Elephants - the thoughtful Mammals-Part-II

Please Read  Part-I  First

WHO IS MAD - THE MAN OR THE ELEPHANT?

To avoid they becoming mad , those tamed elephants need holidays from human made routine and should spend some time with other elephants in sanctuaries.

In a top of intelligence, humans are followed by apes, elephants and dolphins. The elephant brain is denser than the human's, and the temporal lobes, associated to memory, are more developed than in humans.

But the good memory can have bad effects. A female may remember even after so many years good feeding places now encroached by humans & replaced by crops, and this how human-elephant conflict emerges. And in the end, the elephant always loses.

Elephants live in a structured social order. During drought periods and in critical times, the family stand on the experience of the oldest and wisest female in the group, called ‘matriarch’. She takes control the daily activity of the herd and her remarkable memory makes her to remember where to go and what to do in case of danger, as she already passed through these situations, and the older she is, the more effective she is. Her death is tragic for the group, and poachers usually target her, as she possesses the largest tusks (African species) in the herd of females.

But Males leave the maternal group when adolescent, living a solitary life, wandering around in search of mates, the behavior can turn into chaos when a male enters a special heat period, called ‘musth’, he turns extremely aggressive due to an overload of testosterone. In the wild If a female in heat is nearby, males in musth may fight to death and , in domesticate environment they go mad attacking humans.

Therefore it is felt that to avoid such risk , those tamed elephants need holidays from human made routine and should spend some time with other elephants in sanctuaries.

I would like to share some interesting information about this largest mammal on land and who have the largest brains by mass of all mammals, weighing in at a hefty 10.5 pounds (4.7 kilograms) for an adult.

COMMUNICATION EXTRA ORDINARY: Elephants make a number of sounds when communicating. Elephant are famous for their trumpet calls which are made when the animal blows though its nostrils. Trumpeting is usually made during excitement. Elephants also make rumbling growls when greeting each other. Elephants can communicate over long distances by producing and receiving low-frequency sound. They use infrasound, sounds under 16 Hz, which humans cannot hear, to sends signals to other elephants up to 20 km (12.5 mi) away. Sounds we hear do not go far because they are shattered easily by obstacles, like trees or bushes. But infrasound goes around the obstacles, without being shattered, so that they propagate on longer distances. Elephants use more than 70 vocalizations and 160 visual and tactile signals for daily communication.

TRUNK is a fusion of the nose and upper lip, It is elephant's most important and versatile organ. The elephant's trunk may have over forty thousand individual muscles in it making it sensitive enough to pick up a single blade of grass, yet strong enough to rip the branches off a tree. The trunk is also used for drinking. Elephants always use their trunks to tear up their food and then place it in their mouth. An elephant also relies on its trunk for its highly developed sense of smell. Asian elephants have one finger—like projection at the tip of the trunk and African elephants have two. These finger—like projections have many sensitive nerve endings and are capable of fine motor skills, such as grasping small and delicate objects.

SKIN : An elephant's skin is extremely tough around most parts of its body and measures about 2.5 centimeters (1.0 in) thick. However, the skin around the mouth and inside of the ear is paper-thin.

LEGS AND FEET:  Elephant has all four knee joints and can’t jump. Their  legs needs less muscular power to stand because of its straight legs and large pad-like feet. For this reason an elephant can stand for very long periods of time without tiring. The feet of an elephant are nearly round. In walking, the legs act as pendulums, with the hips and shoulders rising and falling while the foot is planted on the ground.

EARS: The large ears of an elephant are also very important for temperature regulation. Elephant ears are made of a very thin layer of skin On hot days, elephants will flap their ears constantly, creating a slight breeze. The ears are also used in certain displays of aggression and during the males' mating period. Elephants use their ears to funnel in sound waves from the environment, contributing to their keen sense of hearing.

EYES: An elephant's eyes are small relative to the huge size of the animal .Their eyesight is relatively poor, and the eyes are aiming down the trunk . An elephant has to raise his head conspicuously to look out horizontally.

HEART & LUNGS IT’S DIFFERENT! Elephants have an atypical shaped heart compared to other mammals, including humans, who have a single—pointed apex at the base (heart—shaped). Elephants have a double—pointed apex at the base, more circular shaped. They do not have a pleural cavity like other mammals. Their lungs are directly attached to the chest wall and therefore rely on direct muscular action to expand the lungs. This direct muscular control enables underwater breathing with the trunk used as a snorkel. Unfortunately prolonged lying on the ground during illness enhances congestion of circulation, leads to death.

The most challenging risk is the elephant’s dental problems.

I would like to share just one more experience as veterinary dentist in the next week before I conclude this topic. Shall we meet again, please!