Elephant Valley
Menu- WELCOME TO THE ELEPHANT VALLEY!
- FROM ASIA OR AFRICA?
- FROM THE LIFE OF ELEPHANTS
- WATER OVER GOLD
- BIG EATERS
- ELEPHANTS ENDANGERED
- HARD LIFE WITH ELEPHANTS
- HARD LIFE WITH PEOPLE
- PARTNERSHIP OF PEOPLE AND ELEPHANTS
- ELEPHANTS IN CEREMONIES
- ELEPHANTS AT WORK
- ELEPHANTS FROM PINNAWALA
- GANESHA
- ELEPHANTS IN HINDUISM
- THE SOVEREIGN WHITE ELEPHANT
- THE DREAM OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT
HARD LIFE WITH PEOPLE
Adult elephants have no enemies in the wild, and in the past they mostly died of old age. Today the most frequent cause of death among elephants is conflict with humans. Some are killed so they don’t threaten crops, others are forced into areas where they cannot live, and in the course of time die of malnutrition. However, these are not the only threats.
In some parts of Asia, mines and game snares represent a substantial threat to wild elephants. In Borneo, for example, every fifth elephant gets stuck in a snare, and these represent a problem in Sri Lanka as well. Although the animal doesn’t always die, it’s usually left with a lifelong disability
Dozens of elephants die each year under the wheels of trains or trucks. This is a result of encroaching civilisation, which is also intruding into previously remote areas with an increasing number of railway tracks and roads.
There is also a particular threat to Asian elephants from poachers who kill bull elephants for their tusks, and both sexes to a lesser extent for their skin, meat, tail and legs. Hunters have killed nearly all adult bull elephants in some areas and the remaining cow elephants are faced with a shortage of suitable partners.
