Are elephants frequently ill? Elephants are basically robust animals, with a very good physical constitution. This applies especially to well-fed and well cared-for zoo elephants who are not exposed to any stress. Where do ...
Mice and Elephants
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 ...
Ivory
What is ivory? Being a biological product, the tusks are comparatively soft. The hardness of the ivory and so the suitability for carving vary depending on the origin, the habitat and the sex. So ...
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 ...
Communication between the elephants
How do elephants communicate? Since elephants are not “loners”, but live in a herds, they need several possibilities of communicating with each other. The trunk, the ears, the tail, body language and naturally also ...
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 ...
Bottle fed elephantbaby – Upali
Who is Upali? Upali was born after a gestation of 662 days, on November 14, 1994 at 3.15 a.m. After Komali and Panang, Upali was Ceyla’s 3rd birth. 2 Weeks later, Upali withdrew, became ...