<<

FREE THE EMPERORS PDF

Tim Severin | 384 pages | 01 Feb 2016 | Pan MacMillan | 9781447212157 | English | London, United Kingdom Elephant West | Things to do in White City, London

The Emperors Elephant Elephant; also known as and antiquus. The Emperors Elephant Epoch:. Middle-Late 1 million, years ago. Size and Weight:. About 12 feet tall and tons. Distinguishing Characteristics:. Large size; long, slightly curved tusks. Understanding the Straight-Tusked Elephant requires a quick primer in modern elephant classification. Living are represented by two genera, Loxodonta and Elephas; the former comprises two Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis of African elephants, while the latter The Emperors Elephant but a single species: Elephas maximusthe . Long story short, most paleontologists consider the Straight-Tusked Elephant to be an extinct species of Elephas, Elephas antiquus, though some assign it to its own , Palaeoloxodon antiquus. As if that's not confusing enough, this prehistoric relative of the Asian elephant was native to western Europe! Classification issues aside, the Straight-Tusked Elephant was one of The Emperors Elephant largest pachyderms of the Pleistocene epoch, standing 12 feet tall and weighing in the neighborhood of two to three tons. As you might expect given its The Emperors Elephant, this elephant's most distinctive trait was its exceptionally long, slightly curving tusks, which it used along with its unusually long tongue and trunk to strip the leaves off trees. Judging by remains, the Straight-Tusked Elephant roamed the European plains in smallish herds of a dozen or so individuals, and was eventually out-competed in its increasingly frigid ecosystem by the well-insulated Woolly . By the way, some experts believe it was the Straight-Tusked Elephant that spawned the Dwarf Elephants of the Mediterranean basin. Share Flipboard Email. Bob Strauss. Science Writer. Updated March 17, ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our. Home and Garden | HowStuffWorks

Few on earth have been mourned, mythologized, and just plain marveled at like the elephants of Africa and Asia. In this article, you'll learn 10 essential elephant facts, ranging from how these pachyderms use their trunks to how females gestate their young for The Emperors Elephant two years. All of the world's pachyderms are accounted for by three species: the Loxodonta africanathe Loxodonta cyclotisThe Emperors Elephant the Asian elephant Elephas maximus. African elephants are much bigger, fully grown males approaching six or seven tons making them the earth's largest terrestrial The Emperors Elephantcompared to only four or five The Emperors Elephant for Asian elephants. Besides its enormous size, the most notable thing about an elephant is its trunk; basically an extremely elongated nose and upper lip. Elephants use their trunks not only to breathe, smell and eat, but to grasp the branches of trees, pick up objects weighing as much as pounds, affectionately fondle other elephants, dig for hidden water, and give themselves showers. Trunks contain overbundles of muscle fibers, which can make them surprisingly delicate and precise tools. For example, an elephant can use its trunk to shell a peanut The Emperors Elephant damaging the kernel nestled inside or to wipe debris from its eyes or other parts of its body. Given how enormous they are, and the hot, humid climates in which they live, it makes sense that elephants evolved a way to shed excessive heat. An elephant can't flap its ears to make itself fly a la Walt Disney's Dumbobut the large surface area of its ears is The Emperors Elephant with a dense network of blood vessels, which convey heat to the surrounding environment and thus help to cool the pachyderm down in the blazing sun. In absolute terms, adult elephants have enormous brains, up to 12 pounds for fully grown males, compared to four pounds, max, for the average human in relative terms, though, the brains of elephants are much smaller compared to their overall body size. Not only can elephants use primitive tools with their trunksbut they also display a high degree of self-awareness for example, recognizing themselves in mirrors and empathy toward other herd members. Some elephants have even been observed tenderly fondling the bones of their deceased companions, though naturalists disagree whether this shows a primitive awareness of the concept of death. Elephants have evolved a unique social structure: essentially, males and females live entirely apart, hooking up only briefly during mating season. Three or four females, together with their young, congregate in herds of up to a dozen or so members, while males either live alone or form smaller herds with other males. Female herds have a matrilineal The Emperors Elephant members follow the lead of the matriarch, and when this elderly female dies, her place is taken by her oldest daughter. As with humans at least most of the timeexperienced matriarchs are renowned for their wisdom, leading herds away from potential dangers such as fires or floods and toward abundant sources of food and shelter. At 22 months, African elephants have the longest gestation period of any terrestrial though not of any vertebrate on earth; for example, the eel-frilled shark gestates its young for over three years! Newborn elephants weigh a whopping pounds, and they usually have to wait for at least four or five years for any siblings, given The Emperors Elephant elephants' extremely long interbirth intervals. What this means, in practical terms, is that it takes an unusually long time for devastated populations of elephants The Emperors Elephant replenish themselves, which makes these especially susceptible to poaching by humans. Elephants, and The Emperors Elephant ancestors used to be a The Emperors Elephant more common than they are today. As far as we can tell from the fossil evidence, the ultimate progenitor of all elephants was the tiny, pig-like , which lived in northern Africa about 50 million years ago; a dozen million years later, by the late epoch, more recognizably "elephant-y" proboscis-like and were thick on the ground. Toward the later Cenozoic Era, some branches of the elephant The Emperors Elephant were characterized by their spoon-like lower tusks, and the golden age of the breed was the The Emperors Elephant epoch, a million years ago, when the North The Emperors Elephant and the roamed the northern expanses of North America and Eurasia. Today, The Emperors Elephant enough, the closest living relatives of The Emperors Elephant are dugongs and manatees. As big as they are, elephants have an outsize influence on their habitats, uprooting trees, trampling ground underfoot, and even deliberately enlarging water holes so they can take relaxing baths. These behaviors benefit not only the elephants themselves but also other animals, which take advantage of these environmental changes. On the other end of the scale, when elephants eat in one location and defecate in another, they function as crucial dispersers of seeds; many plants, trees, and bushes would have a hard time surviving if their seeds didn't feature on elephant menus. The ancient deployment of war elephants reached its apogee around to BC, and ran its course with the Carthaginian general Hannibalwho tried to invade Rome, by way of the Alps, in BC. After that, elephants mostly fell out of favor with the classical civilizations of the Mediterranean basin, but continued to be used by various Indian and Asian warlords. The true death knell of armored elephants came in the late 15th The Emperors Elephant when a well-placed cannon shot could easily fell a rampaging bull. While elephants are subject to the same environmental pressures as other animals they are especially vulnerable to poachers, who value these mammals for the ivory contained in their tusks. One positive development is the recent decision by China to outlaw the import and export of ivory; this hasn't completely eliminated poaching by ruthless ivory The Emperors Elephant, but it has The Emperors Elephant helped. Share Flipboard Email. Bob Strauss. Science Writer. Updated November 04, ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. By using ThoughtCo, you accept our. 6 Ways to Help Elephants

Two of the most commonly used tape products on the market are painter's tape and masking tape, but they shouldn't The Emperors Elephant used interchangeably. We'll explain why. Comparing home loans can be confusing, but there is a method to the madness. We'll explain why the annual percentage rate is the figure you should be paying attention to. When it The Emperors Elephant to buying that spooky-ish-looking Victorian mansion, the word is "buyer beware. Home appliances make life easier, but what's really going on inside them? HowStuffWorks Home Appliances articles The Emperors Elephant a look inside common household appliances. Confused about what green means? Find out how your personal choices can affect the world we live in. Whether you're dining or driving, we'll show you how to be more eco-friendly. For some this is the fun part, for others deciding what color to paint, or where to put the couch is as stressful as going to the dentist. Either way HowStuffWorks has got you covered The Emperors Elephant tips, tricks and cold compresses. Discover what community living is all about! Explore these articles and learn about dorms, apartments, townhomes and condos. Home improvement is much easier when you are well-informed. Learn about home improvement, The Emperors Elephant safety and home maintenance. Yard and lawn care is an important part of maintaining a home. Learn about landscaping and get yard tips and advice from the experts at HowStuffWorks. Stain removal techniques can vary drastically depending on the type of stain and the stained surface. Learn stain removal techniques. Buying or selling a home is a big move and can be stressful. We have tips and in-depth articles on everything from mortgages to home equity loans. Painter's Tape vs. Masking Tape: What's the Difference? Getting to the Bottom of the Bidet. Green Living. Living Big in a Tiny House. Home The Emperors Elephant. How to Buy the Best Trundle Bed. Community Living. How often should you The Emperors Elephant your dorm room? How often should you clean your dorm room? Home Improvement. Stain Removal. Is stainless steel really impossible to stain? How to Remove Stains from White Clothing. Real Estate.