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African Elephants
Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment
- Conservation status: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has declared African Forest and Savanna (or bush) elephants as ‘critically endangered’ and ‘endangered’ respectively. Earlier, African elephants were treated as a single species, listed as Vulnerable. This is the first time the two species have been assessed separately for the IUCN Red List. (forest elephants and Savanna elephants)
- Points to note: The African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth, slightly larger than Asian elephants. They have two fingerlike features on the end of their trunk while Asian elephants have just one. Elephants are matriarchal, meaning they live in female-led groups. African elephants are keystone species, playing a critical role in their ecosystem. Also known as “ecosystem engineers,” elephants shape their habitat in many ways.
- Biology: Elephants have a longer pregnancy than any other mammal—almost 22 months. This compounds the problem of conservation since there are simply not enough calves being born to make up for the losses from poaching. There are two subspecies of African elephants, the Savanna (or bush) elephant and the Forest elephant. Savanna elephants are the larger of two.
- African Savanna Elephant: Scientific Name: Loxodonta africana; Decline: Dropped by 60% in the last 50 years; IUCN Status: Endangered; Habitat: Plains of sub-Saharan Africa.
- African Forest Elephant: Scientific Name: Loxodonta cyclotis; Decline: Dropped by 86% in the last 31 years; IUCN Status: Critically Endangered; Habitat: Forests of Central and West Africa. They rarely overlap with the range of the savanna elephant. The forest elephant has a more restricted natural distribution. Therefore, its decline is especially worrying. While savanna elephant populations can bounce back given sufficient protection, the forest elephant is likely to recover much more slowly. Law enforcement is also more problematic in many Central African countries which are home to the forest elephant.
- Threats: First is poaching for the illegal ivory trade. Regions with high levels of poverty and corruption are more likely to have higher poaching rates. This suggests that helping communities develop sustainable livelihoods could reduce the lure of poaching. Then the habitat loss due to rising human population, and conversion of land for agriculture and development is a key concern.
- Asian Elephants: There are three subspecies of Asian elephant which are the Indian, Sumatran and Sri Lankan. Global population is estimated at 20,000 to 40,000. The Indian subspecies has the widest range and accounts for the majority of the remaining elephants on the continent. There are around 28,000 elephants in India with around 25% of them in Karnataka. Protection Status: IUCN Red List Status: Endangered. CITES: Appendix I. Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I.
- Knowledge centre:
- Evolution of elephants - Elephants belong to the order Proboscidea—animals with trunks. Proboscidea is Greek for “having a nose.” At various times, proboscideans have lived on each of the continents on earth except Australia and Antarctica. The trunk may have initially evolved to serve as a snorkel, allowing the animal to spend long periods under the water's surface. In modern elephants the trunk serves as extra “arm and hand” for gathering food that would otherwise be hard to reach. Of the many species in this order, only two have survived into recent times. Elephants evolved primarily in the Old World and came to North America during a series of migrations. The immigrant elephants evolved into new North American forms but ultimately all these elephants were extinct by 10,000 years ago. Why did all the other families of the order Proboscidea go extinct? Evidence suggests that North American mammoths and mastodons were hunted to extinction by the first humans to reach the continent. Some scientists also argue that warming climate played a role in their extinction.
- Emotions in elephants - Elephants, the largest land animals on the planet, are among the most exuberantly expressive of creatures. Joy, anger, grief, compassion, love; the finest emotions reside within these hulking masses. In the wild, joy is an emotion that elephants have no shame in showing. They express their happiness and joy when they are amongst their loved ones-family and friends. Playing games and greeting friends or family members all elicit displays of joy. The birth of a baby elephant is the source of biggest joy. Another highly emotional occasion in an elephant’s life is an elephant reunion. This joyful meeting between related, but separated, elephants is one of exuberance and drama. The greeting ceremony marks the incredible welcoming of a formerly absent family member. Then, there is no greater love in elephant society than the maternal kind. The calf is so small compared to the adult that it walks under its mother, who, incredibly, does not step on it or trip over it. Mother and child remain in constant touch. One of the most moving displays of elephant emotion is the grieving process. When an elephant walks past a place that a loved one died he or she will stop and take a silent pause that can last several minutes. Researchers have described mother elephants who appear to go through a period of despondency after the death of a calf, dragging behind the herd for days. Terror, rage and stress, unfortunately, are also commonplace in the elephant repertoire of emotions. Terror afflicts baby African elephants who wake up screaming in the middle of the night after they have witnessed their families murdered and poached — a type of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
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