Elephant appreciation thread

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I do appreciate elephants. I don't have any pictures at hand, but here are a few elefacts.

1. Elephants are one of only a few animal who can recognize themselves in a mirror, and may possess a limited degree of self-awareness.
2. Elephant trunks are one of the most sensitive and dexterous organs found in in any mammal.
3. Elephants really do have powerful memories by animal standards.
4. Although elephant graveyards are mostly an old wives' tale, elephants do appear to have a rudimentary understanding of death, reacting to corpses of other elephants they know in a way other animals don't.
5. Sadly, elephants cannot paint without being micromanaged by trainers in ways that border on abuse. The trainers teach them to use specific brush strokes in response to stimuli. There is no creative process as humans would understand it.
6. Elephants like music, especially classical, and if allowed to roam freely will sometimes seek it out. However, if you ever see a video of a captive elephant swaying to music, this is not a reaction to the music, this is because they feel trapped. The people who do this are not elefrens.
 
Elephants are the coolest. Some of my preferred 'feel good' videos to watch are videos from Elephant Sanctuaries run by Elefrens who go out of their way to rescue the elephants from being held captive by jeets and forced to do shit.
One of the things they do when they realize that they are no longer chained up all the time is raise their feet in the air, something that they normally can't do at all because the fucking stinking filthy subhumans that torture and exploit them keep them so limited in movement that they can't do even extremely basic things like that.

I love elephants, and it was God's worst decision to put such glorious and intelligent animals in the parts of the planet occupied by the ones who will treat them the worst.

Edit: these are the sort of chains that elephants in captivity in these dogshit countries will be forced to wear 24/7.
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Shit makes me MATI (Mad at the Indians)
 
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I used to love watching HERD’s YouTube channel, and I liked the documentary about the woman who started the Sheldrik elephant sanctuary.

Elephant orphans are incredibly difficult to raise in captivity because they have such an emotional need for an actual elephant herd.

Hearing about how baby elephants naturally gravitate towards large objects because it’s likely a natural instinct to stay by their much larger mothers and aunts is just too precious.

I know HERD is adamant on not having elephants bond to a single caretaker. It would actually be more beneficial in the long run for the elephant to have that connection and comfort, but there’s too much of a likelyhood that the caretaker would be absent and then the elephant would have trouble adjusting, so they rotate caretakers to create a community instead of letting the elephant focus on one person.

HERD also is running a lot of research into elephant herd adoption behaviour. Their elephants were transported from a country slightly North to SA (im blanking on which), and the elephants in their sanctuary must be on birth control because they do not have permission to breed more elephants. Instead they take in orphaned elephants and attempt to integrate them into their herd.

It does fairly well, they have several matrons who naturally look after baby elephants and the caretakers work to foster that behaviour. I think last year they lost a baby they took in (fell ill and never recovered), and lately their most popular elephant is a young albino who had gotten caught in a snare when she was an infant (she has a horrible scar around her head and mouth).

I haven’t heard too much scandal from either organizations. I know the woman running HERD is white and has family history caring for elephants and rhinos. Aside from having a bit of a messiah complex she does good work, and the caretakers are all black men (and some women) who are all very wholesome. They just all love the elephants.
 
UNFATHOMABLY based thread

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love these motherfuckers. Always have

do you farmers prefer Indian elephants or African elephants? Very important question. Borneo elephants are cool too but they're basically just tiny Indian ones so they only half-count
 
Anonitolia said:
do you farmers prefer Indian elephants or African elephants? Very important question. Borneo elephants are cool too but they're basically just tiny Indian ones so they only half-count
Click to expand...
I used to have a strong preference for the African ones because of their big ears, but I've been growing to appreciate the Asian ones as well. Idk, all elephants are great.
 
Here’s some elephant facts I’ve always appreciated. This is mostly for African elephants which I’m more familiar with.

Elephants ‘cry’ from glands at their temples, and their emotional capabilities surpass humans, so they are very emotional and cry over almost anything.

Elephants can talk through their feet. Their rumbles can go lower than the human ear can hear and that noise specifically travels through the ground and can be felt/heard miles away through their feet.

When elephants hear each other nearby, or smell each other after a period apart, they will work themselves into a frenzy of excitement. They will cry, scream, urinate and defecate in their excitement and race towards each other. These celebrations can last hours.

Baby elephants comfort suckle on not just their mothers, but the tests of their aunts and grandmother too. Even in cases where milk is not produced, they continue to do it for what we assume to be confort.

It is incredibly difficult to replicate elephant diet and milk formula in captivity because why they are able to eat differs so much throughout the year. Their winter is the hot dry season, and it’s common for them to only eat bark, twigs, and roughage. But this is also necessary for their gut and immune health.

Elephants and incredibly fond of fruits, and fermented fruits. One of the reasons why farmers in Africa are so anti-elephant and support hunting is because elephants often destroy crops and are difficult to dissuade.

Marula tree fruit is especially beloved by elephants, who will tear down entire trees to get at, which is why amarula liquor has an elephant on the bottle. The elephant who is featured on the bottle is with HERD and amarula company donates fallen fruits to the organization as a treat for the elephants.

You can tell female African elephants from males by looking at their tusks and heads. Male elephants have a convex forehead and wide, curved tusks. Females have a more flat forehead and while their tusks can be just as long with age, they tend to be skinnier and more straight.

Elephant herds are often lead by matriarchs who have the most experience with child rearing and survival skills like the ability to find water and food and avoid humans. A nervous temperament can disqualify an experienced elephant from leadership roles, but they really are like a huge family with many aunts, sisters, and mothers.

Boys stay with the family until their teenage years, and will steadily leave to travel together with just their male mates, then solo to follow other female herds. Some males will tolerate other males if there is a clear respected hierarchy between them, but not often, and not during rutting season.

The main defence of female elephants is the circle instinct, where the moms and aunts make a protective circle with the babies in the middle. It’s usually experienced elders or hotshot youths who charge at threats, and even with bulls the charge is sometimes a feint to get a better look.

They do not have great eyesight.

Ear slapping is a sign of agitation and aggression.

A full grown elephant can yeet and flip a rhino, but they will avoid a hippo claimed waterhole unless desperate.

Infant elephants cannot control their trunks and it is absolutely the cutest thing.

Baby elephants also love to play charge at absolutely everything, and suck their trunks like a thumb.

Elephants drink by sucking water into their trunk and then blowing it into their mouths. Salty booger water.
 
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