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| Sunday, 16 January 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
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Majestic monarchs of the jungle Mammals are the dominant animals in the world today and the elephant is
the largest living land mammal. The earliest mammals Considered the 'monarchs of the forest' these majestic creatures around whom many legends and folk-tales are woven, belong to two main species; the African elephant and the Asian elephant. While the African elephant is found in most parts of southern Africa, the Asian elephant population extends from Sri Lanka to India, Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo. The African elephant has two races - the forest elephant and the bush or savanna elephant.Both the African and Asian elephants are gigantic creatures, and though similar in many ways they have marked physical differences. The Asian elephant is more docile (tame) than the African elephant. The bigger of the two species is the African, reaching a maximum height of about 11-13 feet and weighing about 6-7 tons.
In Sri Lanka the elephant is called aliya or atha (athinni for female) in Sinhala, and annai in Tamil. Even though male elephants or bull elephants usually have tusks, in Sri Lanka not all male elephants have tusks. However in India especially South India, most male elephants have tusks. In the African species, both male and female are tuskers. Elephants live in herds and are strictly vegetarian. However they do not stick closely to one type of vegetation. What they cannot live without is water. Because of the large quantities of food they need, elephants are always on the move, in search of fresh food. Physical features As elephants are huge, they need large skeletons to support their body, but you will be surprised to learn that these skeletons are not as heavy as you may think. They do not weigh so much because the marrow cavities are replaced by large spongy bones.
Long, flexible and mobile, the trunk helps the elephant to carry food and water to its mouth, lift and carry things, smell and spray water on its body. Along the trunk which is formed by the fusion of the nose and upper lip, there are two channels which allow respiration, and give it a sense of smell. The tip of the trunk is very sensitive with almost a finger like quality which enables it to do many delicate operations. **** Display of emotions Even though animals may not feel emotions in the same way we humans do, they undoubtedly display joy, especially when they meet their own kind after a separation, or even humans whom they are attached to. Elephants also display such joy at re-unions by flapping their ears, entwining trunks and loud trumpeting. They are even said to weep floods of tears when reunited. They are believed to weep at times of grief and fear too. **** Fact file * Elephant tusks are overgrown incisors which may weigh up to 20 kilograms each. * The trunk contains about 40,000 muscles, giving it great mobility and strength. * It eats the equivalent of five per cent of its body weight and drinks more than two hundred litres of water every day. * It is believed that there are only about 2000-2,500 elephants in Sri Lanka today. (1993-survey) |
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were only the size of
rats and mice but over the years, they evolved to be longer creatures. The
elephant is believed to have descended from a pig-sized animal.
The Asian elephants are generally around 8-9, or even 10 feet in height
at shoulder level. The African elephants have larger ears and bigger
trunks and tusks. Even the tips of their trunks differ.
The skull too is formed from light-weight bone and has hollows in it
making it much lighter than it seems. The elephant's brain, while much
heavier than a man's brain is comparatively smaller when measured in
proportion to its total body weight. This size does not have any impact on
the elephant's intelligence.
