Elephants

Loxodonta

African elephant Large ears Receding forehead Both sexes usually have tusks

Elephants

Asian elephant Small ears High vertical forehead Females tuskless Proportion of tuskless males varies

Uses of the trunk

   As a tool    Grazing & browsing Manipulating objects Moving water As a sense organ   Touch Smell As a social-signaling organ    A trumpet that amplifies vocalizations A bearer of visual signals A touch-communicator

Extinct Mesopotamia and Syria?

S.E.China

(10 th Java century) Distribution of Asian elephant

Elephas maximus

South Asia Southeast Asia Borneo Sumatra

African bush elephant

Loxodonta africana

Open areas in Africa south of Sahara Formerly slopes of Atlas Mountains (tamed by Carthaginians) Still in Eritrea (tamed by Ptolemaic Egyptians, ca. 250 B.C.) African forest elephant

Loxodonta cyclotis

African rainforest Small size Round ears Thin straight tusks Gangala na Bodio

Catching Indian elephants the last Keddah (Mysore, 1970s)

1 The tame elephants set out 2 The wild elephant herd that is destined to be caught

4 The keddah People come from miles around to watch 3 The tame elephants return to the keddah - One of the converging fences seen in background

6 The elephants have all entered the keddah, and the gate has been shut behind them 5 The tame elephants and the wild herd approach the keddah

7 and 8 The wild herd is inside the keddah; the tame elephants are herding them towards the sides where they will be roped or trapped

10 Oher wild elephants are separated into holding compartments 9 A wild elephant has been roped by a mahout who has jumped down

12 A newly caught cow and calf are led away between two tame elephants 11 A newly caught young bull is led away between two tame elephants

14 The newly caught cow and calf being taken from the water after their bath 13 Newly caught elephants being taken for their first bath. This has a calming effect

Value of elephants in Asian culture and economy

Logging Chiangmai, Thailand Ceremonial Colombo, Sri Lanka

56-year-old bull elephant in musth

near Kandy, Sri Lanka chained to tree

War elephants, 250-200 B.C.

King Demetrius of Bactria with symbolic elephant helmet 250 B.C.

Indian elephants African elephants Seleucus I 293-281 B.C.

Carthaginian Spain, before Second Punic War 218 B.C.

Tame African elephants today

Forest elephants Gangala na Bodio 1950s Bush elephants Okavango 2002