Tag Archives: elephants

Rhinos and Elephants in Danger

As you might guess, it is illegal to kill elephants and rhinos in Africa. However, with ivory and horns in high demand, it hasn’t stopped poaching. Most of the world’s population of rhinos is found in Africa – about 25,000. Of that, the organization Save the Rhinos estimates that 21,000 are in South Africa. But, the rhinos are being killed in almost record numbers by poachers. This year, 633 rhinos have been killed. The elephants of Africa aren’t faring much better. There were mass killings in both Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Why are these animals being … Continue reading →

Koshik the Talking Elephant

Could our next best friend be an elephant?  Maybe not for most of us here stateside, where we’re not exactly equipped to properly look after pachyderms.  But the news out of a zoo in South Korea, reported by BBC News, shows that an elephant has entered the next stage of the human-animal bond: talking. Before now, the only animals we could conceive of really being able to replicate our speech were parrots.  Now elephants are joining the list.  Koshik is a 12-year-old Asian elephant that lives at a zoo in South Korea.  When he started making sounds that his keepers thought … Continue reading →

Dog: Elephant’s Best Friend

I’ve wanted to post this video for a long time. However, I try to space out my articles about cute animal videos, or unlikely animal best friends, and this is one of both. It just might edge out the hand-holding otters for my favorite animal video on the internet. A few months ago CBS Evening News highlighted the extraordinary events at The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. While the sanctuary is ostensibly for elephants and caters mostly to them, it does take in other needy animals, particularly stray dogs. Because there are 2,700 acres at the Sanctuary, there’s plenty of … Continue reading →

Disney Scientists Learn the Language of Elephants

I expect a lot of things from Disney, but science isn’t one of them. Well, I should amend that statement. Disney’s known for innovation in artistic fields, and sometimes that bleeds into the sciences with the architectural and other advances made by the Imagineers or at Pixar/the Animation Studio. But I never expect to hear of new scientific discoveries made, and published in professional scientific journals, by Disney employees. That’s just what happened this past year, however, as scientists from Disney’s Animal Kingdom teamed up with Oxford University and the zoological group Save the Elephants to study a herd of … Continue reading →

Ringling Bros. Fires Back at PETA

Yesterday, I blogged about PETA releasing photos and videos that reportedly showed mistreatment of baby elephants by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus employees. PETA has also been protesting at elementary schools before the circus comes to town, trying to encourage students and parents to stay away. It took an Ellie mascot with a bloody bandage to August Circle Elementary in Greenville, So. Carolina in early February. Ellie handed out activity books and talked to the children about Ringling Bros. treatment of its elephants. Ellie has also appeared at elementary schools in Nashville, Tenn., Tallahassee, Fla., Orlando, Fla., Fort … Continue reading →

What’s Up with Zoos Considering Evicting Their Residents?

This week there’s been some disturbing stories in the news about zoos considering evicting some of their residents. In particular, the Los Angeles Zoo might evict it’s only elephant, Billy, and the Berlin Zoo is considering ousting what only two years ago was its superstar attraction, Knut the polar bear. Bye Bye Billy? Poor Billy is the center of one heck of a controversy and he doesn’t even know it. It all started when the Los Angeles Zoo started construction on a new enclosure for Billy. Nay, it was to be more than an “enclosure.” It was going to be … Continue reading →

Baby Elephant Born Amid Drama

It’s the birth announcement the Portland, Oregon area was waiting for: Portland Zoo elephant Rose-Tu gave birth to a 286 pound male on August 23rd after thirty-one hours of labor. The Portland Zoo posted updates on Rose-Tu as she went through labor, starting early in the day on Friday the 22nd. When labor officially began, volunteers started monitoring mama on video monitors. They kept an eye on things (and kept updating the Portland Zoo website) throughout the day and night — keepers, vets, volunteers, and media folks all kept the vigil. Rose-Tu’s water broke around 11:30am on Saturday the 23rd. … Continue reading →

Five Species + 15 Minutes = Crazy News

I don’t know what’s going on this week, but it seems like every time I turn on the TV there’s another animal story. Maybe this is par for the course. Maybe there’s always this much coverage of animals and for some reason it’s just catching my eye this week. Who knows? All I know is there are five species who all got their 15 minutes of fame this week whether they wanted it or not. Peregrine Falcons Yesterday I heard on Today that the San Jose City Hall celebrated Earth Day in a big way when three baby peregrine falcons … Continue reading →

The Pets Blog Week in Review for December 31 – January 6

Last week Aimee and I said goodbye to 2007 and welcomed 2008. Here’s how we did it. Monday, December 31 The Top Pets Blogs of 2007: January – May A breakdown of which blogs you, Dear Reader, liked most. The Top Pets Blogs of 2007: June – December The continuation of the above for the back half of the year. Tuesday, January 1 Resolutions for a Yappy New Year I listed the goals I want to accomplish both professionally and personally. Survivors of Melamine Poisoning What happened to the pets who survived last year’s Menu Foods debacle? Aimee wrote a … Continue reading →

Elephant Anatomy Facts

My new fascination with elephants continues. Here are some interesting things I’ve learned about elephant anatomy! The trunk is pretty amazing. It is actually an extension of the upper lip of the elephant. The shape and length varies from one elephant to another — some have trunks that reach the ground and some don’t. The tip of the trunk is a very sensitive organ that is used much like humans use their hands. The trunk is used for picking up objects but is also used for breathing, sucking up water, and spraying water to cool the body. Imagine if you … Continue reading →