When your trip is heading to Asia, there are many great experiences known.
The stunning nature and fascinating animals of Asia are perhaps among the most memorable experiences.
One of Asia’s most amazing animals is the elephant, and little elephant babies are guaranteed to make anyone’s heart melt.
In recent years, the world has woken up to take care of these wonderful animals, which sadly are less and less. World Elephant Day has been celebrated every year since 2012.
Read more about Elephant Day and the Asian elephant, which has a very special place in the heart of Asian Travel.
What is World Elephant Day?
World Elephant Day celebrates the elephant!
World Elephant Day was established to raise awareness of the elephant, a symbol of power and wisdom that plays an important role in many Asian countries.
The goal is for World Elephant Day to pay attention to the protection of elephants.
The protection of elephants is necessary because tens of thousands of elephants are caught by poachers every year. Poachers sell elephant tusks, meat and skins on the black market. Ivory is made e.g. jewelry, and leather and meat are used for herbs in Southeast Asia.
To improve these statistics, the world’s attention is to be drawn to the welfare of elephants every August 12, when World Elephant Day is celebrated.
Asian elephant
The number of Asian elephants has halved in the last 45 years, and today there are only about 50,000 Asian elephants in the world.
In recent years, many Asian countries, such as Sri Lanka, have burned or otherwise destroyed ivory cargoes to send a message to the rest of the world that the countries are strongly against poachers and the ivory trade.
In addition to the barren facts about the living conditions of an elephant, there are many interesting and more pleasant facts about elephants.
5 facts about Asian elephants
On most of our trips – e.g. in Thailand and Sri Lanka – you can get close to these charming weevils.
You probably already know a lot about elephants. However, we have compiled here five interesting facts that may not be familiar before.
1) Asian elephants are big!
An Asian elephant can grow up to 6.5 meters in length and weigh up to 5 tons. Due to its size, an elephant needs as much as 150 kg of food every day, and it spends about 16 hours a day eating and searching for food!
However, the Asian elephant is not quite as big as its African cousin, the world’s largest land-dwelling mammal. The Asian elephant is still an impressive size.
2) The elephant is a social animal
Female Asian elephants often live in herds where they nurture social relationships and work together to raise chicks and protect the herd. Unlike among African elephants, the Asian elephant herd is less likely to be led by an old matriarch, although a dominant female elephant may take the lead for a period of time.
Young male elephants usually leave the herd when they reach adulthood at the age of 8-13 years. Young males can sometimes form their own herd of male elephants.
3) Elephants are “sensitive”
Maybe you’ve seen elephants throw up on the ground or wander around in the mud? They do so to protect their skin from the sun.
Adult elephants also protect sleeping chicks by shading them from the sun’s toast.
4) Elephants hear on their feet
Elephants produce sound with a frequency of 0-20 hertz. Man, on the other hand, does not hear sounds with a frequency of less than 20 Hz.
Elephants are able to sense the vibration caused by lower frequencies from the ground through their feet and understand the meaning of sound – as far as 3.5 kilometers away!
5) An elephant’s tip has 100,000 meat
The snout is an important tool for the elephant, which it uses e.g. smelling, breathing, drinking, and lifting smaller objects such as food.
In addition, there is a finger-like protrusion at the end of the Asian elephant’s tip, with which it can grip even small objects (African elephants have two protrusions).
Get close to Asian elephants
You can get close to Asian elephants in many of our travel destinations, such as Thailand and Sri Lanka.
In Sri Lanka, you can meet an Asian elephant in the country’s national parks, such as Minneriya National Park, which is one of Sri Lanka’s best places for elephant bonga. In Thailand, you can meet elephants in a completely different setting at the Elephant Care Center.
Want to know more about World Elephant Day? Read more about Elephant Day and different projects here.
