprinkled the elephants with water and fed them grass and coconuts as...
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Some of Sri Lanka's wildest, most destructive elephants could get reprieves from possible death sentences - but they will have to spend some time in rehab first.Elephants that rampage through villages, destroy crops or kill people will be caught, tamed and put to work promoting tourism and helping prevent poaching, a government official said Thursday.Wildlife conservation chief Dayananda Kariyawasam said his department had already identified 20-30 of the worst elephant...
By Christopher Thompson LUANDA (Reuters) - Angola's illegal trade in ivory tusks has doubled in the past year, dealing a further blow to efforts to stamp out elephant poaching, according to a new report by wildlife watchdogs TRAFFIC and WWF International. "Four years on from the end of the Angolan Civil War, the bloody plight of the country's elephants is worsening with a doubling in the illegal ivory trade over the last 12 to 18 months," according to the TRAFFIC report. The report...
By Christopher DoeringWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government plans to look into possible changes in laws protecting zoo elephants after an animal welfare group complained that many were kept in cramped conditions that caused arthritis and foot disease and could be deadly.The Agriculture Department said on Friday it would seek public comment on a petition filed last month by the group, In Defense of Animals, accusing U.S. zoos of violating the Animal Welfare Act by keeping elephants in...
By Ade Rina JAKARTA (Reuters) - They've tried everything from sticks and stones to bullets to keep elephants away from their crops. But after years of failing to keep elephants from ravaging their plantations, Indonesian farmers are now using newer and more unique methods such as fiery African chillies tied to wire fences to deter the animals. "The smell stops elephants from coming anywhere close to the farmland," said Tahirudin Hasan, administration chief of southern Sumatra's Way...
By Ed Stoddard DINOKENG, South Africa (Reuters) - Tembo was a killer who faced the death sentence for his "crimes." But the six-tonne bull elephant won a reprieve after a vet approached animal trainer Rory Hensman and asked him if he could mend Tembo's wild ways. Now tourists are taking rides on Tembo's back in the bush at Dinokeng Game Reserve 100 km (60 miles) northeast of Johannesburg -- proving that grown elephants can learn new tricks. Tembo and some of his jumbo friends may also...
Latest Elephants Reference Libraries
The African Bush Elephant (Loxodonta africana), is the larger of the two species of African elephants (he other being the African Forest Elephant). This particular elephant is also known as the African Elephant, Bush Elephant, or Savanna Elephant. The Bush Elephant is found in areas of limited forest, partial desert, and grassy lands. Elephants are herbivorous and eat many sources of plants and shrubbery. Elephants living near fertile lakes will even digest underwater plant life. The...
The African Forest Elephant, Loxodonta cyclotis, was until recently considered a subspecies of the African Bush Elephant. Recent DNA testing has proven otherwise and shows that the African Forest Elephant is a separate species of Elephant. The African Forest Elephant has a long, narrow mandible. The ears are rounded. The tusks are small and straight and have a pinkish tinge. Adult elephants rarely exceed 8 feet in height. The females are generally smaller than the males.
The Indian Elephant, Elephas-maximus-indicus, is one of three subspecies of the Asian Elephant. The largest population of the Indian Elephant is found in India. This subspecies is also found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo, Cambodia, China, Laos, mainland of Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Sumatra, and Vietnam. They live in or near scrub forested areas, although their habitat may vary. They can also live in jungles but gravitate towards areas that contain open space and grass. The...
The Borneo Pygmy Elephant, Elephas maximus borneensis, is a subspecies of the Asian Elephant and found in north Borneo. The origin of the Borneo Elephant was controversial. The two competing theories were that they were either native to that region, or were introduced. DNA research has discovered that the Borneo Elephants' ancestors separated from the mainland population during the Pleistocene Era, about 300,000 years ago. Since the Borneo elephant became isolated it has become smaller...
