The author and the lecturer have conflicting opinions about surprising behaviors of elephants. The author believes that elephants have some behaviors like being aware of approaching death, having artistic abilities, and fear of mice, yet the professor finds these hypotheses a misunderstanding about elephant's behavior. Thus, he finds each hypothesis dubious and presents some evidence to refute them in the following paragraphs.
Firstly, the author posits that elephants are aware of approaching death when they become old and weak and that is why they choose to go off alone in certain locations like lakes at this stage. The lecturer, however, holds the view that this hypothesis is not true for all of the elephants. He states that another practical reason for this behavior is that they have some problems with chewing their food when their teeth do not work properly in their old ages. For this purpose, they
…show more content…
On the contrary, the professor holds the view that this explanation is a misinterpretation about elephant's behavior. Also, he states that this behavior is for the fact that mice are unfamiliar for the elephants and this fear is part of their natural instinct about an unfamiliar object. He provides an example of elephants which live in the zoo and because they become familiar with the existence of mice, they do not have any fear to be in touch with mice because they are not considered as a threat for elephants anymore.The author and the lecturer have conflicting opinions about surprising behaviors of elephants. The author believes that elephants have some behaviors like being aware of approaching death, having artistic abilities, and fear of mice, yet the professor finds these hypotheses a misunderstanding about elephant's behavior. Thus, he finds each hypothesis dubious and presents some evidence to refute them in the following
Watch out dolphins because you may no longer be the most intelligent animals anymore! Elephants, one of our lands largest creatures, are taking your spot! In the video, Elephants Show Cooperation, the article, Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk, and the passage, from Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk in a Cooperative Task, the authors illustrate the intelligence of these pachyderms. They all show an experiment that proves this claim. Elephants “join the elite club of social cooperators: chimpanzees, hyenas, rooks, and humans.” Their cognitive ability even surprises the researchers. They not only make wise decisions, but also work well with their companions. All three sources depict the sagacity of these remarkable creatures.
Have you ever wondered how animals interact and work together to get a job done? Many times, animals put their minds together to complete a task. But what many people do not realize is that animals interact with one another just as humans would. In many instances, people don’t realize the amount of intelligence and common sense that animals, such as the elephant, possess. The study of elephant’s thoughts and thinking were explained and backed up through three different mediums. This information was explained through articles, videos, and passages. Combined, these pieces of work clarified what the experiment was, what it was testing, the purpose behind it, and how the different pieces were
The excerpt from Elephants Know When They Need a Helping Trunk is about the exact procedures and results of the same experiment that Elephants Can Lend a Helping Trunk was about. It contains the precise physical dimensions of every part of the test, and detailed explanations of each step that was followed to preform the test. Little to no opinions, quotes, or even conclusions that could be drawn were included, due to the strict, formal, and informational nature of the passage. The author's purpose was purely to explain all parts of the elephant study, and not at all to entertain or persuade.
So far this book was a nice little surprise. Like previously stated, upon picking this book up one would think that the author is crazy for writing about the lifestyles of elephants. But when it is actually explored and read its written style and messages make for this book to be taken in very easily and fluently. This language used is at the perfect level, and the subject level is complex enough that the reader has to make connections themselves or else they will become confused almost guaranteed.
Each author has the same purpose in writing about the elephant studies and there are many similarities and differences in which the elephants behaved.
The second source is a cartoon. It shows two elephants so induced to themselves they do not notice the little ants getting crushed, as the caption say: “When elephants m...
It is the highest rank that an elephant capturer can attain (Worall). This “power” has never been scientifically studied, but the people of both Burma and Thailand believe that this phenomenon exists. There are not many Khru Ba Yai left, it is said that there are a few still alive in both Burma and Thailand (Worall). These individuals became incredibly important when elephants went into “musth.” Several times a year, bull elephants go into a period called musth, a period of temporary madness. When in this state, bull elephant’s aggressiveness, testosterone levels, and mating drive spikes tremendously (Ogden). Studies have found that bull elephants are flooded with up to ten times as much testosterone as usual causing them to attack other elephants, mahouts, or anything else they may see as a threat (Ogden). In Elephant Run, Nick is given a first-hand look at how horrifying an encounter with a bull elephant in musth can be. “…The bull had uprooted every plant within reach and had plowed the ground around him into soft loam with his heavy tusks. As they approached, he started straining against his ropes in an effort to get to them” (Smith 59). However, something incredible transpired soon after Nick witnessed the roped up and infuriated bull elephant. “The monk stepped closer to the mad bull. He put his hands on one of his tusks and he leaned his old shaved head toward the bull’s ear, as if he were saying something to him” (Smith 61). The bull then relaxed after the monk named ‘Hilltop’ spoke to it. The Khru Ba Yai are a mysterious group with very few numbers in existence. It is a practice that seems utterly impossible but is ingrained in the Burmese culture as reality. The mahout tradition and practice is something so unique and utterly incredible, they risk life and limb to train and work with these magnificent animals. Interestingly enough, the mahouts of Burma actually helped in
Elephants'." Studies in Short Fiction. 17.1 (Winter 1980): 75-77. Rpt. in Literature Resource Center. Detroit: Gale, 75-77. Literature Resource Center. Gale.
This knowledge and empathy combined would anthropomorphize elephants, imagining them as more human-like and would lead to coexistence, aka the trans-species psyche. In Siebert's An Elephant Crackup?, elephants and humans as a whole are in conflict with each other due to not knowing why the other group is aggressive and thus are in constant retaliation to each other (Siebert 322). A trans-species psyche can not be achieved if humans do not imagine elephants are equal beings. This imagination is not simply making up things as if they were lies, imagining elephants as more human teaches humans that they are emotionally and socially on the same level by emphasizing their mind's eye; giving another perspective of elephants than just wild animals ready to be poached. An example of people being blind to imagination is shown in an incident when a herd of elephants killed a man near the village Katwa, but buried him out of respect. The elephants themselves elephantmorphize the human so the human is like them, but the humans that want to retrieve the man's corpse do not anthropomorphize the elephants. The human villagers shoot gunfire on the elephants to drive them away, causing future generations of traumatized and violent elephants (334). Without imagination, people would not be able to understand others(which don't have to be human) causing a lack of empathy, a trait important for creating the trans-species psyche that Siebert
Sources used in this piece were interviews with zoo staff and also visuals in the form of photographs of the elephant. Unknown, “Hattie, Central Park Elephant, Dies; News Hidden to keep Sad Children Away.” The New York Times. November 20,
There are some wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than wounds that bleed. Just as all humans, elephants similarly feel emotions whether it is joy or sorrow. In his article “An Elephant Crack Up?” the author, Charles Siebert focuses on the recent strange and bellicose behaviors of elephants and clears up the causes of the behaviors with plenty of informative observations. In “Immune to Reality,” Daniel Gilbert theorizes that the psychological immune system is triggered by large-scale negative events. We also see these negative effects in the passage, “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan,” while Ethan Watters exposes the attempts of Glaxo Smith Kline to convince the Japanese doctors that the Japanese people
The common name is the African Elephant, the scientific name is Loxodonta Africana, the phylum is Vertebrata, the class is Mammalia, the order is Proboscidea, and the family is Elephantidae. The Closest Relatives to the African Elephant are: the Asian Elephant, mammoths, primitive proboscidean (mastodons), sea cows, and hyraxes. Scientists believe that the African Elephant evolved from one of its closest relatives, the Sea Cow. The geographical location and range of the African elephant covers all of central and southern Africa. In Ethiopia there are isolated populations that exist around Lake Chad in Mali and Mauritania. Also in Kenya, Rhodesia, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Zaire, and in National parks located in South Africa, as well as several other countries. African Elephants, originally, were found in all of the Sub-Saharan African habitats except desert steppes. Elephants still occupy diverse habitats such as: temperate grassland, tropical savanna and grass lands, temperate forest and rainforest, tropical rainforest, tropical scrub forest, and tropical deciduous forest despite their drastic decline in numbers. However, their migratory patterns and habitat use have changed, due to the fact that they are restricted to protected areas. The elephant can exist in many types of environments but it prefers places that have many trees and bushes, which the elephant needs both for food and shade. They also like warm areas that have plenty of rainfall.
What do you think about when you hear the word Africa? How about the word safari? Most people tend to think about elephants or giraffes. In this paper I will tell you many important facts about elephants: how they live, their appearance, and many other interesting facts about them. There are two different kinds of elephants; the African elephant and the Asian elephant (also known as the Indian elephant). The African elephant is the larger of the two.
The number of African and Asian elephants in North American zoos is declining as a result of many medical issues. A new disease has recently been discovered that is now hindering elephant’s ability to survive even further. This is a major problem because according to Science Magazine, as of 1997, there are only an estimated 291 Asian elephants and 193 African elephants left in North American zoos. Since this survey was conducted, this number has severely declined. It is now estimated that for every elephant that is born in a zoo another three die.
Perspective is a crucial aspect of anthropology, the study of humankind and the different aspects that affect human nature. There are four main subfields of anthropology that allow anthropologists to analyze different areas of human behavior. These subfields are as follows: biological or physical anthropology, archaeology, cultural or social anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. Each area of study is equally important and is able to be integrated into one idea that looks at the whole picture rather than the individual parts (“What is Anthropology?”). This idea of looking at the complete picture rather than just the smaller “constituents” is a holistic approach to anthropology (Peters-Golden 17). A variety of elements can affect a person’s