The Indian Elephant
Elephants are an important cultural icon in Asia. According to Indian mythology, the gods (deva) and the demons (asura) churned the oceans in a search for the elixir of life so that they would become immortal. As they did so, nine jewels surfaced, one of which was the elephant.
In Hinduism, the powerful deity honored before all sacred rituals is the elephant-headed Lord Ganesha, who is also called the Remover of Obstacles.
Indian elephants are extremely sociable, forming groups of six to seven related females that are led by the oldest female, the matriarch. Like African elephants, these groups occasionally join others to form herds, although these associations are relatively transient.
More than two thirds of an elephant’s day may be spent feeding on grasses, but large amounts of tree bark, roots, leaves and small stems are also eaten. Cultivated crops such as bananas, rice and sugarcane are favorite foods.
The Indian elephant follows strict migration routes that are determined by the monsoon season. The eldest elephant of the herd is responsible for remembering the migration route.
The Indian elephant migration generally takes place between the wet and dry seasons and problems arose when farms where built along the migratory routes of the herds, as the elephants caused a great deal of destruction to the newly founded farmland.
Today, the Indian elephant is considered to be an animal that is in immediate danger of becoming extinct (50,000 left in the wild) due to the fact that populations have been declining at a critical rate.
The illegal wildlife trade is annually worth more than
19 billion US dollars.
The Western Black Rhino was declared extinct in 2013.
Don't let this happen to the elephants as well.
