My Science School

          Have you ever thought about how an enormous animal like the elephant manage its weight and size? The animal’s body has developed certain mechanisms to cope with them. If you have observed a dog or a goat, you will see that their legs are positioned at an angle. However, an elephant’s legs are like pillars. They are in an almost vertical position under their huge body. Due to this arrangement, the animal’s heavy skeleton and internal organs get a strong support.

          The skull of an elephant is special too. There are several cavities in the skull resembling a honey-comb. These hollow cavities make the skull lighter, yet strong enough to carry the weight of the trunk. Do you know that the trunk of an elephant can carry weights as heavy as 200 kilograms?

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          Have you seen an elephant race? In some countries such as Thailand, in order to attract tourists, activities like elephant races and elephant football matches are organized.

          Since such sports are cruel, there is a rising awareness worldwide regarding the need to handle animals in captivity with respect and consideration.

          In fact, elephants cannot run! All an elephant can manage to do is to walk. There are two gaits possible for an elephant: a walk and a faster gait, which is similar to running.

          When they are on the faster gait, they can reach speeds up to 49 km/h!

          At this speed, the elephant gives the impression that it is into a gallop, much like a horse.

          However, elephants cannot trot, jump or gallop. They are great swimmers, though!

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          Elephants are magnificent wild animals. Hundreds of elephants are being hunted down every year across the globe for their tusks. Ivory from elephant tusks is more valuable than gold today. The ivory trade became a serious threat to elephants in the 1970s.

          Thousands of these animals are attached by poachers using automatic weapons, motorized vehicles and airplanes. In 1990, the concern over the decline of the elephant population led to the banning of the ivory trade world over.

          However, though the ban brought about a temporary decrease in poaching, the illegal hunting of these animals has increased dramatically in the last 10 years or so.

          This is primarily due to the rapid development of the traditionally ivory-consuming nations, particularly China.

        How many kilograms of food do you consume a day? However hard you try, it will not be more than three kilograms. Do you know how much as elephant consumes a day? Compared to other animals, an elephant has a huge body frame. Therefore, elephants have to eat and drink proportionate to the size of its body.

        Do you know that an elephant consumes about 180 kg of food each day? It spends about 18 hours just eating. Elephants are herbivores and feed on grasses, tree foliage, and bark, twigs and other vegetation. African elephants largely prefer tree leaves, bark, and branches, Asian elephants, on the other hand, shrubs, in addition to juicy leaves and fruit.

        These animals need to drink a lot of water too. An elephant consumes about 190 litres of water a day. That is how much water a standard bathtub can hold!

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        Have you ever gone close to an elephant? The most intimidating aspect of an elephant is its size. An enormous tusker is an awe-inspiring sight. While the Asian elephant is big, the African bush elephant is bigger.

        The most obvious difference between the African and the Asian elephants is the size of their ears. The African’s ears are twice as big as those of the Asian. There is difference in the structure of the chewing surface of the teeth too. While the teeth of the Asian elephant have close narrow loops, the African elephants have wider, diamond shaped surfaces.

        There are four toes on an Asian elephant’s hind foot, while the African has only three. There are more folds or rings in the African elephant’s trunk. Its trunk has two fingers at its tip. The Asian counterpart has only one finger at the end of the trunk. Another significant difference between these animals is that while among the Asian elephants the females do not tusks, the female African elephant has long tusks!

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        Although elephants are the biggest land animals, there is variation among the species in terms of their size and weight.

        The African bush elephants are largest in the Elephantidea family. The males of these species are about 3.2 metres tall at their shoulder. They weigh up to 6 tonnes. Male Asian elephants, on the other hand, grow up to 2.75metres at their shoulder. They are much lighter than African bush elephants, with a weight about 5 tonnes. The smallest elephant species is the African forest elephants. They grow to a height of about 2.2 metres and weights between 2-5 tonnes.

        There are differences in physical features between the male and the female elephants. Male African elephants are typically 23% taller than females, whereas male Asian elephants are only around 15% taller than females. There are about 326 to 351 bones in an elephant’s body.

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        There will be hardly anyone who does not know the answer to this question. The largest living land animal is none other than the elephant. Usually two kinds of elephants are identified in terms of their location: the Asian, and the African variety. Of the African bush elephants, with their huge ears and longer tusks, are bigger than their Asian counterparts. These animals are known for their physical features and great strength. They live long, and possess complex herd behavior.

        These animals belong to the family Elephantidae. There are three species identified among elephants: the African bush elephant and the Asian elephant. They play a major role in nature and therefore are considered keystone species due to their impact on nature.

        In Asia, these animals are domesticated for various hard tasks. In times gone by, they played a key role in wars. Today, these majestic animals are exploited by Man for entertainment, and are put on display in zoos.

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        It has been a perennial quest of Man to know where he came from. While the theory of evolution gave him clues as to who his closest relatives are. Great apes are much like us, sharing great genetic resemblance. In fact, bonobos share 98.5% of the human DNA. This is the reason why they possess very human-like qualities too.

        Bonobos are profoundly intelligent and possess deep emotional capacity. It is reported that bonobos have picked up many important features of human culture while in captivity. Most of this was accomplished through their ability to observe, and assimilate ideas.

        They are intelligent enough to learn how to   communicate, use tools and play music. In a case reported, a female bonobo tried her hand at driving a golf cart, though a short while later, it crashes on to a free!

        No doubt, a bonobo is very much like a human.

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          As its name suggests, the pygmy chimpanzees is not as big as the common chimpanzee. As is the common feature among all primates, the adult female bonobo is somewhat smaller than the adult male. While the male is about 35 to 60 kilograms, the female is only 30 kilograms. The length of a bonobo from nose to rump when it is on all fours is 70 to 85 cm. However, when standing upright, these animals can reach a height of about 115 cm. The head of a bonobo is relatively smaller than that of the common chimpanzee. This is mainly due to the less prominent ridges it has over its eyes.

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        Bonobo are an endangered species. Due to their size, they are also known as the pygmy chimpanzees, dwarf or gracile chimpanzees. Once, scientists thought that they were a sub-species of chimpanzees. However, today, we know that they are a distinct species. Very often, both bonobos and common chimpanzees are collectively known by the generalized term chimpanzees.

        Bonobo have distinct physical features. They have relatively long legs, pink lips, and a dark face and tail-tufts as they reach their adulthood.

        These apes have parted long hair on their heads. When it comes to similarities with humans, the bonobos are as close as the chimpanzees!

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        There is no question as to who is more intelligent between a man and chimpanzees, or any other animal. However, when it comes to physics strength and stamina, Man may take back seat. An adult chimpanzee is far superior to Man when it comes to physical strength.

        Chimpanzees live in groups in which 20 to 25 individuals stay together. One or two large males are the leaders of such groups. The others are some young males and females with their young. It is common among the chimpanzees to get into territorial disputes. The male leader with a broader chest and muscular arms can hurl large boulders and branches of trees with ease.

        However, the chimpanzee is no match for Man who possesses modern weapons. These marvelous creatures are hunted for meat even today. One of the dangers that chimpanzees face today, apart from habitat loss, is poaching.

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        All primates live in societies. Much like humans they build up a family, play roles in the community and enjoy each other’s company. Chimpanzees have the most complex life among all the apes.

        A chimpanzee community consists of loose and flexible groups of males and females. Scientists call it ‘fusion and fission’ societies. They live in a fixed home range, led by a dominant male. It is not necessary that the members of a community should stick to it forever. One can leave or join these communities at will. However, all these depend on their reproductive status and the availability of resources.

        Chimpanzees have a complex set of communication mechanisms. Zoologists have observed that, through innumerable facial expressions, body postures, gestures, signs and sounds, these animals can work out how to solve simple problems in the wild and in captivity.

        Chimpanzees seem to be the link between the world of animals and our human world, as they are our closest relatives. The body structure, genes, behavior patterns and intelligence of these animals and their history of evolution suggest that chimpanzees are Man’s cousins!

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        Every organism has a vital and indispensable role in nature. Every time an animal species becomes extinct, it adversely affects the equilibrium that nature sustains on Earth. Orang-utans have a key role as they are known as the ‘gardeners of the forest.’

        Orang-utans play a significant role as they help disperse seeds in forests. They are also important in maintain the health of the forest ecosystem. They fulfill this important task and animals like tigers, Asian elephants, Sumatran rhinos and we, human beings, benefits from this. Therefore, conserving the habitat of orang-utans is essential for local communities of human beings, and other animal species in the ecosystem.

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        Although primates are generally fond of trees, not all apes prefer staying up on a tree. Among apes, the largest tree-climbing mammal is the orang-utan. A male orang-utan grows to 1.4 metres tall, and weighs about 75 kilograms. A female ape weighs around 37 kilograms only. An orang-utan’s arms are strong and powerful. Its hands can grow longer than their legs, and can reach 2 metres in length! Therefore, when an orang-utan stands upright, its hands touch the ankles of its feet.

        Two different types of orang-utans are generally identified: flanged and unflanged. Flanged male orang-utans have prominent cheek pads and throat sacs. These animals can make loud verbalizations called ‘long calls’, using the throat coat of dark hair on their back.

        Orang-utans are facing a bleak future as their forest habitats in Indonesia and Malaysia are rapidly disappearing due to human intervention.

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        We all know that humans are the most intelligent of all organisms. A proof of our intelligence is our ability to use sophisticated tools. Among animals, there are a few that can use simple tools. Gorillas are considered highly intelligent, as they are capable of using tools.

        Some gorillas have displayed a capacity to learn some sign language too. A gorilla named Koko started learning sign language from the age of one and the time she was 40, she had acquired about 1000 signs, and could understand about 2000 words in English.

        Their intelligence is evident in their communication skills too. Gorillas have been said to produce about 25 different sounds with diverse meanings.

        Do you know that gorillas can laugh? Apes in general have that ability. In fact, the great apes laugh, express grief, have individual colour preferences, make use of tools and think about the past and the future.

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