elephants, conservation, humananimal conflict, endangered species, poaching, paula kahumbu, world elephant day, live chat
We celebrated International Elephant Day by hosting a live chat with reknowned Kenyan elephant activist and conservationist Paula Kahumbu. She leads Kenya’s hard-hitting HANDS OFF OUR ELEPHANTS campaign and works tirelessly to stop the horrific poaching of these magnificent creatures. Paula is also the CEO of one Kenya's premiere conservation organizations, Wildlife Direct. Thanks in part to their efforts elephant poaching in Kenya has been reduced 80% in the last three years. Originally braodcasted on August 11, 2016, you can enjoy the archived show here. Many thanks to our partner and sponsor, Explore.org, for making this possible.
World Elephant Day occurs on August 12. This international effort raises awareness of these amazing creatures and seeks to unite us in their conservation.
Did you know:
• An elephant goes through six sets of teeth throughout its lifetime. As teeth wear out, they fall out and are replaced by larger ones.
• With nearly 100,000 muscles in its trunk, an elephant can pick a single leaf off a branch.
• They are active for 18 to 24 hours a day.
• Elephants live in family groups and spend 60 percent of their day eating, consuming about one to two percent of their body mass daily.
• An adult elephant can eat as much as 300 pounds a day.
• Elephants are incredibly dependent on water and must drink 42 gallons (160 l) every day
• Elephants have a pouch at the base of their tongue that can store 1.2 gallons (4.5 l) of water.
• During mating, a female elephant will emit a call that is joined by the trumpeting of her family. This phenomenon is called the mating pandemonium.
• After an extraordinary 660 days, a female gives birth. At the moment of birth, the family erupts in momentous trumpeting for up to 40 minutes
TEACHERS: Find lesson plans and activities for all ages
VIDEO: Highlights of Mpala's elephants in action
INTERACTIVE FIELD GUIDE: Explore the world of elephants
LEARN: More about WORLD ELEPHANT DAY and sign the petition