Are elephants really afraid of mice? The rumour that elephants are scared of mice is very persistent and there are whole collections of jokes circulating on this topic. However, these jokes are just as ...
Keeping elephants
How are elephants kept? Nowadays, three different kinds of elephant keeping are used in zoos: “Free Contact”, “Protected Contact” and “Offhand Management”. However, in circuses, elephants are being shown in the ring. Working with ...
Ankus, Elephant Hook and Whip
What is an elephant hook? The ankus or elephant hook, in the colloquial language of the elephant keepers briefly named hooks, is an very old aid in handling elephants by humans in a direct ...
Elephant foot and foot care
How do elephants walk? Elephants can neither run nor jump. Elephants walk on the tips of their fingers and on the tips of their toes. They are so-called digitigrades and belong to a group ...
Elephant Feeding
What do elephants eat? Anyone who has ever watch the elephants while eating, will never use the term “seizure” for ingestion of elephants. The elephants eat in peace, where they prepare every bite palatable. ...
European Elephant Group
Dear elephant lovers In 1993, 1997, 1999, 2001, as well as in 2002, the European Elephant Group published in cooperation with the association ELEFANTEN-SCHUTZ EUROPA e.V. [PROTECTION OF ELEPHANTS EUROPE, registered association] altogether 5 ...
Death in the elephant stable
How old can elephants grow? The life expectancy of an elephant is between 0 and 50 up to 60 years. In spite of this high life expectancy, only a few elephants do actually reach ...
The commands for the elephants
How many commands does a zoo elephant know? In his daily contact with the elephants, an elephant keeper uses about 16 different commands. By means of these commands, he communicates verbally with the elephants. ...
Elephants in Chains
Is the chaining up of elephants an issue? The fact that elephants are restrained by ropes or chains is a topic on which there has been a lot of discussion, both among elephant keepers ...
Elephantbulls and bulls managements
Are bulls a big challenge? The male elephants represent a special challenge within the keeping of elephants. As is the case for most mammals, also with the elephants the male animal is stronger and ...