Song of the Lost Clan

Elephants to be Kept Together in Retirement

admin — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 23:07:19 +0000

An elderly elephant pair gets to move together after animal rights activists and celebrity Bob Barker raised community awareness that one of the two, Connie, would be relocated to Elephant Odyssey, a refuge for older elephants. Originally, Connie would have moved alone, but thanks to community concern, her companion of 26 years, Shaba, will now move with her.

It’s nice to know that people are not only recognizing the complex social and emotional aspects of elephants, but are acting upon that knowledge and doing things in the elephants’ best interest.

Here’s the full story in the San Diego Union-Tribune

Elephant Appreciation Day

admin — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:36:27 +0000

Every September 22, we celebrate International Elephant Appreciation Day. Established in 1996 after Wayne Hepburn of WildHeart® Productions wanted to share his love for elephants and their imagery. With no centralized events or agenda, Elephant Day is just a good time to celebrate the enriching effect these magnificent animals have in the world and on our lives.

Check out a collection of things to do here:
Elephant Appreciation Day Activities

Some great images here:
A Celebration of Elephants
Celebrating Elephant Appreciation Day (PHOTOS)

Times of Drought Show That Male Elephants Have a Linear Hierarchy

admin — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 01:50:10 +0000

Recent stories in Smithsonian (Male Elephants Queue in Dry Times and How Male Elephants Bond) illustrate how male elephants, like their female counterparts, form complex social relationships. These relationships, in addition to giving company, provide stability during hard times. Studies indicate that a hierarchy in male elephant society keeps down violence when resources are limited.

Elephant expert, Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell said, “It was a behavior that never failed to impress me–one of those reminders that human beings are not as unique in social complexity as we like to think. This culture was steeped in ritual.”

How Do Animals Know When an Earthquake is Coming?

admin — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 19:49:09 +0000

Yet more evidence that elephants, among other animals, sense sound better than we humans do. Just seconds before the magnitude 5.9 quake that shook the East Coast of the United States on August 23, 2011, numerous animals at the National Zoo, including orangutans, gorillas, birds, and elephants made sudden calls and then attempted to move to higher ground.

Attaching cause and effect to animal behavior is difficult, but Scientists speculate that the animals were responding to the P-wave. When an earthquake happens, it emits two types of waves. The first is the fast, weak P-wave. The slower-moving S-wave is what shakes the ground.

Don Moore, associate director of animal care, said: “Elephants, we know from experimental studies, have an infrasonic ability. They can hear sounds underneath the level of sounds we can hear.”

Studies have also shown that elephants can feel vibrations in the ground through the tough, sensitive pads of their feet.

The problem with using animal behavior to predict earthquakes is that they can have the same reaction to any stimuli that would cause a fear reaction. let’s hope the elephant listening project can “translate” elephant sounds so that one day we might ask them – or at least be able to heed an honest warning.

Dzanga Forest Elephant Update from the Elephant Listening Project

admin — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 20:48:14 +0000

Andrea Turkalo happily reports in her latest blog post that there has been no evidence of poaching in or near the clearing they observe.

Even more exciting is the confirmed sighting of a pair of twin elephant calvesn. Twin births are very rare among elephants in general, but these two, a boy and a girl are the first reported twin elephants in a forest population.

How Male Elephants Bond

admin — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:00:14 +0000

Did you know that male elephants create and maintain best-friendships? Did you know that they seek out older males for guidance?

Explore this and other fascinating facts about male elephant society in this Smithsonian Magazine article, “How Male Elephants Bond” by Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell (November 2010).

Video: Elephant Fight Club

Elephants Learn to be Elephants

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 03:16:53 +0000

This BBC clip shows elephant behavior. It’s another visit with Andrea Turkalo in Dzanga Baï, Central Africa. Watch adolescent male elephants learn how to be adults when the big bulls show up.

Elephants in Mourning

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:07:47 +0000

Two very touching videos.

From National Geographic

From Nature

The Secret Language of Elephants

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:03:24 +0000

60 Minutes Presents: Into The Wild
The second segment is on the study of elephant language. Andrea Turkalo has been studying central African forest elephants in the Dzanga Baï clearing for 19 years. She’s identified a link between their complex vocalizations and their actions, working with scientists at Cornell University, they’re trying o compile an elephant dictionary. Really exciting stuff!

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Here are a couple of extras from CBS:

Bob & Pious

All in the Family

Here’s the Podcast.

Song of the Lost Clan at the Columbia Festival of the Arts Literary Weekend

admin — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 18:26:53 +0000

I had a great time reading Chapter 1 from Song of the Lost Clan at the Columbia Festival of the Arts, June 12, 2010. I was the first to read at the HoCoPoLitSo tent, which they graciously shared with the Maryland Writer’s Association. I caught a lot of people returning from the kinetic sculpture parade, but I don’t know if they stopped to hear me, or watch my daughter try and upstage me. It was a great event and I had a fabulous time.