09/25/98

Elephants!

The elephant is the earth's largest land animal, surpassed in size only by some kinds of whales. African elephants (which live in Africa, south of the Sahara desert) are the largest. The heaviest elephant ever weighed, an African bull, was more than 14,500 pounds. Asian (also known as Indian) elephants are found in Southeast Asia, and can be distinguished by their arched back which is slightly taller than their shoulders or rump. The remainder of our cyber-tour will be conducted on elephant back.

Echo of the Elephants

For the past twenty-five years, Cynthia Moss has been studying elephant families in Kenya's Amboseli National Park. This PBS special follows Echo, the matriarch of an extended family of fifteen African elephants. Her clan consists of her own offspring, and other adult females with young calves. The fathers are loners, and do not travel with the clan until it's time to mate.

The page on Elephant Communication is fascinating. "They are a touchy-feely bunch: mothers gently trunk-slap youngsters to discipline them, infants beg for milk by touching a mother's legs, and all entwine trunks in greeting."

Elephanteria

Have you ever wanted to create a special day to celebrate one of your hobbies? Well, one collector of all things elephant did just that. In 1996, Wayne Hepburn of Sarasota, Florida made September 22 Elephant Appreciation Day by announcing it in Chase's Calendar of Events. His site is "a smorgasbord of elephantine delights": from serious (elephants in the news) to silly (lots of elephant animations to download.) One of the most unusual clicks is the Elephant Gallery with links to elephants used in corporate logos, advertising, greeting cards, and product packaging.

Living with Elephants

Organized as a field diary, Living with Elephants follows the day-by-day adventures of Iain Douglas-Hamilton as he records a television special on African Elephants for the Discovery Channel. If you have a fast modem (or oodles of patience) the best click is the collection of video clips listed under Ultimate Guide to Elephants.

Painting Pachyderms

Don Redfox, the elephant manager at the Toledo Zoo, decided to teach his elephants to paint after he saw a painting elephant from the San Diego Zoo on television. The Toledo elephants paint on easels, holding the brushes with their trunks.

"Many zoos don't teach their elephants to paint because it's unnatural. It's not something they do in the wild. (Obviously. Where would they get the paints?) But others feel it helps ease the boredom of captivity."

RBBB Center for Elephant Conservation

Listed as endangered since 1976, the Asian elephant is threatened by severe habitat encroachment. To help preserve Asian elephants for future generations, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus established a 200-acre Center for Elephant Conservation (CEC) in central Florida. The elephants that reside at CEC, together with those traveling with the two touring RBBB circus units, constitute the largest gene pool of Asian elephants outside Southeast Asia. Even though the CEC is not open to the public, you can enjoy a virtual tour.

Please send questions or comments to feldman@surfnetkids.com.