Latest Elephants Stories
The elephant population in Kenya's expansive Kenya's Tsavo National Park, in the south of the country, rose to 12,572 from 11,696 three years ago according to the preliminary results of a census released Saturday. AFP reports that despite increased poaching and a recent severe drought, Kenya is pleased to announce the rise in elephant population in its flagship park, wildlife authorities announced.Tsavo National Park is Kenya's premier elephant sanctuary, hosting one third of its entire...
Wildlife rescue authorities have taken into custody an enraged bull elephant that killed its owner and went on a 10-day rampage in the Cambodian countryside. The bull elephant terrorized villagers in the southwestern province of Kampong Speu and destroyed their crops before he was subdued by wildlife workers on December 15. The animal was confined to a rice field for over a week while a special cage was built to transport him to the Phnom Tamao rescue center on the outskirts of the Cambodian...
A team of US and UK researchers have used genetic evidence to confirm that there are, in fact, two different species of African elephant, not one as previously believed.Reporting in the online edition of PLoS Biology, experts from Harvard Medical School, the University of Illinois, and the University of York compared the DNA of modern-day elephants from Asia and Africa against genetic material obtained from the extinct mastodon and wooly mammoth.By using gene sequencing tools, the scientists...
Officials said Thursday that three endangered Sumatran elephants have been found dead after their herd rampaged through a village in western Indonesia. Local conservationists said the elephants may have died after eating poison intended for wild boars as they scavenged for food at village stores. "Three elephants have been killed. We don't know the cause but we have sent a team to the location to find out," Aceh province conservation agency chief Abubakar Chek Mat said in a...
Malaysian activists said Tuesday that sand dredging in a Borneo wildlife sanctuary is threatening the habitats of endangered pygmy elephants and a rare species of monkey. They said sand-laden barges were once again moving up and down rivers in the Kinabatangan wildlife Sanctuary in Sabah state on Borneo island. Harjinder Kler from the Hutan environmental group said the erosion caused by the dredging would affect about 200 pygmy elephants and a few hundred proboscis monkeys living in that...
WASHINGTON, June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Relentless in his lifelong devotion to the elephants' survival, Save the Elephants founder Iain Douglas-Hamilton, Ph.D., has been named the 2010 recipient of the Indianapolis Prize, the world's leading award for animal conservation. In recognition for his lifetime achievements, Dr. Douglas-Hamilton will receive $100,000 and the Lilly Medal at a gala ceremony presented by Cummins Inc. on Sept. 25, 2010, at The Westin Hotel in Indianapolis. To view the...
LONDON, May 1, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- - With Photos On Bank Holiday Monday a glorious, colourful herd of "elephants" will trundle onto the streets of London in an effort to raise GBP2 million toward the conservation of Asian elephants and UK conservation charities. Nothing to do with the grey old world of politics - these are elephants, as big as real life baby elephants, glittering with all the decorative genius that some of the country's top artists can supply. They...
SILVER SPRING, Md., April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- We see elephants as mammoth beasts; they're prehistoric looking with incredibly large features that distinguish them from any other animal we know. They are majestic in their demeanor; they seem to rule the African landscape, living and traveling within large herds. To the unknowing eye, this ancient beast will live forever on Earth. Many still do not know that the African elephant is highly threatened. Sure, their sheer size seems to intimidate...
According to a new study released Monday, the buzz of angry bees can stir elephants up to sound a "rumbling" alarm, signaling troop members to flee their attackers. Researchers from Oxford University, Save the Elephants and Disney's Animal Kingdom said that not only do they run from the sound of bees, they also take cover when their rumble is played back, even in the absence of bees. The researchers made the discovery during a study of elephants in Kenya. "In our experiments we...
DOHA, Qatar, March 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Parties voted to continue protection for Tanzanian elephants by retaining their listing on Appendix I, and rejecting a request for a one-off ivory sale today at the 15th Conference of the Parties (CoP 15) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting in Doha. "Fighting to save these elephants paid off today with Parties taking note of the science demonstrating that Tanzanian elephants...
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...
