African Elephant Animal

It's a jungle out there: Art event brings the wild to capital

FOR Lakshmi Amma, going to sleep each evening in her home in a remote area of Kerala state in India once meant wondering if she would be disturbed in the night by some unwelcome guests. Until recently the 69-year-old lived on a traditional migratory route of the Asian elephant, a strip of land covering more than 2000 acres and acting as a bridge between feeding sites, one used by thousands of elephants, who stick resolutely to their favourite routes regardless of what, or who, is in their path. Amma was one of a number of people in India who live their lives in the path of elephants. Half of all the Asian elephants living in the wild are in India, where they're generally revered; however, a rapidly growing human population has seen people and elephants living in closer and closer proximity, leading to more than just the straining of a once-harmonious relationship: incredibly, every day one person and one elephant dies in India as a result of this growing conflict. Step forward Elephant Family. As loss of habitat is the No 1 threat to the endangered Asian elephant, and to many of the animals sharing that habitat, the charity teamed up with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) to fund "elephant corridors" an initiative which helps people like Amma to relocate voluntarily to brand new homes nearby. It allows them to live peacefully without having their crops disturbed by elephants – which, in turn, are able to migrate safely. In order to raise much-needed funds which will go towards securing these corridors, this year Elephant Family will turn their attention to Edinburgh for an ambitious project to "take over" the whole city with sculptures of Asian elephants and their jungle neighbours – from orangutans to tigers – all of which will be decorated by artists from across the globe. "The growing human population in Asia and the demand on the land and resources means it really is loss of habitat that's a big problem for the Asian elephant," says Dan Bucknell, the head of conservation at Elephant Family. "These are routes they have taken over many generations, so when they're severed the elephants will still try to find a way round, whether that means crossing a railway line or going through a plantation. After living alone for the past 17 years in the Begur range forests of Wayanad Wildlife Sanctury, Amma was given the keys to her new home, in the village of Panavaly, last year.

Our realistic African Elephant would make a wonderful

Until recently, it was believed that there were only two species of elephant - African and Asian ( Elephas maximus ). However, in 2004, DNA evidence proved that there are actually two true species of African elephant - African savannah elephants ( Loxodonta africana ) and African forest elephants ( Loxodonta cyclotis ). African savannah elephants are the largest elephant, African forest elephants are slightly smaller and Asian elephants are the smallest elephant. African elephants have larger ears than the Asian elephant. In the African species, both the male and female elephants have large visible tusks. In the Asian species only the males have large visible tusks. The females have small tusks called tushes that are not usually visible. African elephants only have one dome on the top of their head, and the flat forehead is slightly sloped. The Asian elephant has two distinct domes at the top of its head. There is a projection on the end of the elephant's trunk that is referred to as a "finger." African elephants have two "fingers" on the end of their trunk, and will use a grasping motion when picking things up. (This is much like the way we use our thumb and forefinger.) The Asian elephant has only one "finger," so it has to curl the end of its trunk around anything it wants to pick up. All three elephant species are endangered because of poachers who hunt them for their tusks. Come check out this small plastic African elephant on our online gift shop . Nicely detailed for a small item, this African elephant toy animal is made of solid white plastic with the color painted on. It measures 2 1/2 inches tall to the tip of the trunk. This plastic animal toy is great for school projects, toys, novelties, animal collections, party favors and more. Our plastic elephant is for decoration or play only. You can make an outstanding African wildlife shoebox diorama using this and other plastic creatures from our gift shop. Best of all, there is no mess, no feeding, and no tank or cage cleaning :) Check out our terrific selection of African elephant toys and gifts.

Biological exuberance, animal homosexuality and natural diversity

Lee, PC (1987) "Allomothering Among African Elephants." Animal Behavior 35:278-9 1 . *McKay, GM (1973) Behavior and Ecology of the Asiatic Elephant in ...

Animal anatomy for artists, the elements of form

... ROM SPECIMEN PHOTOS) African elephant characteristics: Middle of back profile ... When the animal is lying on belly, knee touches ground (femur directed ...

African elephant as a game ranch animal

The first systematic description of an African elephant was made on an animal shot near the Orange River (Roberts 1951). Le Vaillant (quoted by Roberts 1 ...

The African elephant as a game ranch animal, proceedings of a symposium on the African elephant as a game ranch animal

Endocrine, physical and behavioural correlates of musth in African elephants (Loxodonta africana)

The African elephant is the largest living land animal with a shoulder height of 3-4 meters and a weight of 4-7 tons. Apart from its greater size, ...