Talk:Elephant

Tuskless Elephant Population Increasing?

Every now and then, I come across articles online saying that elephants' tusks are disappearing/getting shorter due to poaching. Can anyone tell me if this is true? Because I just returned from Kruger National Park, South Africa and I saw plenty of elephants during my stay, all with long, perfectly healthy tusks. User:Dinolover45, 13:31, 5 April 2010

Sources? 203.11.71.124 (talk) 08:37, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Here are a few I found searching Google for "tuskless elephant evolution":

• World: Africa Elephants 'ditch tusks' to survive - BBC
• Tuskless elephants evolving thanks to poachers - China Daily
• The Tuskless Elephant: A Case of Human-Driven Natural Selection? - paper from Allie Weill at the University of Chicago, lists sources which might be useful
• How humans are forcing other species to evolve - Grist (magazine)

So, there are reports that tusklessness is increasing in both African and Asian elephants under pressure from poaching, but I would like to see at least one article from a peer-reviewed science journal on the subject. -- Donald Albury 12:49, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Edit request:: 03/12/2011

Under the 'Skin' section there is a clause that does not make sense. It reads: 'and local herds will often come too close over the right to use these limited resources.' It should probably read 'and local herds will often come to blows over the right to use these limited resources'. In other words because there are limited resources the elephants will fight each other for water. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.193.222.243 (talk) 15:55, 3 December 2011 (UTC)

First few words

"Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae". Why not "The elephant is a large land mammal in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae"? Our article is entitled "Elephant", not "Elephants", and other articles on high-profile mammals (e.g. Giraffe, Horse, Hippopotamus) get the singular. Nyttend (talk) 02:20, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

Sounds sensible to me DrChrissy (talk) 16:33, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

Trunks

If elephants can breathe through their trunks how come when they suck up water with them, the water doesn't go into their lungs? Is there a flap to stop it or do they just control it or something?

-Megan — Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.248.226.12 (talk) 15:56, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

How come when you suck water up with a straw, the water doesn't go into your lungs? Is there a flap to stop it or do you just control it or something?--Mr Fink (talk) 16:19, 16 January 2012 (UTC)

Get a book. Take a class. MadZarkoff (talk) 01:27, 9 February 2012 (UTC)

I think some people might be attacking Megan personally. You can say it politely at least. ApokryItaros I believe was making a polite metaphor, while MadZarkoff was straight-up attacking her.

Walex03. Talking, working, friending. 17:54, 7 April 2012 (UTC)

Legs and feet

Would like to replace use of "Indian elephant" with "Asian/Asiatic elephant", since Indian is merely a subspecies. Lovely mention of the number of nails on various feet, but nothing about the actual number of digits? The casual reader may assume that #nails = #toes, which is not correct (5 digits all round). Also, I thought that the Forest Elephant had the same number of nails on each foot as the Asian. Thanks 124.148.211.236 (talk) 14:06, 16 March 2012 (UTC)

Three species or six?

Are the Sumatran, Sri Lankan and Borneo elephants not considered species?