Chimp & See Talk

Trunk length

  • midnightsun by midnightsun

    I have a question about how long the trunk of an elephant is usually. This is also related to the trunk injuries we've seen here at Green Snowflake already. I looked through the elephant collection and found for instance these videos. Do have these trunks normal length or are these injuries, too?

    This is obviously not a match proposal as one elephant has tusks and the other not ... 😉

    ACP000czkc

    enter image description here

    ACP000d6xy (in back)

    enter image description here

    Posted

  • NuriaM by NuriaM scientist, moderator

    hi @midnightsun,

    I can´t tell with numbers how long an elephant trunk is in relation to their body dimension; it depends on the age, for example, the trunk of an infant reaches the ground, that´s why they sometimes stumble 😃. An adult´s trunk reaches / gets very close to the ground when walking in a relaxed way.

    Joyce Poole, from Elephantvoices says: "...elephants have an especially large resonating chamber that includes the mouth, trunk, some 3 meters in length and the pharyngeal pouch, a structure unique to elephants."

    Posted

  • NuriaM by NuriaM scientist, moderator

    ACP000czkc : this guy clearly lacks the trunk tip. The trunk tip of an African elephant has two opposite "fingers" : http://chimpandsee.blogspot.de/2016/12/elephanttuesdays-elephants-trunk.html . The trunk of this ele. is too short and has no finger tip:

    enter image description here

    Idem to the lady in ACP000d6xy . Compare her trunk length with the trunk of the next ele. coming from behind:

    enter image description here

    enter image description here

    Posted

  • NuriaM by NuriaM scientist, moderator

    This is obviously not a match proposal as one elephant has tusks and the other not ... 😉

    ...agree, no match here 8)

    Posted

  • midnightsun by midnightsun

    Hi @NuriaM! For the guy with the tusks ( ACP000czkc ): might the one on the left in ACP000doj1 and who walks away in ACP000doj3 be the same elephant? The trunk length looks similar and so do the tusks. They are light on the tips and greyer near the roots. Unfortunately, I cannot see anything more. Ears look OK.

    Here on the left the two tusks and the shortened trunk

    enter image description here

    Here walking away and an almost frontal view on the trunk

    enter image description here

    Posted

  • NuriaM by NuriaM scientist, moderator

    hmmm, I don´t know 😕

    the trunk length looks certainly similar, however it seems to me that the right tusk of the ele. in ACP000doj1 is shorter, while the ACP000czkc´s tusks are same long. You are right about the tusks coloration, but you will find many elephants whose tusks have light tips and go darker towards the roots, besides, this changes with time.

    If only we could see the ears of the one in ACP000czkc to look for a cut in the right ear (visible in ACP000czkc )...

    sorry, I can´t tell you much more. The cameras are placed at a height that ranges between 0.9 and 1.1 m., ideal for chimp size, but which gives us little chances to see elephants completely when they are close to the lens.

    Posted

  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    What about the guy in ACP000dllb / ACP000dllc (unclassified, but trunk best seen) / ACP000dlld / ACP000dlle? - I see the same shortened trunk, the dark-to-light tusks, and the triangular cut in the right ear.

    Posted

  • NuriaM by NuriaM scientist, moderator

    Great Anja! this one would make sense to me...although it is very hard to be sure about, the tusks, trunk length and mostly the right ear cut fit:

    ACP000czkc :

    enter image description here

    and ACP000dllc / ACP000dlld :

    enter image description here

    In both cases, there is also a smaller cut below the triangular one that you refer to 😃

    Note: did you notice at the end of ACP000dlle how he is digging with his tusks? he is searching for minerals...amazing!

    Posted

  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    Very cool! You think that we can name him? (I would, of course, step away from naming if @midnightsun wants. She put quite some efforts in the elephants, I think. I just got lucky.)

    Posted

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

    This is a great idea!!

    @midnightsun , do you want to name him?

    Posted

  • midnightsun by midnightsun

    Hi @NuriaM and @AnLand!

    Thank you for giving me this opportunity to name an elephant. I would like to name him Nero.

    Posted

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

    So beautiful, thanks!!

    Posted

  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    Here is again a female tuskless elephant with a shortened trunk: ACP000d5kt. Might be the same as the one in ACP000d6xy that @midnightsun found, but I am not sure how to match more than these two indicators.

    enter image description here

    enter image description here

    Posted

  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    ACP000dx42 - here another one, but I can't see much else.

    Posted

  • NuriaM by NuriaM scientist, moderator

    I agree on ACP000d5kt = ACP000d6xy , but I´m not that sure about ACP000dx42 ...this last one looks like a male to me, and although I can´t see much more, I see tusks.

    name or namer? 😃

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    This video ACP000d8ys might show the same tuskless short-trunked ele as in ACP000d5kt and ACP000d6xy.

    enter image description here

    enter image description here

    Posted

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

    Absolutely, compare the wrinkles on her left knee:

    in ACP000d5kt

    enter image description here

    and in ACP000d8ys :

    enter image description here

    Thanks Heidi!

    Anja, have you thought of a name or of a namer to name her? (try to say this very fast 😄 )

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator in response to NuriaM's comment.

    Ha! come to think of it I could also be identified by the wrinkles on MY knees 😛

    Posted

  • AnLand by AnLand moderator

    Great that we have a new elephant match! I am happy for somebody else to name her!

    Posted

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

    hahahahaha!!!!

    Posted

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

    LOL!! 8D

    Posted

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

    Thanks Anja for giving your naming opportunity to someone else, that´s very nice of you 😃

    Heidi, you HAVE to give us a name for this wrinkled-knee female ele, please!!!!

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    heh... it's my pleasure, thanks a lot Anja and Nuria! 😃

    First I was tempted to selecet a more descriptive name but she deserves better: thus I'd like to name her "Geneva" It's an old Germanic name and means "leader of the tribe".

    Posted

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

    Great name for a great lady... thanks Heidi!! 😃

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    Although I can't see her knees 😉 I'm sure this is more of Geneva and her family in ACP000d6wj ACP000d6wm ACP000d6wp and ACP000d6ws . It's the same sequence as ACP000d6xx ACP000d6xy and ACP000d6y0 (not yet tagged).

    Posted

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

    Thank you!!

    I love the butt massage in ACP000d6wm 😄

    Posted

  • Snorticus by Snorticus

    ACP000czkd - Nero here, found by @HeikeW needs official tagging 😃

    Posted

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

    tagged officially 😃

    Thanks!!

    Posted

  • Boleyn by Boleyn moderator

    @GoatyGoats found another interesting video ACP000d5ku of Geneva and s/he asks if Geneva summons the calf for an inspection. It really looks like this to me too.

    Thanks for checking, Nuria!

    Posted

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

    Yes, she is inspecting the juvenile with her "half" trunk 😃

    Posted