ELEPHANT SAVES HER BABY

Ok, it’s not about a dog or a cat. But how could you not want to watch this video?  Elephants have always fascinated me. I have decided to post a few elephant facts.

Elephants live in a very social order, the females live among one another.  Mothers, aunts, sisters, daughters all live together in a nice little group.  The lives of the males are very different, they live more solitary lives on the edges of the herds.  Only the most dominant males will be permitted to “ENGAGE” with the female elephants. Sounds like a nice system. See how much smarter they are than we ever realized? The males initiate “the mount” while the female ignores him for a short time. The male attempts such acts as trunk nuzzling, intertwining and placing their trunks in each other’s mouth.  Similar to our act of “french kissing.”

Some species of males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting.  A male will often extend his trunk along the other’s back, while pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Unlike male on female action in the elephant world, which are always one night stands, those between males result in a “companionship”, consisting of an older individual and one or two younger, attendant males. I’m not sure… but I do not believe the elephant population engages in a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

With a mass just over 11 pounds, elephant brains are larger than those of any other land animal. A wide variety of behaviors associated with intelligence have been attributed to elephants, including those associated with grief, music making, art, altruism, allomothering, play, use of tools, compassion and self-awareness.

In other words…ELEPHANTS FREAKIN ROCK!  Maybe we should think twice before hunting them for their ivory tusks, so we can have pretty little smooth objects to sit on display in our nice little homes.