The elephant is the largest land mammal on the planet. And this animal grows up to old age. An elephant’s lifespan is approaching a century-old frontier.
Natural conditions
Детеныши этих гигантов часто подвергаются danger of being eaten by predators. Elephants that have survived the childhood period have no natural enemies, with the exception of man. If an animal can survive several long droughts throughout its life and find six hundred kilograms of greenery and two hundred liters of water for itself, if it does not become prey to poachers, then the average life of an elephant will be about seventy years.
Features of large animals
They are picky about food.But the life of an elephant depends on the condition of the teeth - after their abrasion, the animal dies from exhaustion. Roads change six times, the last - in forty years. After that, they are gradually destroyed and by the age of 50 the animals are not able to chew food.
The weight of an adult giant reaches 3-4 tons.The elephant bears a cub of 22 months. The newborn baby weighs almost 90 kg. For three years he eats his mother's milk, so for 36 months this couple is inseparable.
Elephants are smart, kind, calm, but they are also bad, evil, aggressive. By the way, if the animal is tied to one person, then only his will obey his whole life.
Giants in captivity
The life of an elephant in a zoosignificantly lower. There are only a few cases where animals died at 80 years, and then in Thailand. But whatever the right feeding and proper care, elephants are social animals, they need their own kind.
In their natural environment, they live in groups - families.The male from birth to fifteen years old is located next to the mother. The female remains with female relatives until death. Daily exercise reaches tens of kilometers. In zoos the conditions are completely different. Here physical, social and psychological needs are not satisfied as much as is possible in the wild. For normal life of elephants, zoos do not have enough territories. In addition, they are often separated, given away for breeding in other zoos. Therefore, giants in captivity are sick, and the life of an elephant is only 18-20 years.
Why is the zoo bad
As a result of research and observations of five thousand animals, the following conclusions were made:
- Elephants often indisposed.Being kept in inappropriate conditions leads to arthritis and other diseases of the extremities. Indeed, in nature, they daily pass up to 50 km, moving 18 hours each. Animals take mud baths, dust themselves, dig. Even in the best zoo, the life of an elephant is short. It resides on a solid surface, stands for a long time, often in its own waste. Consequently, infections penetrate the legs of animals, which leads to diseases.
- The nature of giants in captivity acquireshysterical. This is manifested in nodding and constant shaking of the head. The constant use of force and coercion, the content on the chain does not extend the lifespan of elephants.
- Animals live in unsuitable climatic conditions. In winter, live in close enclosures. They add antidepressants to their food so that the animals appear happy.
- The mortality of calves is much higher than in nature.
- Zoos reduce the population of elephants, selecting them from wild families.
Giants life in national parks
The longest duration is observed here.the life of an elephant. They live practically in the wild, but are under the supervision and protection of the state. They are not afraid of poachers and hunters. Animals are periodically examined and in case of any diseases or injuries provide medical care. If it is noticed that an elephant cannot feed itself or the elephant is left without a mother, they will be placed in a nursery. There, the adult giant will be looked after until death, and the little one will be released into the park when he grows up.
Giants in Thailand
В этой стране на протяжении многих веков слоны enjoyed by the inhabitants of love, respect and reverence. In the monasteries are their bronze sculptures and statues. The local population is confident that the animal figures are made from real prototypes that served in ancient times at the Siamese court. They did some work of carrying loads for the construction of fortresses and city fortifications. Fierce fighting elephants during the war were able to turn the enemy troops.
With their help, rulers found out the relationshipSoutheast Asia - the famous duel on elephants. Albino animals have always been considered a symbol of victory and luck in Thailand. Since there are very few of them in nature, the possession of a white elephant became a cherished goal for monarchs. States owning such animals were considered very powerful. Because of them, even war broke out.
Today, poachers have reduced the number of elephants in Thailand from 20,000 (1976) to 5,000. Massive deforestation also affected the number of animals.
If you think about it, it’s not so important how many years the elephant lives. The main thing is that it should exist freely and without threat to health.
Thin spiritual organization of elephants
With all the strictest bans on hunting and exportivory number of these giants steadily declining. The reason lies in the impossibility of breeding elephants in the wild. They do not maintain modern conditions of being. Animals "understand" that the offspring will not be able to survive in the conditions of bad air and cutting down the jungle.
На севере Таиланда существуют специальные nurseries for breeding and keeping elephants. Food here they get in the form of bananas and bamboo from tourists, for which they perform breathtaking stunts. They begin to wanna teach them almost from birth. Under natural conditions, they would be taught by elephants to completely different tricks - how to get food with their trunks, how to dust themselves and water them.
Good giants are very emotional and loyalanimals. They may be sad and cry, but they may laugh. They have a great memory. Elephants bury their relatives - they fall asleep their bodies with earth, cover them with branches. They also bury those whom they killed defending their young. Independent males, who left the herd, will help the former relatives, on occasion, always give the trunk.
The elephants, with their impressive external data, remain creatures with a fine mental organization. These trembling giants need to be protected by the whole world.
