Elephants

Elephants Asian elephant Small ears High vertical forehead Females tuskless Proportion of tuskless males varies Loxodonta African elephant Large ears Receding forehead Both sexes usually have tusks

Uses of the trunk As a tool As a sense organ Grazing & browsing Manipulating objects Moving water As a sense organ Touch Smell As a social-signaling organ A trumpet that amplifies vocalizations A bearer of visual signals A touch-communicator

Distribution of Asian elephant Elephas maximus Extinct Mesopotamia and Syria? S.E.China Java (10th century) South Asia Southeast Asia Borneo Sumatra

African bush elephant Loxodonta africana Open areas in Africa south of Sahara Formerly slopes of Atlas Mountains (tamed by Carthaginians) Still in Eritrea (tamed by Ptolemaic Egyptians, ca. 250 B.C.) African forest elephant Loxodonta cyclotis African rainforest Small size Round ears Thin straight tusks Gangala na Bodio

Catching Indian elephants the last Keddah (Mysore, 1970s) The tame elephants set out 2 The wild elephant herd that is destined to be caught

3 The tame elephants return to the keddah - One of the converging fences seen in background 4 The keddah People come from miles around to watch

5 The tame elephants and the wild herd approach the keddah 6 The elephants have all entered the keddah, and the gate has been shut behind them

7 and 8 The wild herd is inside the keddah; the tame elephants are herding them towards the sides where they will be roped or trapped

9 A wild elephant has been roped by a mahout who has jumped down 10 Oher wild elephants are separated into holding compartments

11 A newly caught young bull is led away between two tame elephants 12 A newly caught cow and calf are led away between two tame elephants

13 Newly caught elephants being taken for their first bath. This has a calming effect 14 The newly caught cow and calf being taken from the water after their bath

Value of elephants in Asian culture and economy Ceremonial Colombo, Sri Lanka Logging Chiangmai, Thailand

56-year-old bull elephant in musth near Kandy, Sri Lanka chained to tree

War elephants, 250-200 B.C. King Demetrius of Bactria Seleucus I Indian elephants King Demetrius of Bactria with symbolic elephant helmet 250 B.C. Seleucus I 293-281 B.C. Carthaginian Spain, before Second Punic War 218 B.C. African elephants

Tame African elephants today Forest elephants Gangala na Bodio 1950s Bush elephants Okavango 2002