how many do you see here??

by NuriaM scientist, moderator

how many elephants do you get to see?

...here the answer ACP0002p30 😉

and now a short and easy test: who dares to say which species they are? and why??

😛

Posted September 15, 2015 7:45 AM

Wow! I only saw 3 when I looked at this one! African forest elephants? They are not Asian because the females have tusks and Asian females do not. I know they haven't completely determined yet if the forest elephants are a definite subspecies, but just in case...

Posted September 15, 2015 4:57 PM

by ksigler moderator

Oh, sneaky... I only saw 3 at first, also! And I agree with @drobinso on the species. Tusks on both male and female (as opposed to Asian elephants - and also because this is in Africa!), and they're straighter and point downward (as opposed to bush elephants). 😃

Posted September 15, 2015 10:45 PM

by NuriaM scientist, moderator

Exactly...

These are not Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) because we are in Africa 😃 and because as @drobinso says, female Asian elephants usually do not have tusks; if they do, they are barely visible. But the size of the elephants in this video could make us doubt; ours (in this video) are quite smaller than the usual African elephants we are used to seing...

There are two species of African elephants (Loxodonta genus): the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) and the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis). One of the main differences between them is that forest elephants are smaller than their savanna relatives (African bush elephants) and their tusks are thinner and straighter. Males rarely reach 2,5 m. high, while the bush elephant males can be up to 4 m. high.

One of the most curious features of this species is their very long hair; they have very long eyelashes in order to protect their eyes from the dense vegetation:

this lady is Can, she is thought to be the only forest elephant in captivity -poor thing, 12 years alone-, in the Abidjan zoo (Ivory Coast). Look at her hair!!!

so, yes, these are African forest elephants 😃

Posted September 16, 2015 5:35 AM

by AnLand moderator

@NuriaM - something is wrong with one of your pics. You might need to remove it.

Posted September 16, 2015 5:42 AM

by NuriaM scientist, moderator in response to AnLand's comment.

really? which one then?

I see them perfectly 😕

Posted September 16, 2015 6:01 AM

by AnLand moderator

The first one says (in German): the author does not allow his pics linked in the internet (I send you a screenshot via facebook, don't know how to do it here.

Posted September 16, 2015 6:10 AM

by NuriaM scientist, moderator

it should be fixed now...

Thanks @AnLand 😃

Posted September 16, 2015 6:14 AM

by AnLand moderator in response to NuriaM's comment.

Yes, great picture(s) - and interesting post. (And I actually counted five elephants, but you were too fast posting the answer ...)

Posted September 16, 2015 6:15 AM

by NuriaM scientist, moderator in response to AnLand's comment.

😉

Posted September 16, 2015 6:16 AM

by ksigler moderator in response to NuriaM's comment.

Thanks, @NuriaM, for these lessons on elephants! 😃 I've seen the hair (never as long as on Can), but never realized that only some had it and why. It makes sense now.

Also, while we're discussing them, here's a sequence of an elephant giving itself a little dust bath. I thought it was pretty cool. Best seen in the last 2 clips.

ACP000224f | ACP000224g | ACP000224h | ACP000224i

Posted September 16, 2015 2:44 PM

by drobinso

😃

Posted September 16, 2015 4:11 PM

by NuriaM scientist, moderator in response to ksigler's comment.

great sequence! I am collecting them,

Elephants are amazing animals 😃

this is Can taking a branch bad:

thanks!!!

Posted September 17, 2015 7:30 AM

by NuriaM scientist, moderator

look @ksigler,

this is an Asian elephant (I know it because I know her 😃 ):

and this is an African bush elephant :

see? their lashes are not so long 😃

Posted September 17, 2015 7:39 AM

by ksigler moderator in response to NuriaM's comment.

The lashes are barely visible at all! That's interesting, because I always thought eyelashes (in humans) were to protect the eyes from dust and manage the eyes' moisture levels. If this applied to elephants, one would expect the bush elephants to have longer lashes due to dry, dusty air (at least the ones in that type of climate). But maybe it's not an exact thing, or I'm wrong, or both. 😃

Posted September 18, 2015 1:01 AM

by NuriaM scientist, moderator in response to ksigler's comment.

oh, that´s a very good point!

I will try and get an answer for you (I will ask @Pugli 😃 )

Posted September 18, 2015 7:43 AM

by NuriaM scientist, moderator

lucky me, I have the elephant encyclopedia at home 😉

actually, all elephants have long lashes, if you compare them with other animals (look at your dog or your cat for example):

to protect them from the dust, sand and dirt (your assumption was absolutely right 😉 ), but the forest elephant´s eyelashes are much longer due to the dense vegetation of their forest habitat.

Apart from that, in additon to the upper and lower eyelids, and like many other animals, all elephants have a third eyelid (nictitating membrane, from latin nictare, to blink) which moves vertically across the eye, and which works for moisten and protection when bathing or dusting.

Look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKWRCW7PYKw

Posted September 18, 2015 8:07 AM

by Snorticus

Thanks for all that elephant info, you guys - what wonderful animals, also it's very cool that you know an Asian elephant, NuriiaM 😃

Posted September 20, 2015 3:12 PM

by ksigler moderator in response to NuriaM's comment.

Thank you for the extra research, @NuriaM (and @Pugli)! I find these details of animal anatomy fascinating, especially those that humans have evolved out of.

Posted September 20, 2015 4:34 PM

by MimiA scientist, moderator in response to NuriaM's comment.

I dunno about other dogs, but schumi has some long lovely lashes, just like this guy 😉 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/404620347745557309/ gives those elephants a run for their money!

Posted September 20, 2015 5:13 PM

by NuriaM scientist, moderator

but Schumi is a rock star!! you are right @MimiA, Schumi´s lashes would be a challenge for some elephants 😛

of course there are excepcions (and I have no answer for this 😦 )...Our two new dogs (greyhounds) have so short lashes that they are barely seen.
There are differences in the individuals within the same species; we knew an Elephant, our favourite one (Pugli...now you understand why @Pugli) whose forehead was so wide that her keepers said that she was dumb (it made her look quite different):

from right to left: Pugli, Jasmin, Tanya:

this is an interesting issue too 😃

by the way, I must correct my post about the third eyelid: they actually don´t move vertically, but more horizontally...sorry for that!

Posted September 21, 2015 6:02 AM

by MimiA scientist, moderator

This came up in my newsfeed today and looks like a great resource 😃 http://www.zoocheck.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Take-Action-for-Elephants-Resource-Guide.pdf

Posted February 23, 2016 5:28 PM

by AnLand moderator

I've just seen this video ACP0002hmp and remembered this discusission about the eye lashes ... great view on them in this video.

Posted February 23, 2016 9:18 PM

by ksigler moderator in response to MimiA's comment.

I love this! What a great, comprehensive resource for educators! It has information and activities for a variety of ages and curriculum needs. Hopefully they compile these for other animals, as well. Thanks for sharing!

Posted February 24, 2016 2:18 AM