fact
African elephants can exchange information by emitting low-frequency sounds that travel dozens of miles under the ground on the savanna. The sound waves come from the animals’ huge vocal cords, and distant elephants “hear” the signals with their highly sensitive feet.
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The elephant’s closest relative looks like a guinea pig. The rock hyrax is a small, furry, rat-like mammal that lives in rocky landscapes across sub-Saharan Africa and along the coast of the Arab peninsula. Elephants and rock hyraxes share common features like having two tusks and nails instead of claws, but their closest common ancestor […]
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If you’re looking for a very unique outdoor adventure experience, we think we’ve found something you’ll like. In a jungle in Thailand, you can sleep in a bubble in the midst of freely roaming elephants.
These extraordinary accommodations are called “Jungle Bubbles,” and are only found at the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort in Northern Thailand.
Photo Credit: Anantara
In each 236-square-foot bubble equipped with air-conditioning, you’ll find a king-size bed, a living area and a bathroom. Apart from the bathroom, the rest of the bubble is transparent. Staff drop off your dinner in a basket, so all you have to worry about is enjoying the majesty of 22 elephants.
Rescued from the country’s cities and tourist attractions, the elephants are set to live out the rest of their days roaming freely and peacefully. Visitors can learn more about them by taking a tour led by a veterinarian or a biologist called “Walking with Giants.”
Etienne De Villiers, Anantara’s cluster director of public relations, told Apartment Therapy,
“Guests can observe the elephants’ social interaction in their native habitat.
The fun of either a river bath or mud playtime demonstrates just how cheeky these graceful animals can be.”
Photo Credit: Anantara
The company’s founder saw an elephant begging for food in the streets of Bangkok and decided to start the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation.
Said De Villiers,
“Since then we have operated a rescue rental system that gives entire traditional mahout families a sustainable income from an elephant that is already living with them — this ensures that they will not source, through breeding or wild capture, another elephant to continue their traditional way of life.”
Journey into the jungle with elephants, and marvel at the bond between yourself and their mighty spirits
. Book your…
Posted by Anantara Hotels Resorts & Spas on Monday, September 10, 2018
More than 60 elephants have been rescued. Mahout families also receive English lessons, further education for their children and all proceeds from clothing sales of a traditional silkworm business.
This is the type of responsible and sustainable tourism that benefits people, animals and society.
Let’s expand our horizons and do more of THIS!
The post You Can Sleep in a Bubble Surrounded by Rescue Elephants in a Thai Jungle appeared first on UberFacts.
You might have already assumed that trade in wild African elephants – and endangered species in general – was illegal, even if it was a zoo that was looking to take one in.
We would have been wrong.
Though hopefully that won’t be the case for much longer.
At the 18th meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, members from over 180 countries reassessed regulations on international elephant trade. A vast majority of the the representatives voted to end the capture and sale of wild African elephants for display in zoos worldwide.
The issue will go for a vote in front of the full conference, but with 46 of the 83 countries in favor, it looks to have a good chance of passing.
Iris Ho, a senior policy advisor at Humane Society International (HSI), told Bloomberg that everyone in the business of supporting endangered species sees this as a win.
“It’s a huge step forward. It’s really historic that the majority of the parties present recognized that African elephants should not be captured in the wild, sent to zoos and be kept in captivity for the rest of their lives.”
The ban would largely affect countries in southern Africa, where elephant populations are healthier and herds are regularly thinned for the purpose of selling them to zoos. Zimbabwe alone sold over 100 wild-caught baby elephants to China in the past 7 years, and the issue of separating calves from their mothers and the rest of the herd certainly has animal welfare experts concerned.
“Calves suffer psychological and physical harm when taken from their mothers,” explains elephant biologist Audrey Delsink of HSI Africa. “Zoos and other captive facilities force these calves to live in an unnatural, unhealthy environment that doesn’t meet their complex needs.”
Elephant trade has long been a hot topic, with African nations often territorial about managing their own wildlife without outside interference. Black market demands for ivory has drastically increased elephant poaching in the last few decades, though, so organizations like CITES feel as if they have a duty to protect the endangered species as if it belongs to the world, and not only to its endemic areas in Africa.
Over a million species are listed as at risk thanks to all manner of human activity, so committees like CITES are set to have busy years as they work to revamp how different species are protected around the globe.
“Nature’s dangerous decline is unprecedented,” says CITES Secretary General Ivonne Higuero. “Business as usual is no longer an option.”
I feel like that statement applies to environmental challenges all over the globe, and I hope there are people in every nook and cranny waiting to step up to do their part to save us all.
The post Zoos Are No Longer Able to Acquire African Elephants from the Wild appeared first on UberFacts.
You might have already assumed that trade in wild African elephants – and endangered species in general – was illegal, even if it was a zoo that was looking to take one in.
We would have been wrong.
Though hopefully that won’t be the case for much longer.
At the 18th meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, members from over 180 countries reassessed regulations on international elephant trade. A vast majority of the the representatives voted to end the capture and sale of wild African elephants for display in zoos worldwide.
The issue will go for a vote in front of the full conference, but with 46 of the 83 countries in favor, it looks to have a good chance of passing.
Iris Ho, a senior policy advisor at Humane Society International (HSI), told Bloomberg that everyone in the business of supporting endangered species sees this as a win.
“It’s a huge step forward. It’s really historic that the majority of the parties present recognized that African elephants should not be captured in the wild, sent to zoos and be kept in captivity for the rest of their lives.”
The ban would largely affect countries in southern Africa, where elephant populations are healthier and herds are regularly thinned for the purpose of selling them to zoos. Zimbabwe alone sold over 100 wild-caught baby elephants to China in the past 7 years, and the issue of separating calves from their mothers and the rest of the herd certainly has animal welfare experts concerned.
“Calves suffer psychological and physical harm when taken from their mothers,” explains elephant biologist Audrey Delsink of HSI Africa. “Zoos and other captive facilities force these calves to live in an unnatural, unhealthy environment that doesn’t meet their complex needs.”
Elephant trade has long been a hot topic, with African nations often territorial about managing their own wildlife without outside interference. Black market demands for ivory has drastically increased elephant poaching in the last few decades, though, so organizations like CITES feel as if they have a duty to protect the endangered species as if it belongs to the world, and not only to its endemic areas in Africa.
Over a million species are listed as at risk thanks to all manner of human activity, so committees like CITES are set to have busy years as they work to revamp how different species are protected around the globe.
“Nature’s dangerous decline is unprecedented,” says CITES Secretary General Ivonne Higuero. “Business as usual is no longer an option.”
I feel like that statement applies to environmental challenges all over the globe, and I hope there are people in every nook and cranny waiting to step up to do their part to save us all.
The post Zoos Are No Longer Able to Acquire African Elephants from the Wild appeared first on UberFacts.
Hundreds of thousands of Westerners visit Thailand each year, and one of the “must-try” activities is riding a majestic elephant. But tourists are now being urged to stop, thanks to the revelation of some truly heartbreaking photos.
A Twitter user posted several photos of elephants in Thailand being cruelly mistreated. Their keepers, called mahouts, keep them in line by hitting them with sharp metal hooks, often hard enough to draw blood. Their heads are covered in old wounds.
You can stop inhumanity tortured on elephants by stop riding an elephant! pic.twitter.com/oYtPd0wXzI
— abang da balik (@faizalghazaly) April 12, 2019
Around 3000 elephants are currently used for entertainment across Asia, and 77 percent are treated inhumanely, according to the World Animal Protection. Elephants are often ripped from their mothers prematurely, violently broken into submission, then subjected to a lifetime of abuse and isolation.
While Thai government agencies are working to end animal cruelty, officials also urge visitors to boycott businesses that treat their animals this way.
“We never support tourists riding the elephants,” a spokesperson for the Tourism Authority of Thailand told Yahoo! News. “Please don’t ride the elephants and don’t support this business.”
Photo Credit: iStock
There are about 3500 wild elephants in Thailand and about 4500 domesticated elephants. The domesticated elephants are classified as “working animals,” just like livestock. Animal advocates are working to change this classification in order to offer more protections to elephants.
If tourists want to enjoy these beautiful animals, one option is to visit a wild elephant sanctuary. There, tourists can observe and pet the animals, but cannot ride them.
The post These Photos Warn Tourists to Stop Riding Elephants in Thailand appeared first on UberFacts.
A researcher once played a recording of an elephant who had died. The sound was coming from a speaker hidden in a thicket. The family went wild calling, looking all around. The dead elephant’s daughter called for days afterward. The researchers never again did such a thing. 00
An Elephant, Kosik, can speak 5 words in Korean, “sit, no, yes and lie down.” He creates the words by putting his trunk in his mouth and vibrating it. He is the only elephant scientifically proven to speak human words.
Elephants can tell your ethnicity by listening to your voice, sniffing out your scent and even recognizing your clothing. This allows them to avoid humans who have regular conflicts with elephants.
Elephants know to come to humans for help (like if they’ve been poisoned) and can find us even over long distances.