elephants

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2M Dung Beetles Can Survive Off One Elephant
Elephant Study Had Her
Count 13,699 Dung Beetles
new study
Jul 24, 2024 2:55 PM CDT

Elephant Study Had Her Count 13,699 Dung Beetles

Painstaking work led to estimate of how many dung beetles one elephant sustains

(Newser) - If you're forced to empty your bowels somewhere in the African grasslands, you don't have to worry about befouling the landscape. As a press release explains, dung beetles would make quick work of your deposit, with the waste gone in as little as 30 minutes. Elephants leave a...

Tourist Exits Car to Take Photos, Is Killed by Elephants

The Spaniard died Sunday morning in a national park in South Africa

(Newser) - A 43-year-old tourist was trampled to death by elephants Sunday morning while attempting to take photos of them at a South African national park. The AP reports the Spaniard was with his fiancee and two other women at Pilanesberg National Park in North West province when officials there say he...

US Tourist Killed in Zambia Elephant Attack

It's the second such attack in the country this year

(Newser) - An American tourist was killed by an elephant in the Zambian city of Livingstone this week in the second such attack in the country this year, officials said. The officials said Friday that 64-year-old Juliana Gle Tourneau was killed when an elephant that was part of a herd the tourists...

Elephant Twins Are Rare. This Set, Even Rarer

Brother-sister pair born in Thailand was almost a tragedy, but all is now well for mom and babies

(Newser) - Buddhist monks in Thailand on Friday blessed twin baby elephants, one male and the other female, a week after their rare birth came close to being a tragedy. Their mother, Chamchuri, gave birth to the pair on the night of June 7 at a camp in Thailand's ancient capital...

Elephants Seem to Call Each Other by Name
'Name' Discovery Surprises
Elephant Researchers
new study
Jun 10, 2024 2:19 PM CDT

'Name' Discovery Surprises Elephant Researchers

Study suggests the animals call each other by name via low rumblings

(Newser) - A new study suggests a remarkable trait of elephants: They appear to call each other by distinct names, which would be a first in the animal kingdom outside humans, reports the New York Times . Researchers studying elephants at two national reserves in Kenya suggest that the animals voice the names...

Largest Male Elephant in North America Is Euthanized
Largest Male Elephant in
North America Is Euthanized
in case you missed it
May 12, 2024 11:00 AM CDT

Largest Male Elephant in North America Is Euthanized

Tonka called Zoo Knoxville home for 43 years

(Newser) - Zoo Knoxville knew it would be saying goodbye to its last remaining elephant this year, but the farewell was much sadder than expected. The zoo said Thursday that it had euthanized Tonka, a 46-year-old bull elephant that had called the zoo home for the last 43 years. At 15,000...

US Woman's 'Dream Adventure' With Elephants Turns Fatal

Gail Mattson, 79, was killed when a bull elephant flipped a safari vehicle in Zambia

(Newser) - An American tourist on a safari tour of Zambia's Kafue National Park died Saturday when an elephant charged the vehicle carrying her. The woman, whom KSTP identifies as 79-year-old Gail Mattson of Minnesota and Arizona, was staying at Lufupa Camp and had ventured out with five others for a...

Botswana Is Irked by Germany's Elephant Suggestion

It offers to ship 20K animals to Germany so it can see what it's like living among them

(Newser) - A suggestion from Germany's Environment Ministry didn't go over so well in Botswana. President Mokgweetsi Masisi took issue with the ministry's recommendation that tighter limits be put in place on importing hunting trophies, saying that conservation efforts had led to a surging elephant population that hunting helped...

Drought Kills at Least 100 Elephants
Drought Kills
at Least 100
Elephants
Dec 19, 2023 12:00 PM CST

Drought Kills at Least 100 Elephants

El Nino blamed for lack of water killing pachyderms in recent weeks in Zimbabwe's largest national park

(Newser) - At least 100 elephants have died in Zimbabwe's largest national park in recent weeks because of drought, their carcasses a grisly sign of what wildlife authorities and conservation groups say is the impact of climate change and the El Nino weather phenomenon. Authorities warn that more could die as...

'World's Saddest Elephant' Dies After Decades of Isolation

Mali was the only elephant in the Philippines for decades

(Newser) - An elephant that animal rights activists called the "world's saddest" has died in Manila, where she was the only elephant in the zoo—and the country. Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna announced the death of the female Asian elephant on Wednesday, CBS News reports. Mali—short for Vishwa Ma'...

Angry Elephants Damage Car That Hit a Calf

Family of 3 escapes unhurt after their vehicle was roughed up in Malaysia; calf walked away

(Newser) - Malaysian police had to investigate an unusual case of road rage in which the angered party was a herd of elephants. It seems a 48-year-old driver struck an elephant calf with his car on a highway Sunday evening in foggy, rainy conditions, reports the Straits Times . "Seeing this, the...

400 Elephants Dropped Dead. Now, a 'Very Worrying' Find
400 Elephants Dropped Dead.
Now, a 'Very Worrying' Find
in case you missed it
Oct 28, 2023 12:10 PM CDT

400 Elephants Dropped Dead. Now, a 'Very Worrying' Find

In a first, researchers link 'Pasteurella' Bisgaard taxon 45 to blood poisoning

(Newser) - Experts believe they've gotten to the bottom of a "conservation disaster" that killed hundreds of endangered African savanna elephants across Botswana and Zimbabwe, and the explanation isn't likely to soothe those hoping to save the beautiful beasts. Nearly 400 elephants of all ages were found dead in...

They Swooped In to Save the Elephants. Was That a Good Thing?

Delia and Mark Owens allegedly used controversial methods

(Newser) - Before she was the bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens and her then-husband Mark lived in Africa. In their telling of the story, they were environmental heroes, making every effort to save African elephants from extinction at the hands of poachers. In doing so, however, the couple...

Has Anyone Seen Bruce?
Has Anyone
Seen Bruce?
May 13, 2023 10:45 AM CDT

Has Anyone Seen Bruce?

Liz Atkinson is 'completely desperate' to find stuffed elephant with late son's ashes, lost in Florida

(Newser) - "I am completely desperate and hoping this blows up and we find our elephant!" So begins a May 6 Facebook plea from Liz Atkinson, an ER nurse from Iowa who's doing all she can to find a stuffed animal that went missing during a family vacation in...

Tree-Eating Habits of Moose Could Affect Climate
Tree-Eating Habits of
Moose Could Affect Climate
NEW STUDY
Mar 19, 2023 4:15 PM CDT

Tree-Eating Habits of Moose Could Affect Climate

The dietary habits of moose are affecting the way forests store carbon dioxide

(Newser) - An adult moose can stand up to 7 feet tall and weigh more than 1,000 pounds. They also eat at least 60lbs of food a day—including trees—and it turns out that their diet could have a surprising effect on the climate. Referencing a recent study in the...

Study of Orphaned Elephants Surprises Researchers
Study of Orphaned Elephants
Surprises Researchers
new study
Jul 18, 2022 10:30 AM CDT

Study of Orphaned Elephants Surprises Researchers

If they stay with a pack, they don't seem to be stressed out more than non-orphaned peers

(Newser) - Researchers who set out to measure the stress levels of orphaned elephants expected to see sky-high levels because of the particularly strong bond evident between mother elephants and their offspring. "Until age 8 or 9, elephants are rarely more than 10 meters from their mother," Jenna Parker of...

To Study Elephants in Mourning, Researchers Get Creative

It's the first scientific documentation of the behavior in Asian elephants, thanks to YouTube

(Newser) - Wildlife biologists used crowdsourced YouTube videos to compile the first scientific documentation of how Asian elephants react to death. It's not that they were afraid to go into the field to study them with their own eyes—the problem is that Asian elephants are jungle dwellers, which makes them...

Plastic in Landfill Is Killing Elephants

Post-mortems showed no signs of a normal diet

(Newser) - Conservationists and veterinarians are warning that plastic waste in an open landfill in eastern Sri Lanka is killing elephants in the region, after two more were found dead over the weekend. Around 20 elephants have died in the past eight years after consuming plastic trash in the dump in Pallakkadu...

Humans Are 'Literally Changing the Anatomy' of Elephants

Genetic mutation passes from tuskless females ignored by poachers in Mozambique

(Newser) - Human behavior is "literally changing the anatomy of animals," according to the author of a new study that finds decades of ivory poaching in Mozambique has encouraged the evolution of elephants without tusks . What was once a rare genetic mutation causing tusklessness in female elephants at Mozambique's...

Wandering Elephants Finally Seem Headed Back Home

Herd fascinated the world with 300-mile trek north

(Newser) - An elephant herd that fascinated locals and people around the world by making a yearlong journey into urbanized southwest China, raiding farms and even a retirement home for food, appears to be finally headed home. Local authorities have deployed trucks, workers, and drones to monitor the elephants, evacuated roads for...

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