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| Sunday, 23 January 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Majestic monarchs : Methods of communication
Secret sounds Elephants are known to communicate infrasonically. In fact, scientific research has proved that elephants could detect sound frequencies as low as 17Hz. You may be surprised to learn that elephants produce secret sounds and researchers now believe that they use infrasonic vocalizing to co-ordinate the movements of a herd that is spread around. Studies have shown that African elephants can hear calls as far away as 4 Km (2 1/2 miles) during the day, and in the evening it can go higher - extending to around 10 Km (6 miles). It is claimed by researchers that when elephants make these infrasonic sounds, the skin on their brows flutter gently.
And guess what? Elephants as far away as 50km (31 miles) sense these vibrations through their feet. Man's helper
While in ancient days elephants were used in war, today they are mostly used to carry out hard work and in pageantry peraheras. But like in the olden days, they are still used for sport too, in some instances. Elephants are a valuable beast of burden in South East Asia. **** Fact file * Breeding cycle is 4-5 years. * The average life span of the Sri Lankan elephant is about 17 years. * The great slaughter of the huge elephant population of Sri Lanka took place with the clearing of jungles for plantations during the colonial era.
* In its search for food, nothing stops an elephant from getting to it. It will swim across rivers and lakes and climb steep slopes to reach the food. * Climbing is relatively easy for an elephant, but descending is not easy as it is heavy. But in such instances it uses its intelligence and slides down on its stomach and knees. * An elephant can move at speeds between four and five kilometres per hour. * Like camels and giraffes, the elephant too walks by alternately moving its legs.
* Elephants are known to travel far from their territories in search of water during drought. They virtually drill holes with their trunks and succeed in finding water in areas lacking any visible signs of water. * Young elephants orphaned when their mothers were killed by poachers for their tusks, are known to wake up screaming in the night, their eyes full of tears. Elephants are known to weep even when their human masters ill- treat them. |
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The average range of sound audible to humans is between 20 and 20,000
Hertz (Hz) and is known as the sonic range. In childhood, humans may hear
above this range but in old age, the upper limit is below 10,000 Hz.
Sounds below the audible range of human hearing are called infrasonic.
Elephants also communicate with each other by stamping their feet on
the ground, especially when they are threatened. Elephants far away detect
the vibrations produced by the stamping, which travels rapidly through the
ground.
In captivity, elephants help man in many ways. Even in the aftermath of
the tsunami disaster, elephants are being used to clear debris in Thailand
and in our country.
* The elephant has relatively few sweat-glands and the ears help to
cool the body. It flaps its large ears like fans.
* According to the chronicles, elephants were used in warfare in Sri
Lanka as far back as 200 B.C.
