Article #9 12/11/12
Stephanie Pappas. LiveScience. "Elephant Relocation Scheme Fails to Prevent Deaths." Scientific American
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=elephant-relocation-scheme-fails
Topic: Wildlife
This article was about how elephants in Sri Lanka were relocated in order to protect both the elephants and humans but this actually resulted in more harm. About 70 people and 200 Asian elephants die every year in Sri Lanka so elephants were moved to protected areas like national parks. Researchers observed 24 "problem" elephants, 12 male elephants that were relocated and 12 male elephants that stayed in their natural habitats. 2 of the relocated elephants were killed in the national parks and the rest strayed out of the park and either returned or stayed somewhere else. 5 of them died within 8 months and the rest were found responsible for killing five people. There are only about 35,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants left in the world so it is important to protect them but it's difficult when what they have tried keeps failing.
I chose this article because the topic seemed interesting and I ended up learning quite a bit about the elephants in Sri Lanka. I can't understand how frustrating this must be for the researchers and the other people that are responsible for these elephants since it's hard to find a place where they are completely safe and are not a threat to other animals and humans. I believe the best method is to keep the elephants where they were originally and put their efforts towards keeping people out and away so the elephants aren't disturbed and the people aren't in danger.
The Asian Elephant has been listed as an endangered species since 1986 because its population has declined by 50% within the last 60-75 years. These elephants are threatened by habitat loss, degradation and destruction. The average height of female Asian Elephants is about 7.3 ft and they typically weigh 3 tons. The trunk of an elephant can have as much 60,000 muscles and is used for breathing, watering, feeding, touching and washing. The trunks can also be used as a way to communicate or protect the elephant from danger. Most of the time, Asian Elephants are shy towards humans and other animals they feel are a threat. But some elephants that travel alone are not as timid, they are not afraid to attack if they feel like they are in danger. This is probably why some of the elephants in Sri Lanka were attacking humans.
Topic: Wildlife
This article was about how elephants in Sri Lanka were relocated in order to protect both the elephants and humans but this actually resulted in more harm. About 70 people and 200 Asian elephants die every year in Sri Lanka so elephants were moved to protected areas like national parks. Researchers observed 24 "problem" elephants, 12 male elephants that were relocated and 12 male elephants that stayed in their natural habitats. 2 of the relocated elephants were killed in the national parks and the rest strayed out of the park and either returned or stayed somewhere else. 5 of them died within 8 months and the rest were found responsible for killing five people. There are only about 35,000 to 50,000 Asian elephants left in the world so it is important to protect them but it's difficult when what they have tried keeps failing.
I chose this article because the topic seemed interesting and I ended up learning quite a bit about the elephants in Sri Lanka. I can't understand how frustrating this must be for the researchers and the other people that are responsible for these elephants since it's hard to find a place where they are completely safe and are not a threat to other animals and humans. I believe the best method is to keep the elephants where they were originally and put their efforts towards keeping people out and away so the elephants aren't disturbed and the people aren't in danger.
The Asian Elephant has been listed as an endangered species since 1986 because its population has declined by 50% within the last 60-75 years. These elephants are threatened by habitat loss, degradation and destruction. The average height of female Asian Elephants is about 7.3 ft and they typically weigh 3 tons. The trunk of an elephant can have as much 60,000 muscles and is used for breathing, watering, feeding, touching and washing. The trunks can also be used as a way to communicate or protect the elephant from danger. Most of the time, Asian Elephants are shy towards humans and other animals they feel are a threat. But some elephants that travel alone are not as timid, they are not afraid to attack if they feel like they are in danger. This is probably why some of the elephants in Sri Lanka were attacking humans.