Meet the “Real King Of The Jungle” – Celebrating World Elephant Day
Oli, is a 2 year old Indian Baby Elephant. 12th August, is a day that celebrates elephants just like Oli, in all shapes, sizes and types. With the effort to spread awareness on why elephants are important to the world and how they are fast depleting, a day was named specially for the King of the forest/
Here are a few reasons why elephants are the real Kings of the Jungle :
- They are the saviours of the forest, helping the ecosystem stay in balance – removing old and rotting trees and replanting trees, improving soil condition. This helps plants thrive and grow faster.
- They help with gardening – The nutrient-rich manure elephants leave behind helps plants by acting as a fertilizer, the partly digested food provides seeds to other animals and birds.
- Water for all – During the dry season, elephants dig deep with their tusks to create water holes for not just themselves, but other animals also. They are the only ones who have the power to drill through the soil and access the groundwater.
Did you know:
African elephants: Vulnerable, nearing extinction
Indian elephants : Endangered
Organized and funded poachers killed 100,000 elephants between 2010 to 2012, for their ivory tusks
The population of elephants has declined over 62% in the last decade
Here are a few more reasons why you should spread awareness on saving elephants
- They are known to be very intelligent animals. They have and show several emotions quite similar to us humans, including compassion and self-awareness.
- Elephants are very sensitive, when baby elephants cry or are in danger, the entire family runs to pet it and caress it to soothe it.
- They even pay homage to their elders. When crossing the resting place of elders, elephants often stop and wait respectfully or gently touch the land with their trunks.
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