APRIL BRINGS US ELEPHANTS |
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Asian Elephants are endangered and African Elephants are vulnerable, meaning at risk of being endangered. According to statistics, one elephant is killed every 15 minutes due to the desire for their tusks. Despite the international ivory trade being banned in 1990, elephants are still being poached in large numbers. During 2011 to 2017 poachers in Mozambique killed 90% of the elephants! In 2018 90 elephants were found dead in Botswana, where the anti-poaching policy was lifted. The reason for this policy change was due to the large numbers of elephants in Botswana, some 130,000 and the distinctive behavior of the wild beasts. They were destroying farmers' crops, damaging structures in Kasane and creating human-elephant conflicts resulting in human deaths. Between August 2018 and 2019, 17 people were killed by elephants across Botswana. It is a delicate balance between wildlife population and increasing human populations. In the early 1900's you could find millions of elephants in Africa. Today there are only 700,000 left. There are 3 species of elephants; African Bush, African Forest and Asian elephants. Forest elephants are about 1/2 the size of Bush elephants and their tusks are straighter and downward pointed. Bush elephants have more curved tusks. Both African species have ears that resemble the geography of Africa while Asian elephant ears resemble the geographic shape of Continental Asia. Asian elephant ears are also smaller than their African counterparts.
Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild. Next to humans they are one of the longest living land mammals. African elephants have a median of 56 years of age in the wild, while Asian elephants have a median of 41 years of age. National Geographic reports the elephants in protected African and Asian areas live longer than elephants in zoos. Female elephants in zoos only live for 19 years. We share with you two images of elephants (above) and tell you the story behind them. Both images were taken taken in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. The poachers had recently set a fire to drive the elephants out of the trees and the acrid smoke was so bad we had to fashion face masks out of clothing in order to breathe. As we came upon the herd, the matriarch crossed the road in front of us. Our guide stopped and turned off the vehicle as we watched to see if the herd would follow. They did not follow, but instead began to form a wall around their youngsters. In the mean time, the matriarch began trumpeting to encourage the herd to follow. Shortly afterwards she began to exhibit the signs of an angry elephant, to which we made a request to our guide to start the motor and vamoose! Fortunately, we were able to escape and the trumpeting matriarch and her herd moved on! These images are available in table top to wall size, triple matted and with or without a frame. The matted versions are yours at a 10% discount and the framed matted versions in sizes 11x14 and larger can be yours at a 15% discount. Visit our website, www.throughthelensoflee-margaret.com for available sizes and prices. Stop by and see us on Monday through Friday from 10a.m. to 12 noon and 2p.m. to 5p.m. The gallery is open for arranged Saturday appointments. Call us at 904-387-8710 to schedule your special visit. Come see us and order now. "Only elephants should own ivory.."-- Yao Ming |
April 16th. is "Save The Elephant Day". It was founded in 2012 by Elephant Reintroduction Foundation of Thailand working in conjunction with Canadian film maker Patricia Sims. Their goal is to raise awareness of the threat to and survival of elephants caused by loss of habitat and poaching. It started with the release of the documentary film "Return to the Forest". It told the story of the challenges of reintroducing captive Asian elephants back into the wild in Thailand. 
Elephants are the world's largest land mammal and have the largest brain of any terrestrial mammal. They are very intelligent. They are herbivores and eat about 300 to 600 pounds of food daily. Their trunk has over 40,000 muscles and no bones. It is capable of plucking a berry from a bush or uprooting a tree. It is a water detector, power shower, snorkel, drinking straw, extendable arm, trumpet, early warning system, a hand of friendship and a defensive weapon. They make a sub-sonic rumble sound to communicate over long distances. The feet and trunks are very sensitive and other elephants can feel the sound being sent over the ground. They walk on average at about 4 mph, but can run up to 24 mph. Their skin is about 1 inch thick and they throw dirt or mud on their backs to prevent getting sunburned. They are one of the few animals that can recognize themselves in a mirror. Elephants can show many emotions including joy, anger, playfulness, and grief with the death of a family member. Quickly waving of ears, twirling of its trunk, stomping their foot, blowing dirt and trumpeting are signs of an angry elephant. They have a very complex matriarchal social structure that creates powerful bonds.