Listen With Your Heart

Native American Comments & Graphics

ANIMAL WORLD ( THE ELEPHANT )

There are two kinds of elephants; the African elephant and the Asian elephant. The African E, has ears that are shaped like the Continent of Africa. Whereas the Asian E, has ears shaped like the country of India. Each E. is an individual. They each look slightly different and have different personalities. Some are quiet and shy, while others are more confident. Female elephants are very sociable, and spend most of their lives as part of a large group, and are called, MATRIARCHS. They are the dominant members of the herd. Most male elephants (referred to as BULLS, live in small groups apart from the females. Bulls usually live alone or in small herds with other bulls for most of their adult lives. They are called Bachelor herds. The dominant bull is always the biggest. They are not family groups, like the female (COWS), They are usually groups of unrelated males. The Matriarch (female), is the largest and strongest of the herd. She usually leads the rest of the herd to food, water, and places to rest. She decides how fast the herd will move and how far they will travel each day. She also defends her herd from danger, such as predators. Other members of the Matriarch's herd include her adult daughters and sometimes her sisters. Calves in the herd may be the children of the Matriarch,of of her daughters or sisters.
Elephants are very intelligent. When seen in their own environment, you will notice that they are incredibly social creatures who have lasting memories. They are a large, funny animal, and they seem to know when they have done something dumb. They convey a sense of knowing how they fit into the world. Whenever one elephant decides he wants the same (COW) the other one wants, they usually have a tussling match. Since they really do not like to actually fight one another, they try making an impression for the championship, by displays of strength. One will swing his trunk
upwards, shacking his head frantically. This is to show the other that he is no pushover. If this doesn't work, he will use his Trunk to try pushing the other opponent, hoping this will scare the other and cause him to back off. Only in extreme cases, will they fight. But, usually, one will back down and just move on to another area, spelling defeat.
One would assume that he elephant moves around crunching leaves and making a whole lot of noise, because of his weight. Not so. Research shows that the elephant actually walks on his TOES not even making a dent. When compared to a women wearing Stiletto heels, she exerts more pressure on the ground, than the average elephant. Observe the elephant and the forest, and you will be surprised at how silently he appears and disappears.

Elephants engage in solitary play as well as in group play. A good example of this is recounted in the book, THE FATE OF THE ELEPHANT. Douglas Chadwick records a story that Joyce Pool observed in the Amboseli Reserve. While she was winding up a string that was set down to mark out a vegetation study plot, elephants came indifferent to feelings of fear and shyness and had a lot of fun. They started trumpeting,racing around. One elephant wound the string around her trunk, and the other whirled it, winding it around all her four legs. Then off they bounded into the bush playing, and taking the string with them.


Here is what happens when an elephant dies.When an elephant dies, the other members of the herd gather around the body. Sometimes they cover the body with twigs and dirt. They stay near the body for hours and seem to show great sadness at their loss.