pic by Richard Lim
Wild Elephant Safari Tour
This tour is specially created for those who are really keen on observing wild elephant and dare to take a risk. The location that we will visit and the way that we approch is consider safe - anyhow you are at your own risk as anything can happen when you're in wild. Chances is big, and we will try hardly to satisfied you interest.
(Note: These tour only available from month of March to November)
Translocation
It is estimated to be more than 1000 wild elephants left in
Between 1998 and 2006, there were a total of 6,873 cases (764 cases a year on average) of elephant disturbance. The highest numbers were recorded in Johor (203 cases per year on average). Human-elephant conflict is triggered by habitat loss and fragmentation and the lack of suitable wildlife corridors.
The Elephant Capture & Translocation Unit or ECTU was created in 1974 to address the problems of wild elephant intrusions into crash crop planted areas. What used to be their natural habitat had been cleared and replaced with oil palm, rubber, cocoa, watermelons, banana and other crash crops which resulted in a hard-to-resist temptation for the wild elephants to raid these areas during the late evenings and early mornings unchallenged. To further protect the elephants, the ECTU has been moving elephants from areas of conflict to permanently protected areas.
Elephants can be unpredictable ; in particularly a young male elephant may be aggressive and charge in an attempt to exert its authority! One must have a cool head when a 4 ton giant charges at almost 40kph through the dense jungles! In the hot, humid and shady environment, detecting a wild elephant is very difficult and dangerous.
pic by NN
About Asian Elephant
Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Species, also called Asiatic elephant, belonging to the family of elephants, named by Carl Linnaeus, 1758.
Caracteristics of the Asian Elephant:
The neck is low, and then curving up
The skin is less wrenkled
Ears are small, looks like indian continent
Head has two bumps
Forehead is protruding
The underlip is long, narrow and pointed
Only abt 50% of bulls wear long tusks
Females wear tushes or nothing
19 pairs of ribs (Sumatran subspecies 20)
The frontfeet has five nails, the hindfeet four
(like the african forest elephant)
The trunktip has one prehensile protrusion
Axonomy and Distrubition
Asian elephant is a species belonging to the family of elephants (Elephantidae), which is included in the mammal order Proboscidea. It was formerly called Indian elephant, which is a confusing name, since Asian elephants occur in 13 asian countries, from west India , to southern China, and in southeast from the malay peninsula to the islands Sumatra and Borneo, why "Indian" is unappropiate, and the name "Indian elephant" should be used only for the Indian subspecies. So when speaking about the species (Elephas maximus), this species should be refered to as Asian elephant.
Population
Asian elephant was once distributed from Tigris and
Since the Asian elephant live in dense forest and jungles, is it much more difficult to estimate the present individual population number, but it is likely about 40 000 Asian elephants on earth. Of those, some 15-20 000 are kept in captivity. Europe has some 700 Asian elephants, and about the same amount is to be found in north american continent, the rest (apr. 13 500) are tame elephants in
Subspecies:
Sumatran elephant (Elephas maximus sumatrensis)
Indian elephant (Elephas maximus indicus)
Sri Lankan elephant (Elephas maximus maximus)
African Elephants - to compare
African Bush Elephant
The African bush elephant was a subspecies - (Loxodonta africana africana) - to the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) but may be upgraded to a species on its own. The bush elephant is sometimes refered to as the savanna elephant, and belong to the family of elephants
Caracteristics of the African Bush Elephant
The neck is high, and then sloping down again
The skin is very wrenkled all over
Ears are large, looks like african continent
Head is flat, with nu bumps
Forehead is flat and sloaping down
The underlip is short, broad and rounded
Both sexes wear tusks
Tusks are thick and curved forward
21 pairs of ribs
The frontfeet has four nails, the hindfeet three
(not the african forest elephant)
The trunktip has two prehensile protrusions
The african elephant is still under threat in some parts of africa, while its starting to become overpopulated in southern
Anatomy
Largest living terrestrial animal on earth.
Height up to 4 meter
Weight to 7,500 kg (bulls) 3,500 kg (female)
Trunk weights up to 140 kg
Skin is up to 2.5 cm thick
Brain weights upto 6 kg
Tusk weight up to 50 kg
The African bush elephant has three nails on the hindfeet and four nails on the frontfeet, which is less nails than than the african forest elephant (five front nails and four nails on the hind feet). It has also greater ears (with the shape of
(Loxodonta cyclotis)
Species belonging to the family of elephants, named by Matschie, 1900.
The African forest elephant was a subspecies - (Loxodonta africana cyclotis) - from the African elephant (Loxodonta africana) but is - or may may be soon - upgraded to a species on its own, Loxodonta cyclotis.
The African forest elephant has like the asian elephant four nails on the hindfeet and five nails on the frontfeet (which is more nails than than the african bush elephant (four front nails and three nails on the hind feet).
It has also more rounded ears, which may meet above the shoulders. The tusk of the is also straight and points down, and smaller and thinner than those of the african bush elephant.
