Trivia question for Apr-09-2011

Olivia is ready today with her trivia and she feels confident she has not made it easy for you… let’s see how she did.  These are one of the last gentle land giants around.

Elephants have four molars; each weighs about 11 lbs and measures about 12 in long.  As the front pair wears down and drops out in pieces, the back pair shifts forward, and two new molars emerge in the back of the mouth.  Elephants replace their teeth six times.  At about 40 to 60 years of age, the elephant no longer has teeth and will likely die of starvation, a common cause of death.

Their tusks are teeth; the second set of incisors become the tusks.  They are used for digging for roots and stripping the bark off trees for food, for fighting each other during mating season, and for defending themselves against predators. The tusks weigh from 51–99 lb and can be from 5–8 ft long.  One of the largest tusks ever recorded measured 12-feet and weighed over 250-lbs.

So here are Olivia’s questions:  We all know that a large group on elephants are known as herds, what do you call the group when several herds band together while looking for or sharing water holes?  Also, tell us how elephants greet each other and how long the gestation period (meaning how long are they pregnant) is before they give birth?

While we were in New Orleans delivering our Animal Rescue Supplies to the Marine Mammal & Sea Turtle Rescue Center, we had a chance to visit the New Orleans Zoo.  The folks at the zoo were kind enough to allow Carter and Olivia to go behind the scenes and actually feed their Indian Elephants.  During the feeding, we learned several ways you can tell the difference between Indian and African elephants.  Can you tell us two easy ways to tell them apart?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to our friends at the Environmental Club (University of Belize) for being the first with the correct answer.  They got everything answered correct except for one small question which had to do with what you call a large group of elephants which is comprised of several herds.  During the dry season, many groups in the same area may come together around a waterhole or while in search of water.  These groups are usually related , although distantly.  The merging of herds creates a super group known as a ‘Clan’.  These clans typically break up again when water is plentiful.

As groups gather, greetings are exchanged; some elephants entwine trucks in a ‘handshake’ or touch each other’s mouths with their trunks to renew bonds.  As for the answer to how long these elephants are pregnant, the answer is 22-months.  Despite their average weight at birth of around 250-lbs, they are still vulnerable to predators, especially lions.  Unfortunately, only 1 in 3 will ever make it to adulthood.

African elephants are bigger than Asian elephants. Males stand 10–13 ft tall at the shoulder and weigh 10,000–13,330 lbs, while females stand 7.2–8.5 ft tall and weigh 4,800–7,130 lbs.  Their are several other ways to tell the difference between the species which include the fact that Asian elephants have two round bulges on their forehead which the African Elephant does not.

Also African Elephants have bigger ears that cover the neck and Asian elephants have smaller ears that don’t.  You can also tell the difference by looking at their trunk.  Asian elephants only have one extension (finger) on the end of their trunk while African elephants have two fingers which helps them grip their food similar to using your hands.  Here is more on these big eared elephants: African Elephant

Thanks for playing along 😉

Also, if you want to help save the last remaining elephants, please visit the website from our friends at The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW – www.ifaw.org) and take part in their Save the World’s Remaining Elephants campaign.  Thank you for your support 😉