Ep.68: Elephants – Top 7 Types

May 28, 2023 Peter Jans

Intro

Hello and Welcome to this episode of the podcast, "The Mnemonic Tree", where we add a single mnemonic leaf to our Tree of Knowledge.

Today's episode is on one of my favourite animals the giant of all land animals, the Elephant. Known for their social cohesion, intelligence, empathy and memory the elephant is also one of the longest living land animals on the planet. Unfortunately, this majestic animal is threatened with ongoing poaching due to their tusks, and habitat destruction from human expansion. So, lets help get the word out to protect and venerate this humble giant.

Today’s mnemonic is on seven different types of elephants.

So, with no further ado, we will begin with a summary from Wikipedia.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:African_Bush_Elephant.jpg

Wikipedia Summary

Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. The order was formerly much more diverse during the Pleistocene, but most species became extinct during the Late Pleistocene epoch. Distinctive features of elephants include a long proboscis called a trunk, tusks, large ear flaps, pillar-like legs, and tough but sensitive skin. The trunk is used for breathing and is prehensile, bringing food and water to the mouth, and grasping objects. Tusks, which are derived from the incisor teeth, serve both as weapons and as tools for moving objects and digging. The large ear flaps assist in maintaining a constant body temperature as well as in communication. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears, and convex or level backs.

Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia and are found in different habitats, including savannahs, forests, deserts, and marshes. They are herbivorous, and they stay near water when it is accessible. They are considered to be keystone species, due to their impact on their environments. Elephants have a fission–fusion society, in which multiple family groups come together to socialise. Females (cows) tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. The leader of a female group, usually the oldest cow, is known as the matriarch.

Males (bulls) leave their family groups when they reach puberty and may live alone or with other males. Adult bulls mostly interact with family groups when looking for a mate. They enter a state of increased testosterone and aggression known as musth, which helps them gain dominance over other males as well as reproductive success. Calves are the centre of attention in their family groups and rely on their mothers for as long as three years. Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild. They communicate by touch, sight, smell, and sound; elephants use infrasound and seismic communication over long distances. Elephant intelligence has been compared with that of primates and cetaceans. They appear to have self-awareness, and appear to show empathy for dying and dead individuals of their kind.

African bush elephants and Asian elephants are listed as endangered and African forest elephants as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). One of the biggest threats to elephant populations is the ivory trade, as the animals are poached for their ivory tusks. Other threats to wild elephants include habitat destruction and conflicts with local people. Elephants are used as working animals in Asia. In the past, they were used in war; today, they are often controversially put on display in zoos, or exploited for entertainment in circuses. Elephants have an iconic status in human culture and have been featured in art, folklore, religion, literature, and popular culture.

Extracted from: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elephant_Family_in_Tanzania.jpg

Mnemonic

Elephants - Top 7 Types – PAAASSI

(The name Pasi (Hindi:) is composed of two words Pa (grip) and asi (sword), implying one who holds a sword in his hand or in other words a soldier.)

(Picture an Elephant holding a sword in his trunk wearing a soldier’s uniform)

1. Pygmy Elephant

2. African Forest Elephant

3. African Savanna/Bush Elephant

4. Asian Elephant

5. Sri Lankan Elephant

6. Sumatran Elephant

7. Indian Elephant

Five Fun Facts

1. The Asian Elephant is divided into three subspecies which are the Indian elephant, the Sri Lankan Elephant and the Sumatran elephant.

2. The pygmy elephants which consist of the African pygmy elephant and the Borneo pygmy elephant are not considered separate species. They actually were once considered separate species, having the genus and species name of Loxodonta pumilio, however after further genetic testing they were found to be one of the three main species of elephants and that their difference in size, is due to environmental conditions.

3. The main difference between the African and Asian elephants is mainly due to their size. However, they have many more subtle differences such as, the shape of their head, their ears, their trunks, their colouration and the number of their toenails.

4. Addo Elephant National Park in South Africa was established in 1931. Its purpose was to protect the areas last 11 elephants. Years later it is now home to more than 350 elephants.

5. As its name suggests the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) is native to humid forests of West Africa and the Congo Basin. With a weight between 2 to 4 tonnes and a height of around 2.4 metres (7 foot 10 inches) it is significantly smaller that its African counterpart. It is also darker in appearance and has tusks that are relatively straight and pointing downwards.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%89l%C3%A9phants.JPG

Three Question Quiz

Q.1. What are the three different living species of Elephants currently recognised?

Q.2. What extinct creature was also part of the Elephantidae family?

Q.3. How long do elephants live for? Options are, up to 20 years, up to 45 years or up to 70 years

Bonus Q. What is a baby elephant called?

Bonus Q. Approximately how many hours a day do elephants spend eating? Options are, up to four hours, up to ten hours or up to 18 hours

Bonus Q. Why do elephants drink so much?

Mnemonic Recap

Elephants - Top 7 Types – PAAASSI

(Picture an Elephant holding a sword in his trunk wearing a soldier’s uniform)

1. Pygmy Elephant

2. African Forest Elephant

3. African Savanna/Bush Elephant

4. Asian Elephant

5. Sri Lankan Elephant

6. Sumatran Elephant

7. Indian Elephant

Three Question Quiz Answers

Q.1. What are the three different living species of Elephants currently recognised?

A. The African Bush Elephant, the African Forest Elephant and the Asian Elephant

Q.2. What extinct creature was also part of the Elephantidae family?

A. The Woolly Mammoth

Q.3. How long do elephants live for? Options are, up to 20 years, up to 45 years or up to 70 years

A. Up to 70 years

Bonus Q. What is a baby elephant called?

A. A calf

Bonus Q. Approximately how many hours a day do elephants spend eating? Options are, up to four hours, up to ten hours or up to 18 hours

A. Up to 18 hours

Bonus Q. Why do elephants drink so much?

A. Because they’re always trying to forget! And I suppose that would also help explain why they’re always broke, along with the fact that they work for peanuts!

Word of the Week

brume

[ broom ]

noun

mist; fog.

Example

A large herd of elephants emerged from the brume, as we left camp early in the morning

Extracted from: [https://www.dictionary.com/]

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References