The Baby Indian Elephant

The Young

Indian Elephant

Less than a year old, this baby elephant has left his mothers side to pursue some heroism. Like cats and dogs, the baby elephant expresses his enthusiasm  with his tail. The desperate trumpeting of a mother elephant summons the herd. Her Docile as a puppy, this domesticated Indian elephant with its smiling  tusks and swinging trunk ward off an attack on her stands patiently while he is painted with characteristic decorations then he will take part in a traditional parade with its mother. 

These are just some of the Asia elephant privillages that they get unlike the Africa forest elephants which are not easily tamed are are some of the most dangerous animals in the Africa Savannah habitat. Is the Indian elephant also known as the Asian elephant? Well most of the elephants from Asia are found in India where you have the largest number of Asian or Indian elephant in the world or in the wild. Many of the Asian or India elephant such species are also found in may of the Asian natural habitat as well. some of the countries where the Asian or India elephant are found are in countries such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Borneo Cambodia, China, Laos, mainland of Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Sumatra and Vietnam.

Introducing the Indian Elephant

The Indian elephant - also known as the Asian elephant, Asiatic elephant, or Elephas maximus indicus - is the largest mammal native to the Indian subcontinent. The Asia elephant is in fact respected in the Asia continent despite the Asian elephants being considered as endangered animals, the plight of the Asia elephants is still at stake. The carnage and killing and illegal elephant poaching is still going on not only for its body parts but as a way of reducing the clashes between man a animal in many of the beautiful Asian forest which need to make way for development, agricultural and land use in order to accommodate the ever growing Asian population which is growing at speeds the Asian elephants cannot compete with as far as the elephant natural feeding and breeding habitat is concerned.

Which elephants are the biggest? Is it the African elephants or the Asian elephants. As far as the animal facts about the Asia elephants is concerned, the biggest elephants are about 6.4 metres long, perhaps 3 metres from ground to shoulder and another 50 cm taller at the head. The biggest elephants may tip the scales - or perhaps crush them - at just under 5,000kg for a fully grown elephant. 


One amazing fact about the Asia elephants is that a small adults Asian elephants weigh perhaps half that of an adult Asia elephant; a calf's birth or a baby elephant when it is born might  weigh about  50kg to 150kg. Did you know that the males Asian elephants are typically larger than females elephants. Are there any reasons as to what the Asian male elephants are larger as compared to the female Asia elephants? 

Is it because the Asia male elephants have horns while the female elephants do not have horns and there by giving the mare reasons that the male Asian elephants use all their energy to process the tusks they possess such  that hindering them to grow bigger in size. Well as far as facts about the size of the male Asia elephants is concerned, I guess nature has more to do with these amazing creatures of Asia.

The beautiful Asia elephants skin

Are Asia elephants different from other elephant species in the wild as far as the elephant's skin is concerned? Well if there are red elephants white elephants and black elephants, what are the actual facts about a bay Asian elephant as far as the skin of the elephant is concerned? The Asian elephant skin may be brown or grey, but you will find that some Asia elephants are having some amazing colors of some pink areas mainly on the head. What is so amazing about the Asia elephants that most people who go to Africa on an elephant animal safari don't know? One amazing fact about Asia elephants is that the Asian elephant is perhaps best known for its prehensile trunk. The beautiful amazing dangerous Asian elephant has a very long nose and upper lip with an amazing variety of uses. 


You will be amazed as to how the Asian elephant can sniff the path used by the Asian big cats notably the beautiful Asian endangered tigers and the endangered spotted and snow leopards as well. Having a bigger body as far as the elephant is concerned does not really affect the elephant's movement in the deep dangerous forests of Asia. This is because the Asia elephants have thick legs rest that rest on pads to absorb the animal's weight.

Elephant dentistry is remarkable

Animals need teeth to chew and to cut or tear whatever food they are eating. The Asian big cats have powerful teeth to catch their prey and as far as the Asian elephants re concerned, these beautiful dangerous animals use their teeth to crush and much grass, roots twigs and fruits that they find in their natural habitat. When it comes to eating elephants also have teeth and one amazing fact about the Asian elephants teeth as well is that very large elephant teeth develop, but the elephant's teeth wears down the front ones. 

These elephant teeth are replaced from the rear, until no more remain. At this point  only reached by a quite aged elephant and it will be unable to eat properly, and so it will starve as any other living organism. One funny amazing fact about these beautiful creatures of the Asian continent is that the male Indian elephants develop tusks by growing a pair of incisors by about 17cm per year.

As far as the size of an Asia elephant family r elephant heard is concerned, there are many elements which has been affecting  the elephants family as far as Asia is concerned. Many years ago, the Asia elephants used to roam far and wide in the Asia continent. Now days with the demarcation of land and national boundaries, these beautiful endangered dangerous animals of Asia  are only located on protected natural habitat and even in these animal sanctuaries  the elephant herds are only limited with many of the male Asian elephants being illegally poached due to their prized tusks. 

The sheer size of an elephant hear or family which are remaining in the Asian wild forests are always composed of related female elephants that form herds. These female elephants often do consist of about twenty elephants, including a few adult elephants and some cute dependent children elephants as well. 

Do the baby elephants move and start their own families as far as the right of passage to the Asian elephants is concerned, in the wild, the young male lions are normally chased away when they start to show dominance over the other small lions in the pride and as far as the  young Asian male elephants are concerned, the male elephants  leave at about age 14, and may be solitary, travel with other males for short times, or join a matriarch's herd when he has an opportunity to breed. Do you think the baby Asian elephant will have a chance to survive in this age where the elephant tusk trade is heating the market from all angles and people will go miles in order to acquire these elephant tusks by hook or crook? Well all the help elephants can be given in terms of elephant conservation projects in Asia or any elephant awareness programs which educate the people about the light of the endangered Asian elephants will help solve the already plight of the endangered Asian elephants and many of the endangered animals as well. Its not just saving the Asian elephants which is of importance. Elephants do belong to this earth and are part of our natural ecosystem. 

Elephants have rights as humans have but many of us have found ways in exploiting these beautiful animals in such a way that with little ways of knowing how they react, we are forced to see unforeseen dangerous elephant attacks within these regions and these beautiful elephants are some of the most dangerous animals in Asia. Its always in the news. Do we need to learn from experience or is it just more information which people need. It could be the culture, invested interests    or just the fact that we are still yet to learn.

Only a dominant male Asian elephant is "permitted" to breed, so size and aggressiveness are important traits as far as the continuation of the Asian elephant generation is concerned. To come to think of it, how many male Asian elephants are remaining in the wild if they have all not been captured and helping in the timber industry? Are there that many male Asian elephants to keep the endangered Asian elephants surviving in the wild? My good guess is that with very few male Asian elephants remaining in Asian elephant habitat, many female elephants when they are on heat are not able to get good male elephants who can be able to produce elephants which are not within the linage as in breading of elephants just like the endangered cheetah which has proved to be difficult even to breed in captivity has really puzzled may animal lovers who would have loved to keep these beautiful animals as pets. 

With all the taming of the Asian elephants and possession as a right of heritage to many of the Asian society, these beautiful elephants need to be in the wild where they can fully grow and enjoy their natural habitat just like and other wild animal born to be wild and free. If all the African elephants could hear their cousins in Asia, these beautiful dangerous elephants would have come to the rescue of the Asian elephants whose numbers are going down as compared to the African elephants as well which also doesn't a very good story to tell with many of the civil wars and internal civil strife displacing people who end up in many of the African national parks and game reserves to seek refuge  and as a result, many of the exotic wild animals as well end up being trapped for food and a few hunt these animals to sell as pets or to any buyers who could help them make quick money in such dangerous precarious situations which seem to have no end as far as civility in many of the newly democratic states are concerned.

While many animals have greater communication skills which are more powerful than humans, there are some interesting facts about the Asian elephants that they can hear the Tsunami coming or if there is an earth quack  As far as facts about the elephants communication is concerned  elephants can communicate over long distances by calling at very low frequencies - often below the lowest notes humans can hear. This seems to be the reason as to how they can co-ordinate arriving at a destination, such as a water source at the same time.

Elephants are vegetarians

Elephants are vegetarians and all elephants eat grass, leaves, bark, fruits and vegetables. If the grass is short, an elephant will scrape together a pile using its feet, then pick up the bale. The back of a tree is shredded from a branch in the same way that people eat corn on the cob. Symbiotic bacteria in an elephant's intestines help it to digest its daily diet of 150kg of vegetation and is washed down with over 100 litres of water.

Uses of The Elephant trunk

The elephant trunk has many uses. It sniffs out food sources, collects grass, holds foods, serves as a "nose" for breathing, tosses dust or sprays water for skin care, acts as a hose for drinking and helps in trumpeting.

How to Distinguish Indian Elephants from African Elephants

How does one distinguish an Indian elephant from an African elephant? The general differences are:

The ears of an Indian elephant are smaller and rounder than those of an African elephant

An Indian elephant's back does not slope down as sharply

The highest point of an Indian elephant is the head, but an African elephant's shoulder is the highest location

An Indian elephant's trunk has only one "finger" but an African elephant's trunk has two "fingers"

An Indian elephant has four nails on the hind foot where an African elephant only has three

On average, an Indian elephant is not quite as large as an African elephant - although accounting for age or gender may outweigh the "average" size difference

Another difference is that a female Indian elephant does not grow tusks. Males of both species do grow the extended incisor, as do female African elephants.

It almost goes without saying that a tourist has an additional clue: "If you find one in Africa, it is probably an African elephant; if in India, it is probably an Asian elephant."

Are Indian Elephants Endangered?

As far as endangered animals are concerned, all Asian elephants are considered endangered and are in the endangered species list. Few animals can threaten Indian elephants. Males are dangerous individuals, and herds will circle their young to protect the baby elephants from any attacks from other animals. However, the Indian elephant is indeed on "Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and are considered endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature", according to Animal Diversity.

Human poaching is the most publicized danger. The tusks continue to be valued for ivory - whether or not most of the world has banned trading in this commodity. Since only male Indian elephants have tusks, the females have not faced the same risks as their African cousins. Nonetheless, sometimes the male/female ratio is an unsustainable one to one hundred (1:100).

In India, perhaps the worst danger to the elephant is human encroachment on existing habitats. The human need for farmland cannot be questioned; but elephants may be paying the price. So are the unfortunate farmers who are trampled - several hundred die annually in human/elephant confrontations.

In addition, the new farmland is precisely where elephants - with their proverbial long memories - had been grazing for food. When they find that nutritious vegetables have replaced grass and trees, the elephants will gladly eat the farmers' crops. Predictably, farmers often retaliate with violence.

Organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund and government agencies in India are actively trying to protect the Indian elephant population, currently estimated to be 28,000 to 42,000 in the wild. In September 2010, Indian Environment minister Jairam Ramesh announced that the elephant is a "national heritage animal" to be accorded the same protection "...as bestowed upon the mighty tiger".

Some 3,500 elephants are "working" in India. Around the world, elephants grace zoos and circuses. Historic cultural influences in India may also enhance the elephants' chance of survival. The elephant is one of the "nine jewels" ("navratnas") which surfaced as deva and asura (gods and demons) searched for the elixir of life in the oceans. Hopefully the religious requirement to protect this jewel of an animal will indeed help the Indian elephant survive.

 

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