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Elephants are an important part of Thai culture and the Thai way of life. Elephants in Thailand have always been a symbol of both power and peace. They have performed the most exacting physical tasks. And they have always been well loved.
During ancient time, elephants roamed freely throughout Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Prior to the 18th century they were the main machine of Southeast Asian war, a Thai king of the late 17th century having had 20,000 war elephants trained for battle. This feature of War Elephants was most renowned in the 300-year-war between Burma and Thailand which resulted in Burma's sacking of Ayutthaya in 1767.
A white elephant is even on the flag of the Royal Thai navy, and the "order of the white elephant" is one of the highest honors, bestowed by the king.
Elephant trekking in the jungles of Thailand is a unforgettable experience. Tamed and well-trained, big, gentle and graceful - the Thai elephant. They can be your best friend.
The Talented Thai Elephants
Talent for a stately presence, for delicate foot movement and agility, for intelligence on the field of sport, and at the same time a particular gentleness that makes the elephant not only a highly respected creature but also one that is appreciated and loved.
Elephant Racing - Races were actually part of the elephant war training in old Siam, where the elephants were lined up and on command charged. Today, elephants are taught the delicate steps and maneuvers of such tactics in order to recreate the battle scenes of the " Kraal Paniad". These races and accompanying tactics require the elephant to learn and respond to more than 60 separate commands. On the signal to take off, the elephants begin a stampede, and this quickly turns into a rhythmic, flowing ballet on the dust. The elephants are fast and as they gather momentum the race becomes an elegant performance of step, turn and curve.
Elephant Sports - Elephants have a special talent for sports. They have their own games in the privacy of the forest and are often very competitive, but they play sports they are taught too. One of these is a competitive race on an obstacle course, where each elephant is required to pick up various items along the way, hold these with his trunk, and return them to the finish line . In one of Thailand's elephant training centers, the objects are Coke bottles . Another sport the elephants are taught to play is elephant football. In this game the elephants toss around a rather large ball, using their trunks and competing to see who can score the highest. These are fun sports for the elephant and require a little more thought than their traditional water games of spraying themselves and others.
Elephant Dance - they love music.
In Thailand, elephants
are trained to perform dance routines to various numbers in the rock,
jazz and folk categories. Their trainers line them up and when the
music begins they receive the command to start. They sway and prance to the
rhythm, trunks swinging, feet keeping time with the beat, and heads swaying to
and fro. When the music changes, they're steps change with it, perhaps from a
fast tempo to a slow, melancholy waltz. The elephant's preference for music and
talent for dance are excellent.
Elephant Friendship -
Elephants, like people, place a high value on
friendship. In any elephant group the elephants tend to pair up
and stay very close together with their friends. They have their likes
and dislikes, In a caravan or on a trek, the
mahouts have to take special care in lining up the elephants
before departure. They are placed one behind the other so that friends are
together. If an elephant is placed apart from his friend, he will likely refuse
to budge and the caravan will not move. Elephant friendship becomes most
obvious when the female is about ready to give birth.
She searches out her friend and solicits help in delivery. This the friend does
willingly, and even helps separate the placenta from the newborn baby.
Endangered Species
As well known there are two major different species of elephant - the African
(Loxodonta africana) and the Asian variety (Elephas maximus). The African
Elephant is larger and its numbers are estimated at about 500,000 whilst the Asian
Elephant has fallen to below 30,000 today.
There are a number of elephant races within the Asian species. For instance
the Indian elephant, is bigger, has longer front legs and a thinner body
than the Thai type. Of course the White Elephant was an
elegant Asian species
It is notable that at the start of the 20th century (1900 AD) over
100,000 elephants graced the Siamese (Thai) countryside.
Today only 3,000 - 4,000 Asian Elephants left in
Thailand. Around half of
this number are domesticated, the remainder living wild in National
Parks Reserves.
All about Elephant:
Thai Elephant Size: The Largest animal on today's Earth.
Male: 2.7m (9ft) in height ;
Weight 3,200 -
4,500 kg.
Female: 2.3 m (7.5 ft) in height; Weight 2,300 - 4,500 kg.
Newly born baby elephants: 0.9m (3ft) in height; weight 90kg.
Elephant Brain: weighs about 5 kg (4 times the weight of a
human).
Elephant Life Cycle:
The life cycle of the elephant is remarkably similar to the human being. The baby elephant suckles milk using the mouth, not trunk, and weaned on milk between 2 - 4 years. Begin work at age 16 and fully grown at 20 years Are in their working prime between 20-40; on light duties only when they reach 50; live around 70 years.
They are secretive and shy, keeping their distance from other animals. Only four hours
are needed to rest each night and they only lie down to sleep
when they are sick.
All the females in the herd often take turns to look after the baby elephants. If the mother dies then the other females look after the orphaned baby.
An elephant will be able to tell if a
corpse is from the same herd. If so then
the whole herd will avoid that area,
apparently out of respect.
Elephant Physiology:
Elephant Sight: Rather poor vision capable of seeing clearly only at very
short distances up to about 10 metres. The eye is small in comparison with the head and
there is only a vestigial tear gland. Elephants do not have a
tear duct and 'tears' simply evaporate or run down the
cheek.
Elephant Hearing: Excellent hearing superior to human
standards. Largest ear of any creature act as amplifiers and
warn of possible dangers. They communicate in extremely
low ranges and sounds can travel many kilometers. this ability is mainly used
when communicating between a female in heat looking for a suitable
male companion. The sound made is beyond the range of the human
hear but is said to contribute to the "rumble in the
jungle".
The"knuckle" found at the back of the ear is amongst
the softest parts of the body and is used by professional elephant
riders (mahouts) to steer and direct the creature.
Elephant Smell: Highly developed sense of smell thought to be superior to that of any other land mammal. The nostrils are at the tip of the trunk. Elephants can detect scents from long distances, up to several kilometres.
Elephant Touch: Acute deftness of balance achieved by high tactile sense.
Elephant Taste: Comparable to all higher animals and can easily distinguish between unsuitable, suitable and favored fodder.
Elephant Heartbeat: Elephant heart beat rate is about 28 beats per minute, much slower than humans.
Elephant Trunk:
The trunk is a wonderful organ. A boneless mass
of flesh and consists of up to 100,000 muscles. It is 2 meters
long and weighs around 140 kg. The trunk has a small finger like lip at the end which can
distinguish between size, shape, texture, hot and cold.
It can be used for such diverse tasks as shifting a 600 kg log
to picking up a coin. The animal uses its trunk to feed and drink by bringing food and water
to the mouth, breathe, make noises, caress it's young and sometimes even fight. When
totally submerged in water the trunk can also be used as a snorkel. Trunks can hold
six liters of water and are often used as a flexible shower hose pipe. It is a superb organ of smell, and can be directed easily
toward the source.
By beating the ground violently with the trunk, the elephant signals its anger or
displeasure.
When an elephant is on unsteady or unfamiliar ground it will use the outside
of the trunk to beat the earth, determining if the ground is firm enough to walk
on. Once safety is substantiated the front foot is moved forward onto the tested area.
The rear foot follows and is carefully placed in exactly the same footprint.
Elephants love to touch each other.
Explore friends with their trunk or slide sniff at their mate. They
are an extremely sensitive creature. Friends enjoy touching each other using the
trunk as an arm.
Elephant Tusks & Teeth : Tusks are, in fact teeth (incisors) and are classified as ivory. Males have larger tusks of up to 1.5 -1.8m in length whilst the females do not have tusks at all.
Milk tusks are fully grown at just 2 inches long and are shed before the
calf reaches it's second birthday. Permanent tusks then begin to grow.
The purpose of the tusk is to dig for food, clear debris, fight and to carry
heavy loads of up to 1 ton. Tusks never stop growing.
Molars (grinding teeth) are at least 30 cm long and weigh about 4
kg. The animal has only four of these teeth at any one time. New molars
form in the back of the mouth and push the old ones forward and out completely. An elephant usually grows six sets of these molars in a life-time,
the final set grows when it is about 40 years of age. When the last set decays, around 70 years, the elephant finds it hard to eat and subsequently a great
many are likely to die of starvation.
Breeding Patterns and Birth:
Males are highly individualistic and only join the herd for mating seasons.
Males duel each other with the winner claiming steed rights for the whole herd.
Deaths sometimes occur from wounds inflicted in these duels.
The female runs away coyly for a short while, as part of a ritual, before
submitting to her victorious mate.
The male's penis is retractable, there is no scrotum
and the testicles are housed internally. Copulation takes around 20 seconds with
very little movement or noise. Mating continues promiscuously (with other herd
males), for two days after which the most powerful male drives off the others. He
then remains with the female for around three weeks.
The female carries out the pregnancy for 22 months and when parturition
(birth) occurs other herd females form a circle around the pregnant one. She assumes a squatting position while giving
birth, and the birth takes around 2 hours.
In regions where large carnivores, such as big cats, prey upon newly born animals
the mother forms alliances with other herd members. Mother and associated protectors then blow dust over the
new-born calf with their trunks in order to dry it.
Just two hours after birth the calf can stand up and begins to suckle milk from the mother.
Elephant Food:
The elephants are purely vegetarian. Favored foods include: Bananas,
bamboo, berries, mangoes, coconuts, corn, jungle shrubs, palm fruits, sugar
cane, wood apples Feronia elephantorum and wild rice.
Eat around 200-300 Kg food per day Drink about 150
liters of water.
The elephants digestion system is quite
inefficient and only around 50% of the food eaten is utilized.
In western Zoos they are often fed bread and have developed a taste for this
type of food.
Salt is essential and the elephant shows a distinct liking for it.
Cold climates cause stomach aches.
Some elephants will even peel fruit
before eating.
The Thai white elephant is very particular about eating and will not consume any food that has fallen on the ground and will not eat with the rest of the herd.
Related Animal Species :
Historically
there were some 300 different species that
belonged to this category. These included
mastodons, mammoths and pygmy
elephants believed to have died out in
Southern Thailand in the early 1920's.
All other members of the proboscidea
animal are now extinct.
The nearest current relative to elephants
are the dugong and manatees, sometimes
referred to as sea cows, which belong to
the sirenia order. Fossil and other
scientific studies indicate that in a
geological time-frame that this is a fairly
recent branching off from a common
ancestor.
Thailand Soft Expeditions 2001 & 2002:
Thai Cultural & Historical Expedition (TRX No. TX01)
The Pearl of the Andamam Sea - Package A (PJT No. PA0A)
The Pearl of the Andamam Sea - Package B (PJT No. PA0B )
The Pearl of the Andamam Sea - Package C (PJT No. PA0C )
The Pearl of the Andamam Sea - Package D
Background information:
Amazing Thailand - The Land of Smile
The Grand Palace - Panorama Views
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