World Elephant Day!
As well as celebrating the majestic lion this week, we are also celebrating elephants! Today, 12th August, is World Elephant Day, which raises awareness and asks people to help protect elephants around the world.
History of World Elephant Day
On 12 August 2012, the inaugural World Elephant Day was launched to bring attention to the plight of both Asian and African elephants. The elephant is loved, revered and respected by people and cultures around the world, although they are now all on the IUCN’s Red List.
African Elephants
The elephant species we have in our protected areas in Zambia are the African Savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana), which are listed as Endangered. The more northerly African Forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is now listed as Critically Endangered.
Herd of Savannah elephants mud bathing at a waterhole.
Following new genetic evidence, it was found that they are two distinct species, with Forest elephants being smaller than their Savannah cousins. Their ears are also more oval in shape, and they have straighter, downward pointing tusks. The shape and size of their skulls are also different. Forest elephants are more commonly found in countries with relatively large blocks of densely wooded rainforest, such as Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cameroon and Central African Republic in central Africa and Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Ghana.
- African savanna elephants weigh about 8,000 kg (9 tons) and are between 3 and 4 meters tall at the shoulder, with African forest elephants being slightly smaller.
Both African species are vulnerable to our modern world. Commercial development, such as mining, along with habitat loss through deforestation and large scale commercial farming, as well as climate change, means their numbers in the wild are declining. The trade in illegal ivory also plays its part in their falling population numbers.
Asian Elephants
Asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) are also on the Endangered ICUN Red List and their population numbers are also decreasing. They inhabit dry to wet forests and grassland habitats in 13 countries in South and Southeast Asia.
- Asian elephants weigh about 5,500 kg (about 6 tons) and are no more than 3.5 meters tall at the shoulder
Asian elephants are smaller than their African cousins, having more rounded heads, much smaller ears and a humped back, with only some males having tusks. There are other differences, such as the texture of their skin, number of toenails and trunk characteristics. Both African elephant species’ trunk has two distinct ‘fingers’ which are used to manipulate and pick up objects. Asian elephants only have one ‘finger’ at the end of their trunk, and they compensate by holding objects against the underside of their trunk.
Living in forests, they prefer to forage for plants, but they have had to adapt to survive on resources that vary based on the areas that they now live. They are extremely sociable, forming small groups of six to seven related females, led by their matriarch. Like the African elephants, these groups occasionally join others to form larger herds, although these associations are relatively short-lived. Their herd sizes are significantly smaller than those of savannah elephants.
More than two-thirds of an Asian elephant’s day is spent feeding on grasses. They also eat large amounts of tree bark, roots, leaves and small stems although cultivated crops, such as bananas, rice, and sugarcane, are their favourites . This leads to human/wildlife encounters which, along with climate change, habitat loss due to commercial activities and the problems of invasive non-native flora species, all contribute to their population decline.
In Asia, over the centuries, elephants have become important cultural icons. In Hinduism, the elephant is a powerful deity – the elephant-headed Lord Ganesha is honoured before all sacred rituals, and is also called the Remover of Obstacles.
His name means both ‘Lord of the People’ and ‘Lord of the Ganas’ and he is the patron of intellectuals, bankers, scribes, and authors.
Find out more about this fascinating deity on Britannica
- Did you know that one out of every three Asian elephants left in the world is a captive animal?
All three elephant species have similar behaviours
All three elephant species have similar social behaviours, with defined social structures. Herds are ruled by the oldest female, or matriarch, and consist of other female family members and their young. Young males leave their herd when teenagers and can live solitary lives or join up with other bachelor males to live in loose herds. Older males are often solitary.
How you can celebrate World Elephant Day
- Why not look online to find out more about the differences between African Savannah, African Forest and Asian Elephants?
- Get involved with others to help protect all our elephant species – you can find out more by visiting www.worldelephantday.org
- Share your favourite photos, stories and elephant experiences with World Elephant Day on their Facebook Page
- Go on safari and see elephants in the wild! All our major national parks are home to African Savannah elephants.
