Winky & Wanda-Free in Detroit

Re: Winky & Wanda-Free in Detroit


Isn't the republican party's use of elephants as their mascot a bit of an oxymoron?

Of course, elephants in captivity still live much longer than elephants in the wild. And once an elephant has been born and raised in captivity there is no chance of returning it to the wild. Most of their behavor is learned and not instinctive. Now what do we do?

Wrong according to my sources


This is not true, elephants have fairly good chances to return to the wild. Apart from the timber logging elephants described in the book "Elephant Bill" that returned into the burmese forest during first world war, theres reintroduction projects going on in africa (Daphne Sheldrick, Kenya) as well as in asia (Uda walave, Sri Lanka), which is working rather well.

Onother correction: Wanda and Wicky was not born in captivity; they were both born wild, in India and Cambodia respectively.

What source do you have for that most of elephants behaviour is learned and not instinctive. I never heard about a scientific project researching this topic?

I have read studies of young elephants who become arrogant and violent when there are no adults present, particularly adult males. They loose their social graces, steal food and make life miserable for other elephants. They need upbringining from adults much like humans do.

Yes this has happened, but it has nothing to do with upbringing, or learning, rahter the opposite. Elephants are brought up within the female elephant community, which lacks adult males. At the extreme few cases when adult males join those groups in order to mate, they do not upbring the elephant babies, they just mate and courtship the female in eastrous.

They become violent because of higher levels of testosterone during their teens. Those levels are brought down by precense of adult males, but the process are on a rather instint one, and has less with learning to do, in most cases those teenagers doesnt combat with the bulls double their size, apearently from instinct they know to cool down when theres big bulls nearby.

Its important to remember that this agression is not unnormal or destructive, in most cases will the most powerful and agressive elephant mate most females.



Totalyl wrong from the director, elephant bulls agression is not neurotic, its normal. The agressivness within the female elephant groups is also normal. It can only be reduced by respect for another individual, a bigger elephant, or an elephant keeper. Alephants are agressive, but neurotic. Their agressivness has helped them to survive 50 million years, thay do not suffer from it, as species, and it should not be consdiered a neurotic behaviour. Its normal elephant behaviour.

Apart from that - even if they behave bad, like killing rhinos and such (Pilandsberg, South Africa) they still survive.

My remark was focused on the two asian elephants in US zoo, who, with no doubt, could survive in the green forests of asia. Theres another question which place would be suitable since asia is over crowded with humans, and elephants has less and less land to share with other elepants.

Dan Koehl,

I just wanted to say welcome to A2K. We needed an elephant expert. ;-)

Hope you stick around.