JCF, there is the occasional rogue elephant or unruly teenager, and the males become aggressive at mating time, but the weaker male usually backs off, so few serisous injuries result. The females live in closely-knit tribes, with the males on the fringes, spending a good deal of time alone.
Elephants can cause quite a lot of damage if they get drunk. I'm sure I read somewhere they like to eat fermented fruit, which has turned alcoholic, then drink water and then jiggle up and down a bit to make the whole thing froth up inside their stomachs.
Human beings assume that things are the way we perceive them. But dogs are notoriously colorblind, and live in a world of aromas and sounds we aren't aware of. Cats see into the blue end of the spectrum, but red is black to them. (We notices this when dropping kitty treats onto a black roof for neighborhood strays -- they found the red ones last, seemingly by accident sometimes.) Insects see a different spectrum of colors from humankind; flowers look very different to them.
And elephants, those grand land whales. Only recently has it been demonstrated that they communicate by means of low-frequency sounds inaudible to human ears. Those "lone" males roaming the fringes of the group are in fact in constant contact by means of their built-in woofers.
Jon, the cartoonist, apologized for making me cry, but it's not really the cartoon, but the sad truth behind the cartoon that brings on the tears.
ReplyDeleteWell, there was a story a couple of years ago about young male elephants raping (?!?) rhinocerouses, so maybe they're more like us than not...
ReplyDeleteJCF, there is the occasional rogue elephant or unruly teenager, and the males become aggressive at mating time, but the weaker male usually backs off, so few serisous injuries result. The females live in closely-knit tribes, with the males on the fringes, spending a good deal of time alone.
ReplyDeleteElephants can cause quite a lot of damage if they get drunk. I'm sure I read somewhere they like to eat fermented fruit, which has turned alcoholic, then drink water and then jiggle up and down a bit to make the whole thing froth up inside their stomachs.
ReplyDeleteHuman beings assume that things are the way we perceive them. But dogs are notoriously colorblind, and live in a world of aromas and sounds we aren't aware of. Cats see into the blue end of the spectrum, but red is black to them. (We notices this when dropping kitty treats onto a black roof for neighborhood strays -- they found the red ones last, seemingly by accident sometimes.) Insects see a different spectrum of colors from humankind; flowers look very different to them.
ReplyDeleteAnd elephants, those grand land whales. Only recently has it been demonstrated that they communicate by means of low-frequency sounds inaudible to human ears. Those "lone" males roaming the fringes of the group are in fact in constant contact by means of their built-in woofers.
And elephants have larger brains, comparatively speaking, than humans. They are creatures of wonder in so many ways.
ReplyDeleteElephants don't shoot humans for their teeth, either.
ReplyDeleteJust sayin'....
Rmj, humans have a lot to account for with respect to our fellow creatures on this good earth.
ReplyDelete