The Elephant in the Room

Nature 3 Minutes

Elephants are amazing creatures! They are the largest living land animals on earth and have the largest brain in the animal kingdom! They hear and communicate by foot stomping, and creating a low-frequency rumble that generates seismic waves in the ground that can travel nearly 20 miles. The sensitive skin in an elephant’s trunk and feet helps them to pick up the message, and interpret them as a warning, or distant danger.

There are three recognized species of elephants – The African bush elephant (also known as the Savanna elephant), the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant.

The African elephants used to be considered one species, until genetic studies concluded that they were separated between 2-7 million years ago.

African elephants are typically significantly larger than their Asian elephant cousins, with bulls growing up to 13 feet tall and weigh between 4,000-7,500 kg, while Asian elephants reach no more than 11.5 feet, and weigh less, between 3000-6,000 kg.

African elephants ears are larger, and reach up and cover the neck, while their skin is also more wrinkled. Asian elephants have a twin-domed head with an indent in the middle (known as ‘dorsal bumps’), whereas African elephants have fuller, more rounded heads. African elephants also have concave backs, while Asian elephants have convex or level backs.

The African elephant is on the left, in comparison to the Asian elephant, on the right.

Both female and male African elephants have tusks, but only male Asian elephants do. An elephants tusks are used for digging, debarking trees, moving trees and branches when clearing a path and for attacking and defending when fighting. By raising the tips of their trunks above the water’s surface, elephants can cross rivers totally submerged walking on the river bed–their very own snorkel!

Elephants form deep, intimate family bonds and live in groups, known as a herd. These herds have a matriarchal head, which means the oldest, and usually largest, female in the group will lead the herd. She is referred to as the matriarch. A family usually includes the mother, her sisters, daughters and their babies.

The size of the herd will depend entirely on the size of the family and the terrain they have chosen to live on. Normally a herd of elephants can number between 8 and 100, however there have been recorded aggregations of up to 1,000 around watering holes.

The entire matriarchal herd will protect a newborn calf, and help to raise it. Males have a very different behavior pattern. They usually leave the herd between the ages of 12 and 15 after reaching puberty. Males who have left the family unit will either live temporarily with other males, or may just be alone for the rest of their lives. Even after pursuing and selecting a female mate, a male elephant will then resume his predominantly nomadic and solitary life, to roam alone.

elephant matriarch leading her herd

Female elephants have the longest pregnancies of any mammal at 22 months and give birth to huge babies. The average newborn calf will weigh between 200-250 pounds! Thankfully, the average birth is a single calf but although twins are rare, they do occur occasionally.

An elephant’s skin is very thick–about an inch thick–and although it’s tough, it’s also very sensitive! Elephants love mud baths–which they use as sunscreen for protection–and dust baths which they use to remove parasites.

Elephants will show affection to other members of their herd by stroking their heads or backs with their trunks to console or comfort them. If an elephant herd comes across a pile of elephant bones, they will stop and touch the bones with their trunks, and stay there for a long while. Are they grieving? Showing respect? They do not exhibit the same behavior with the bones of other animals.

But one the most interesting facts I discovered about elephants is this: They are afraid of bees! Imagine!

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Published by pat frederick

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152 thoughts on “The Elephant in the Room”

  3. Bigger truck

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Ya’ know, if more Mothers would breastfeed……and there are many alternatives besides baby formula. Coconut milk, goat’s milk, etc., etc. We’ve gotten so fricking spoiled!!!!

    Liked by 2 people

    1. And excuse me? 8 months old and still on formula? Why? Should be on plain milk by now. FFS – and solid food can be ground up and liquified with a little bit of water!!!! There are all kinds of alternatives if they just look for them. Of course, it’s different for children with physical ailments or allergies, or for Mom’s who aren’t able to breast feed due to insufficient milk or other reasons. But, in general, if you put a little effort into it, answers can be found. HB used to make her own baby food for Piper – cook the food, put it into a blender, and pour it in ice cube trays. Time for a meal? Pop out a few cubes, melt and voila!

      Liked by 1 person

  11. LOL – poor boy!!!

    EXCERPT: “‘Issue of fact’ Prince Harry dealt legal blow as judge slaps down Duke of Sussex

    PRINCE HARRY faces a setback after a judge rejected his request for a preliminary trial in his latest legal battle with the Mail on Sunday. The Duke of Sussex, 37, claimed a newspaper report about his security undermined his charity work and caused “serious harm” to his reputation. But a High Court judge has rejected the Duke’s request, saying: “Ultimately, this is an issue of fact.”
    ————–
    Mr Justice Nicklin has rejected Prince Harry’s legal team’s request that the issue of “serious harm” be tried as a preliminary issue, saying the Mail on Sunday must be given the chance to make its case factually. The judge said: “I have refused to direct trial of the issue of serious harm.

    “I appreciate that the Claimant’s [Harry’s] case is one based solely upon inference, but ultimately this is an issue of fact. The Defendant [Associated Newspapers] must have an opportunity to advance any factual case in answer to the Claimant’s inferential case. This makes the issue unsuitable for determination as a preliminary issue.”

    https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1607530/prince-harry-legal-action-mail-on-sunday-high-court

    Liked by 1 person

  12. EXCERPT: “In Arkansas, a solidly red state where pro-life and pro-gun values reign, the Republican primary candidates compete based on how conservative they are or how supportive they are of former President Donald Trump.

    Sarah Sanders, a former White House press secretary for Trump, holds a solid lead in the gubernatorial Republican primary with 72.5 percent support, according to a recent survey conducted by local media Talk Business & Politics and Hendrix College among 802 likely GOP primary voters.
    ———————-
    Sanders campaigns heavily on her supportive role in the Trump administration, promising to protect conservative Arkansas from the radical agenda pushed by liberal lawmakers in Washington. She won Trump’s endorsement shortly after announcing her bid early last year.

    Sanders has raised a whopping $12 million for the primary race, far outpacing any other Republican or Democratic gubernatorial candidate, according to financial disclosures published by the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office. She also secured the endorsements of former Vice President Mike Pence, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton. Sanders is the daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Hutchinson is unable to seek reelection because of Arkansas’s two-term limit for governors.

    Sanders’s lone Republican primary rival, Francis Washburn, attracted 16.5 percent support among likely voters in the survey. Washburn, a former talk radio host in Little Rock, became the lone GOP challenger after Sanders endorsed U.S. Sen. John Boozman and U.S. Rep. French Hill in their respective reelection races.

    Neither Boozman nor Hill fully supported Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol, and Sanders’s endorsement of both lawmakers concerns Washburn, he told several local media outlets. After the incident, Boozman issued a statement saying Trump bore some responsibility for the violence. Last May, Hill voted to establish a commission to probe the incident.

    Trump, however, has looked past Boozman’s statement and endorsed him for reelection to the U.S. Senate. On Boozman’s campaign page, Trump’s endorsement is front and center, accompanied by a note describing how Boozman worked with the former president to lower taxes, secure the border, protect the Second Amendment, and protect life.”

    https://www.theepochtimes.com/arkansas-primary-an-overview-of-key-2022-midterm-races_4453547.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=TheLibertyDaily

    A box will come up asking you to sign in or sign up but you can click on “read w/o opening an account.”

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Oh, yeah – an election is coming up!

    EXCERPT: “President Joe Biden’s administration reached a deal with 20 U.S. internet service providers to provide free internet access to Americans living in low-income areas Monday.

    ISPs such as AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and others agreed to provide “high-speed” internet access for $30 per month. The Biden administration also announced a federal subsidy for low-income households that will pay up to $30 for internet access, effectively making the plan free for qualifying households. Americans can apply for access to the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) at a new government website that launched Monday.

    Americans qualify for the program if their income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. They can also qualify if a member of their household uses any of a number of other federal programs, such as Medicaid, SNAP food stamps, or a veterans pension, according to the White House.

    The ACP plan allows for download speeds of 100 Megabits per second, but qualifies that those speeds will only be available where “the provider’s infrastructure is capable of it.”

    “The Biden-Harris Administration is grateful for the efforts of these companies, and encourages additional internet service providers to join this effort to close the digital divide by offering high-speed, low-cost plans,” the White House said in a statement.”

    https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-admin-reaches-deal-to-provide-free-internet-plans-for-low-income-households

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Sheesh! Silly Oriole! One of them left the jelly and went to the red hummer nectar feeder instead of the orange Oriole feeder. The holes are too tiny for them – dumb shit!

    Liked by 1 person

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