Elephants of Today

       Most of us have seen circus elephants plodding along in the parade or performing at the commands of their trainer. We are familiar with the elephants in the zoo. It is fascinating to watch them lazily and rhythmically swinging their huge trunks to and fro, first to one side, then to the other. One elephant may gather up a wisp of hay, roll it into a ball with his trunk, and then swing it up into his mouth; or he may flap his ears at us and wiggle his tail. Sometimes his tiny eyes seem to look directly at us, but probably he doesn’t see us at all because he has very poor eyesight. He has to depend upon his sniffing nose to tell him what is going on about him.

       The nose, or trunk, of the elephant is his most priceless possession. Can you imagine an animal who smells and sniffs with his nose and also uses it as a finger to lift objects ranging in size from a blade of grass to a tree trunk? The elephant may use his trunk as a weapon to “whack” things; as a bugle, which makes the plains and jungles quiver with its loud trumpeting; or as a shower spray with which he washes and cools his inch-thick hide.

       Now let's shift scenes to Africa where there are no trainers or keepers to care for the elephants. There they wander through the forests, the grassy plains, and the low, hot lands. Occasionally the herd stops to feed. One elephant may pull the leaves off the branch of a tree; if another prefers the roots, he simply and easily butts his head against the tree and shoves it over. Possibly he places one foot on the trunk of the tree to help push it to the ground; then, by using his ivory tusks, he pries up the roots.

       Elephants often travel fifty or sixty miles in a day, especially if they are searching for clear drinking water. When they find the water, each elephant drinks, and then takes a shower bath. If the elephants are not in a hurry, they may stop and wallow in the oozy mud.

 

Large African bush elephant.

      Even an elephant needs sleep and rest. He usually sleeps standing, with his tiny eyes closed and his huge trunk hanging limply to the ground. An elephant with heavy tusks often places his head in the fork of a tree and then goes to sleep. He even snores, so some people say.

       After resting through the night, the elephants wander on. Sometimes they seem to enjoy climbing hills. Can you imagine one of these huge animals (the largest land animals in the world) climbing a steep hill? He goes up very slowly, but the fun begins when he reaches the top and starts sliding down the other side of the hill. He makes a terrifying noise, like a landslide.

       In a herd of wild elephants, there are usually several young ones. Each mother elephant pushes her baby along beside or in front of her, guiding him with her trunk. Should he get mischievous, she spanks him with her trunk, but she always watches to see that no real harm comes to him. He swims beside his mother when the herd is crossing a river and if he gets tired, he hangs onto her ear while she pulls him across the stream. The baby elephant does not know how to use his trunk or what to do with it; it hangs as limp as a rope. As he grows older, he begins to swing it around; then his mother teaches him how to use it. The first few times the baby tries to drink water with his trunk, as his mother does, he only manages to blow bubbles, or he shoots the water off in the wrong direction, missing his mouth.

       Africa is not the only native home of elephants; some live in India. The Indian elephants are not quite so large as the African ones. Their ears, especially, are much smaller. On the middle of his forehead each Indian elephant has a bump which is often called his “bump of wisdom,” and he has five nails on his forefeet and four on his hind feet; the African elephant has four nails on his forefeet and three on his hind feet.

       Indian elephants have been tamed and are trained to carry or pull heavy loads. Each elephant has a “mahout,” a man who takes care of him. After a long day of hard work the kindest thing a mahout can do for his elephant is to. take him down to the river, where the elephant lies down in the shallow water and the mahout crawls over him and rubs his tough hide with a stiff brush. The elephant loves this brushing and he closes his tiny eyes and twitches his long nose in complete happiness while his back is being scratched. Wood.

The smallest elephants on Earth, pygmy elephants.