The rumour is wrong that asian elephants would be easier to keep in zoos or circuses than african elephants. Differences between african and asian elephant upali. He was trained to physically obey several commands and was exposed to an asian elephant imitates human speech 2145. The virus infection in the sero positive elephants probably ran a subclinical course. Anoptical spectroscopyand flash photolysis studyon functionally important motions antonio cupane, maurizio leone, eugeniovitrano, lorenzo cordone, urs r. Asian elephants recognize their reflections animal cognition. Asian elephants are smaller than african elephants. Asian elephants belonging to, or once belonging to. Biophysical journal volume65 december 1993 24612472 structuredynamicsfunction relationships in asian elephant elephas maximusmyoglobin.
The same study investigated the lifespan of elephants that was kept in zoos, and they saw that captiveborn asian elephants. Asian elephants have an average lifespan of 70 years in the wild, but in captivity they have a reduced lifespan due to the harsh condition clubb et al. Elephants body awareness adds to increasing evidence of their intelligence. Asian elephants can be identified by their smaller, rounded ears. Pdf selfrecognition in an asian elephant diana reiss. The one that is shorter, more rounded, and grooved at the tip, distinguishes this.
Many zoos, including rosamond gifford zoo, are now actively involved in an intensive breeding program to assure survival of the species. Selfrecognition in an asian elephant article pdf available in proceedings of the national academy of sciences 10345. Asian elephant facts, weight, habitat, diet, life cycle. An equally high prevalence of herpesvirus infections was indicated by the frequency of nodules in the lungs of african elephant. Living links, yerkes national primate research center, and department of psychology, emory university, atlanta, ga 30322. Having a focus page as a graphic organizer, helped guide my students through the information and allowed them to focus on the information they felt was most. The asian elephant elephas maximus, also called asiatic elephant, is the only living species of the genus elephas and is distributed throughout the indian subcontinent and southeast asia, from india in the west, nepal in the north, sumatra in the south, and to borneo in the east. On the back of an asian elephant elephas maximus the. View enhanced pdf access article on wiley online library html view download pdf for offline viewing. Combined with morphological individual identifications from over 6,300 elephant photographs taken in the wild, we estimated that the total asian elephant population size in china is. Check out one of these videos below to learn about how asian elephants can recognize themselves in mirrors. The students also explained why that adaptation the asian elephant survive in its environment. Implications for conservation and health management dr supaphen sripiboon dvm hons msc wild animal health murdoch university a dissertation submitted to murdoch university in fulfilment of the requirement of a doctor of philosophy.
In both phylogeny and human ontogeny, msr is thought to correlate with higher forms of empathy and altruistic behavior. Apart from humans and apes, dolphins and elephants are also known for such capacities. These adaptations are apparent in different types of elephants. The largest ever asian bull elephant recorded was shot by the maharajah of susang in the garo hills of assam, india, back in 1924, which weighed 7 tons, and stood 11. From 1995 to 2002, koshik was the only elephant in everland.
The asian elephant is part of a species survival plan ssp. To help with conservation efforts, buy no products made of ivory, hide, andor other elephant body parts. They share the basic features of skin and ears with the african elephant, but the cooling purpose isnt as necessary. To judge by the wellstudied african elephant loxodonta africana, elephant society may. Acute and fatal herpesvirus infection in a young asian. Everland in 1993, where two female asian elephants accompanied him until he was. The ears are smaller and the back is more rounded so that the crown of the head is the highest point of the body. The field of animal cognition has grown steadily for nearly four decades, but the primary focus has centered on easily kept lab animals of varying cognitive capacity, including rodents, birds and primates. For example, asian elephants have smaller ears, and their skin is not as wrinkly because it is not nearly as hot in their climate.
The only thing that rendered the asian elephants better known as working, zoo and circus elephants is the asian tradition of catching and taming wild elephants. What induced the virus to spread and lead to peracute illness and. Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus infection in captive. Facts about asian elephants you wont believe you didnt. Both elephant species live in various circuses and zoos. Selfrecognition in the asian elephant and future directions for cognitive research with elephants in zoological settings article in zoo biology 292. Another threat to elephants survival in general is the ongoing cultivation of their habitats with increasing risk of conflicts of interest with human cohabitants.
Despite the species recognized vulnerability, china has exacerbated the threats to its survival by failing to consider. Development of in situ hybridization for detection of. Elephant enclosure standards the edmonton valley zoo meets or exceeds the elephant enclosure standards set by the association of zoos and aquariums aza and the canadian association of zoos and aquariums caza. Female asian elephant aka cow the asian elephant or asiatic elephant elephas maximus are smaller than their african savannah relatives loxodonta africana and have many other physical features that distinguish them.
The third camera was a 3mmdiameter chargecoupled device. I created an asian elephant focus page where the students drew, as well as labeled structural adaptations and a behavioral adaptation. They have distinctly smaller ears than african elephants. They have grey skin and differ in the size of their ears and tusks, and in. Pdf selfrecognition in the asian elephant and future. Here is a comprehensive account of different facts about asian elephants. Canon, lake success, ny with a side view of the mirror location was installed on a tripod located outside of the elephant yard at ground level. Asian elephants can consume up to 150 kg 330 lb of plant matter and 80 to 200 liters of water per day. Selfrecognition in the asian elephant and future directions for cognitive research with elephants in zoological settings joshua m. We developed a chromogenic in situ hybridization ish test for detection of eehv in asian elephants elephas maximus. Asian elephants are able to recognise their bodies as obstacles to success in problemsolving, further strengthening evidence of their intelligence and selfawareness. The african elephant loxodonta is a genus comprising two living elephant species, the african bush elephant l. Impact of poaching on an asian elephant population in periyar, southern india.
Impact of poaching on an asian elephant population in. Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus eehv is one of the most important viral infectious diseases affecting the elephant population worldwide, especially juveniles and young adults. Compared to the african elephant, asian elephants are smaller in size they are 7 to 10 feet tall and weigh about 4000 kg on an average. Think elephants international 1 recently launched oh, behave. The goal of the current study was to examine the relationship between viewing elephants in zoos accredited by the association of zoos and aquariums and zoo visitors reported conservation intent and perceptions of animal welfare. African and asian elephants are popular within zoos, however there is currently limited information on how viewing them impacts zoo visitors. Elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus infection in captive asian elephants elephas maximus in thailand. We monitored the last remaining asian elephant populations in china over the past decade. Using dna tools and repeat genotyping, we estimated the population sizes from 654 dung samples collected from various areas. The elephant is earths largest land animal, although the asian elephant is slightly smaller than its african cousin. After the recent discovery of msr in dolphins tursiops truncatus. American zoo and aquarium association aza participating institutions these are institutions that have met the accreditation standards of aza and, through azas full member participation process, participate in the elephant tagssp.