DAY 13 - Where are the missing?

On this day - the 13^th day since their abduction

What has happened to the original MISSING 13?

Previously abused, mistreated and discarded, these animals have found care, love and sanctuary at the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand (www.wfft.org).

In retaliation for the allegations by WFFT Foundation and other Wildlife Rescue organisations, the Department of National Parks (DNP) raided the WFFT Rescue Centre with 70 armed men and removed 103 animals from the Centre. This was without legal cause. They kidnapped the first 13 animals from the Centre on the 15^th and 16^th February, 2012 and took them away under armed guard.

For more than 8 days the DNP camped outside the Centre in an attempt to intimidate and harass the staff and international volunteers trapped inside before taking the other 90.

They are now MISSING – where are they?

They are suffering for a second time in their lives now.

Somewhere away from home.

Without care and medical treatment.

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT

SEND ALL YOUR GOOD THOUGHTS OUT TO ALL THOSE STILL MISSING FROM HOME

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/urgent-plea-for-rescued-thai-wildlife/

On 27^th February, 3 civets; Charlie, Bangbon and Ayut, were returned to WFFT. It’s a start but we have a long way to go.

Charlie – bushmeat victim Masked Palm Civet (Paguma larvata)	Date Confiscated – 15/2/2012 Current Location – HOME SAFE AT WFFT
Bangbon – mistreated and illegal pet Common Palm Civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus)	Date Confiscated – 15/2/2012 Current Location – HOME SAFE AT WFFT
Ayut – mistreated and illegal pet Common Palm Civets (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus)	Date Confiscated – 15/2/2012 Current Location - HOME SAFE AT WFFT
Sandee – poaching victim Binturong (Arctictis binturong)	Date Confiscated – 15/2/2012 Current Location – Government Zoo/Breeding Centre

George – abusive caging at temple Northern Pig-Tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina)	Date Confiscated – 15/2/2012 Current Location – Government Zoo/Breeding Centre
Smokey – abusively kept caged at temple Northern Pig-Tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina)	Date Confiscated – 15/2/2012 Current Location – Unknown
Lila – abusively kept caged at temple Northern Pig- Tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina)	Date Confiscated – 16/2/2012 Current Location – Unknown

Tamairuak – chained and kept as illegal pet Northern Pig-Tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina)	Date Confiscated – 16/2/2012 Current Location – Unknown
Bertie – vehicle hit and run victim Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)	Date Confiscated – 15/2/2012 Current Location – Government Zoo/Breeding Centre
Jaw – coconut monkey then dumped, found in chains Northern Pig-Tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina)	Date Confiscated – 16/2/2012 Current Location – Unknown
Oo an– illegal pet Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)	Date Confiscated – 15/2/2012 Current Location – Government Zoo/Breeding Centre

Sparticus – gun shoot, hit and run, dog attack victim as well as electrocuted Long-Tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis)	Date Confiscated – 16/2/2012 Current Location – Unknown
Jeud – coconut monkey, ingrown neck chain Northern Pig-Tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina)	Date Confiscated – 15/2/2012 Current Location – Government Zoo/Breeding Centre

Please help us find all the missing animals from WFFT
www.wfft.org 

or 

Facebook Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand

Oceans2Earth goes to the circus

The circus is in town in Melbourne, Australia. Oceans2Earth volunteers headed to Stardust Circus to join forces with other animal welfare activists to peacefully protest against the inclusion of animals in this entertainment program.

Stardust rates the performing animals as the lynchpin of their circus.

The circus includes lions, monkeys, horses, ponies and dogs. Stardust stubbornly remains one of the last circuses in Australia to keep animals on the bill for the entertainment of kids.

Interesting for me was the feedback from punters heading in to buy tickets, keen to find a distraction to keep the kids out of their hair for the day. Check this...

"I didn't know they had animals. That's unusual"

"I know they shouldn't do it but I haven't seen animals for ages so its cool"

"Give me that flyer. My daughter needs to read this. She does't get how wrong it is"

"No son, no animal should be kept in cages all the time"

"Have you ever trained an animal? You train with kindness so this isn't cruel".


Here's the images taken by Thomas King and Tray Leske on the day. Thanks guys

 The Stardust circus is doing the Melbourne rounds in February and March 2012.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Talk to your kids if you have them. Explain the situation. LIVE the concept that animals are wild.

Come down to Cranbourne on 3rd March at 3pm and hand out some flyers. Email or FB O2E if you need directions.

Joni the Facebook event page for the protest on the 3rd. See you there!

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United States' labs source research animals from pound

Tiger RIP (pic from PETA)

PETA’s expose on the United States laboratory culture is hard to read about.

It seems that labs were going to the homeless cats and dogs’ home and buying cats to use in research!

The story of Tiger – or as the University of Michigan's Survival Flight training program called him “E8269” – is heartbreaking.

Fortunately PETA’s campaigning has caused labs to stop this practice…with cats.

Pigs are not so fortunate.

This story is reprinted from PETA’s laboratory campaign article.


“Tiger's intake report showed that he was a healthy, friendly cat when he entered a University of Michigan (U-M) laboratory. Five days later, Tiger was dead.

While Tiger's name before he was taken to the laboratory may never be known, once there he was treated as little more than a label, a cat known as "E8269." Given his stripes, we're honoring this handsome cat with a name more befitting him, Tiger.

Like the cats many of us share our homes with, he probably enjoyed being scratched behind the ears and purred when he saw his food dish. But U-M officials certainly didn't care about Tiger's likes and dislikes when they tossed him into their intubation training lab—a grim laboratory in which cats had plastic tubes forced down their windpipes—and then killed him.

PETA exposed the abuse of animals in the University of Michigan's Survival Flight training program. We showed that university officials misled the public when they said that all the cats in their labs—healthy, lovable cats like Tiger—were adopted after they endured hideous procedures in the course. In fact, records show that more than half of the cats used in recent years were quietly killed.

PETA's exposé and vigorous campaigning caused a public uproar. Unable to ignore our fury, U-M announced that it had ended its use of cats in its laboratories—a wonderful victory for cats!

The cats have been replaced with modern, effective simulators. But U-M plans to continue to harm and kill pigs for other procedures in this training course.

That means that gentle, intelligent pigs will have holes cut in their throats and chests and needles jammed into the tissue surrounding their hearts and will ultimately be killed just as cats like Tiger were. Pigs continue to suffer at U-M, and millions of other animals are suffering right now in cruel chemical, drug, food, and cosmetics tests, biology lessons and training exercises, and horrible experiments." PETA, 2012

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Make a donation to help PETA fight for the replacement of pigs at U-M with simulators and support all our lifesaving efforts to expose and stop cruelty in university laboratories or wherever it occurs

Speak out in your local areas about the use of animals in research. With the technology of today, there is NO NEED. EVER.

Be careful and do your research when you buy cosmetics and other products that may have been tested on animals. The company may use third party testing companies so don't be too trusting! For example, Avon and Estee Lauder have stated that they do no test on animals, however they do contract a Chinese company to do that for them. Sneaky sneaky Avon. Boycott these companies and make it know to your friends and family that you do and why.

The attempt to silence the truth

For most, their lives started with trauma, others suffering injury and harm from accidents or human conflict. All of the wildlife at Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand (WFFT) finding sanctuary and safety in the care of the full time staff and international volunteers at the rescue centre near Phetchaburi, Thailand.

The country undeniably has a checkered history - and present, when it comes to the treatment of animals. Just taking a look through facebook and tripadvisor demonstrates that for many overseas holiday makers, a ride on an elephant or a photo with a monkey dressed in dolls' clothes in the street or nightclub is a memorable highlight of their trip. The trade corridor from Thailand to China provides opportunity for collectors and natural medicine enthusiastics to procure exotic specimens at cheap prices, no questions asked.

The entertainment of our human race is a lucrative business the world over. One which sees the prevalence of NGOs in animal welfare and conservation adding their voice in an attempt to stem the tide of the mistreated, uninformed, malnourished and all out mutilation of our planet's biodiversity.

My sister and I found WFFT online a couple of years ago and have volunteered there twice now. The devastating flood of 2010 ripped apart many of the enclosures at the centre and washed out the volunteer housing. It was going to be a hard road back. In 2011 I was amazed at how much had been achieved. The animal enclosures were vastly improved, the enrichment programs advanced and all the wildlife residents were healthy and well feed. It seemed that adversity just set the resolve of WFFT to fight and work harder for those animals who relied on the care and protection of staff and volunteers.

In 2011 I spent some time with WFFT Founder Edwin Wiek looking over the new enclosures and plans for the developing areas of the centre. It was amazing how big the place was becoming. Actually sad that so much space was needed and that so many animals were in need. Edwin wandered (quickly and with purpose as he always does) pointing out plans for this space and that. All the while taking time to chat to the animals we passed. Edwin knows them all by name. All 450 of them. He can tell you when and how each one came to the centre. Some particularly hold a very dear place in his heart; Meow the tiger, rescued from chains at a petrol station, now forever tormented by a moto- neurological condition creating epileptic-like fits, or Jojo the primate with such psychological trauma that he can not control his reflexes. Jojo adores Edwin, and he Jojo, so much so that on the rare occasion Edwin gets some downtime, the two of them can be found in a hammock reading a book and grooming as primates do.

Jojo with Edwin Wiek at WFFT

It was during this visit in December 2011 that the centre lost a second elephant in as many months. I had spent a couple of the few days Joan had spent at the centre after her release (for payment) from an elephant camp, trying to care for her, along with fellow volunteer Rene (O2E phlogs on Joan here and here). It wasn't any use, she was too sick and died. Given up for money after her owners realised she couldn't carry or entertain the tourists anymore. The owners told a story with half truths and promise and handed over the 60 year old to spend her remaining days in retirement. None of us were to know her days were to be so few. Joan's story is a sad one and so common in Thailand. She was a lovely lady, quite partial to bumping us females just so we knew she was there. She had her first swim, her first juicy pineapple, her first affection at WFFT. She held on for a few days revelling in this new found joy until the illness that had gripped her won.

We were devastated. Edwin particularly so. The frustration, the disgust we all felt, he gathered up around him and set himself firmly to fight. With 22 years experience in life in Thailand, Edwin knows the place and the people well. He is outspoken and is known to be so. Many quotes come to mind from famous and infamous people in history that were suited to the situation at hand. Ralph Waldo Emerson, 17th century poet and individualist said “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. Edwin told me that day Joan died that he had been writing about the elephant trade. It was time to release his thoughts to the media. For Joan and every other tortured living creature in Thailand and the world over.

So we buried Joan that day and life at the centre continued, set in its resolve that we would care and protect those we could and remember Joan and everything she stood for. Pragmatically aware that Joan is one of many and the list of wildlife that needed saving was growing by the day. I waited. Anxious for the day Edwin's words would be released.

I didn't have to wait long. As it happened, several events hit the news back to back. Poachers in the national park, runaway "tamed" bull elephant...it seemed Thailand was determined to place their wildlife trade issues right out there for all to see. Edwin and WFFT made comment, releasing articles and opinions on these recent, tragic events. The air is ripe for change. And as in anything in life, some don't like change.  They stamp their feet, they argue, they sabotage, they fight back.

Coinciding with this, was the international conference on tiger crime, hosted by the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), attended by such global enterprises as CITES and INTERPOL.Bangkok was the host. All the international major stakeholders were in town for two days. By all media generated accounts, it was a huge success. The outcome - a signing of mandates and conventions detailing the parties commitment to eradicating tiger crime. It's all very high level UN type stuff; "we condemn this, we support that, we are committed..." Edwin was interviewed several times and again made comment highlighting the overarching issues of corruption and governmental restrictions.

On the 13th February 2012, the Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand and a northern elephant rescue park, Elephant Nature Park were raided by the Department of National Parks (DNP). Demands for ownership papers for all of the 450 animals at WFFT were made. The timeframe to produce. 2 hours. Edwin's wife Noi (Jansaeng Sangnanork) was arrested and escorted to the police station by 30 armed officers. The siege on WFFT and Edwin Wiek had begun.

The heartbreaking story is well documented through Facebook and Twitter. You can read for yourselves, if you haven't already, how those days panned out. The threats, harassment and abusive handling of animals confiscated is evident as you read and watch the images (www.wix.com/anoelle45/wffthelp is a great site by a volunteer that gathers resources and information from around the world on the raid).

After just 5 days the social media was reaching an audience of 381,200 tweeters, about 20,000 facebookers and 16,064 signatures on the petition site . The exposure was monumentuous. The support for those on the ground was overwhelming. Support from organisations such as Care for the Wild, Animals Australia, Bornfree Foundation and WWF flooded in, tapping in to their readership.

After threats of 103 confiscations the 70 armed DNP officers have taken 13 animals in 6 days. They camp outside the centre at night and show their presence, always that constant threatening promise that come daylight, they will be back inside to confiscate more. That's an incredible show of force, an intriguingly massive number of manpower for the 6 day (and counting) operation. Imagine what could be achieved with that resource? The DNP official 'S' still at large, wanted in connection with elephant poaching, for example...just saying...

Whilst things are quieter at the centre the past two days, with no confiscations pending discussions between WFFT legal representation and the DNP, the officials wait and the staff and volunteers also wait. Meanwhile there are 13 scared and lonely animals somewhere in a zoo in Thailand away from their home at the centre, being traumatised all over again.

We all wonder when will they be returned? It seems that with the paperwork all in order for WFFT's legal ownership of all wildlife at the centre, the DNP have no legal grounds to continue this charade, and yet even today more threats from officials that come Monday the reprisals will continue.

For all of those who have spent time at WFFT, the centre has changed our lives. My sister and I started Oceans2Earth Foundation in 2010 after volunteering there. We only hope the impact we can make in future years will compare to that of Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand, Edwin Wiek, Lucy Clark (Vet), Tommy Taylor (Volunteer Co-ordinator), Laurene Heuguerot and everyone involved with WFFT.

Our voices are with yours. Our thoughts and hopes too that this will be over soon. Edwin has published a letter which raises the very questions we have all been asking as we watch the seige unfold. Please have a read.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
You CAN make a difference. The supporters of WFFT have reached thousands of people, media and organisations and the story is out there for the international scrutiny it deserves.

Please go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/urgent-plea-for-rescued-thai-wildlife/ and sign the petition

Check out and follow @Edwinwiek and @Lucywildlife on Twitter (all captions in this blog are taken directly from Edwin or Lucy's twitter feed)

Join Wildlife Friends Foundation of Thailand Facebook page

Go to www.wix.com/anoelle45/wffthelp for video and pics, news stories on the raid. Click the Resources link for contact details of every organisation you can write to. There's even a letter template if you need it. Contact as many people as you can. If you know of any other organisation that might help, contact them and post their contact details on Facebook.

U.S. Shopping Mall Trade in Native Animals

Sugar gliders are native to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. They live communally in groups of thirty or more and enjoy gliding, playing, and searching for food.

Gliders are weigh around 3.5-4.5 ounces and are approximately 11 inches in length, 6-7 inches of that being taken up by a semi-prehensile tail. They have large black eyes, a pointed nose, and pointed ears that are large in comparison to their head. Like the North American flying squirrel sugar gliders have a membrane that stretches from their hands to their feet. The gliders fur is short, very soft, and usually brown or grey with a white to off-white belly. A black stripe starts at their head and goes to the base of their tail.  The tail is generally grey or brown with a black tip.  Several breeders have bred sugar gliders to other colours.  Albinos are all white with pink eyes and Leucistic are all white with black eyes. Female gliders have a small pouch and males have a small furry sack which descends from their lower abdomen called a pom which holds their testicles.

Their scientific name is Petaurus breviceps and they are in the same order as other natives such as kangaroos, opossums, wombats, and Tasmanian devils. Yet they are regularly sold to families in U.S. malls.

Complaints continue to pour in from customers of CBL & Associates malls regarding Pocket Pets, a traveling kiosk that sells these tiny exotic marsupials. PETA has reached out to executives, but pleas appear to have fallen on deaf ears. In some U.S. states, sugar gliders are actually listed as “exotic pets” and are legal.

Because of the kiosks' locations in malls and the species' cute appearance, shoppers purchase the animals on impulse like toys, oblivious to their special, long-term needs. 

Sugar gliders' natural diet consists of native insects, wattle gum and eucalyptus sap, which U.S. shoppers rarely have access to. Most U.S. vets also have no resources to provide sugar gliders with health.

Sugar gliders deserve to live in their native habitat, where they can glide, play with their family members and search for food. Shoppers do not need these pets and typically grow bored with them shortly after purchase.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

The Care2 Petition is looking for 10,000 signatures to take their petition to the US Congress. You can sign your outrage here.

Contact PETA directly and offer your support to their campaign.

Remind your family and friends, any little critter that may fit in your handbag is a real, live animal and shouldn’t be bought on a whim because they look cute. They need care for a lifetime in their natural environment.

CITES and the North-South Initiative to Make Wildlife Trade Crime More Visible

Article reproduction. See http://www.cites.org/eng/news/sundry/2012/20110206_tz_roundtable.php


Annually, international wildlife trade is estimated to be worth billions of dollars and to include hundreds of millions of plant and animal specimens. Levels of exploitation of some animal and plant species are high and the trade in them, together with other factors, such as habitat loss, is capable of heavily depleting their populations and even bringing some species close to extinction.

CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. For many years CITES has been among the conservation agreements with the largest membership, with now 175 Parties.

Sweden’s Minister for Trade (Hon. Ewa Björling) and Tanzania’s Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism (Hon. Ezekiel M. Maige) organized a roundtable on 26 January 2012 in Dar es Salaam on how to prevent and combat illegal trade in endangered species, with support from the CITES Secretariat and the World Customs Organization (WCO).

Participants included representatives of: Tanzania’s Wildlife Division, National Parks Division, Wildlife Research Institute and Revenue Authority - Customs; Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (which hosts the Minister for Trade) located in both Dar es Salaam and Stockholm; Nigeria’s Customs Services; the CITES Secretariat; WCO; the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC); the United Nations Environment Programme’s Great Apes Survival Partnership; TRAFFIC; World Wild Fund for Nature; Pan African Sanctuary Alliance; and African Apes.

During the ministerial segment of the roundtable, co-chaired by Ministers Björling and Maige, participants noted the need to raise the awareness of heads of State about the scale of illegal wildlife trafficking and its impacts not only on wildlife conservation but also the tourism sector and local livelihoods. They recognized that wildlife crime should be addressed from both the supply and demand sides, to be most effective. Acknowledging the electronic control systems that are already in place in many Customs services, participants concluded that other law enforcement agencies need to develop similar systems to support better communication and cooperation not only with Customs but also with each other.

A technical-level discussion, co-chaired by Ms. Marceil Yeater of the CITES Secretariat and Mr Mohamed Madehele of Tanzania’s Wildlife Division, followed the ministerial segment. During this session, participants noted that increased penalties for wildlife crimes need to be adopted to deter offenders and to obtain support from general law enforcement agencies. They expressed interest in using controlled deliveries as an investigation tool for wildlife crime, building on the experience gained with their use in drug crimes, and pointed out the importance of related awareness-raising activities. Participants recognized that enhanced cooperation among law enforcement agencies would bring different competencies together and strengthen the different pieces of the enforcement chain. They acknowledged that cooperation beyond law enforcement agencies (e.g. with other government agencies, local communities and non-State actors) was also necessary. Finally, they identified priority issues that needed immediate attention, such as the gathering and use of intelligence about recent instances of alleged illegal trade in great apes.

The findings and conclusions of the roundtable are expected to contribute to: targeted national wildlife law enforcement actions in producer and consumer countries; coordinated activities of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC), comprising the CITES Secretariat, INTERPOL, UNODC, the World Bank and WCO; upcoming international meetings on wildlife crime to be held in Bangkok, Thailand from 13 to 17 February 2012 and Lyon, France from 27 to 29 March 2012; and the second phase of an operational project in Africa and Asia (funded by Sweden) which will be organized by WCO later in the year.

O2E says…
Many argue the CITES does not contribute much to the “war on wildlife trade”. And with numbers of illegal imports and exports not really budging, it is easy to see why. I see CITES as the UN of wildlife trade. Necessary but not necessarily effective. Let’s see how the upcoming international meetings on wildlife crime pan out. With representatives attending these meetings from grassroots organisations, the opportunity exists for CITES to hear and acknowledge the real issues and to support NGOs more rigorously.

Illegal Wildlife Trade Reports 2004-2008
(Thailand and Australia)

Go to CITES to check out illegal trade reports in your neck of the woods. (Sorry about the reproduction quality but you get the picture!)

Day Seven : Our Favourite Ele pics!

We hoped you enjoyed this week celebrating elephants.

We have put together this collage to show what remarkable, intelligent, wonderful creatures they truly are. Photos are of both Asian and African elephants and are complements of Oceans2Earth, Wildlife Pictures Online or National Geographic.

We need to work together and diligently to save them from harm and indeed, extinction.

Day Six : Other stuff about the Elephant

Do elephants have good memories?

Elephants seem to have one of the best memories of all animals.

The long lifespan of elephants do require that they have a good memory. There is proof that elephants have recognized urine samples from group members they had been separated from for a few decades.

This good memory is very beneficial for survival when knowledge about where to find food, water and security is very useful during extreme climatic cycles.

Did you know an elephant’s height can be estimated from the size of its footprint?

Its footprint can determine the height of an elephant. For males shoulder height is approximately 5,8 time the length of the hind footprint (and in the case of females 5,5 times).

An elephant’s foot generally measures 40 - 50 centimetres in length and width and has a circumference of about 1.34 meters.

The footprint can also indicate the age of an elephant. Younger elephants leave a more defined footprint than older elephants that might have smoother ridges and well-worn heels.

All mammals can be divided into different groups based on their foot posture while standing. Elephants fall into a group called near-ungulates, which refers to the fact that they have toenails rather than hooves.

An elephant’s foot is designed in such a way that elephants actually walk on the tips of their toes. African elephants have 4 nails on their front feet and 3 nails on their back feet. These nails are worn down and do not always show on their footprints. The sole of the foot is covered in a thick epidermal layer tissue that acts like shock absorbers. This allows the elephant to move surprisingly silently.

The ridges and grooves give it a good grip some stability when walking over a variety of terrains. The reason that elephants can walk so quietly is in part due to the fibro elastic layer providing a spongy cushion on the bottom of the foot. This allows the foot to mould over objects on the ground thereby effectively smothering the objects beneath it.

How do African elephants sleep?

African elephants can sleep standing up for a few minutes at a stretch but they do lie down in order to sleep more deeply. Adult elephants sleep for about 3 to 4 hours at night, a whole family group at the same place and time, while young elephants are sometimes overcome by sleep at other times. Then you can see their mothers patiently guarding their sleep.

Elephants even snore at times. They will also lie down in the heat of the day for an hour or two.

Can elephants swim?

Elephants enjoy showering by sucking water into their trunks and spraying it all over themselves. Afterward, they often spray their skin with a protective coating of dust.

If it is possible an elephant goes to water once a day to drink, bathe and wallow in mud. On average it will drink 70 to 90 litres a day but it can down 150 litres when thirsty. Wallowing in mud is an important activity for elephants. It cools them off and it protects its skin against parasites.

In deep water an elephant will immerse itself completely. Elephants can swim across lakes and rivers with only the tip of their trunks showing. Elephants shower themselves with dust and sand for the same reasons. Sand also acts as a useful substance to help dislodge ticks when the elephant rubs itself on rocks and trees.
You may visit our site, oceans2earth.org/volunteer to enjoy many more projects which will surely be turn into your best experience of rejuvination. 

Day Five : Elephants charging .. and why?

Hey! You’re in my space. Back off will ya?

Seems fair enough, doesn’t it?

Well the elephant can be just as clear with its meaning to back off too. You’ll get a warning – a mock charge – and then if you won’t take the hint – it WILL mean it.
Please note: Each elephant has its own distinctive character so don’t generalise about the difference between serious and mock charges. This is for interest only. Obviously you should stay away from an elephant. Leave it be.

THE LEAD UP
An aggressive elephant raises its head and trunk, extends its ears, trumpets and throws up clouds of dust by kicking the ground and shaking its head.
A lot of this activity initially involves displays of bravado and can be considered to be mock displays. By now, any species in its right mind will take notice of these threatening displays and take the necessary evasion action.

If the elephant however realises that attempts to intimidate have failed and still feels threatened, the elephant will likely then sway backwards and forwards before it charges.

In a serious charge the ears are held back against the neck and the trunk is tucked up against the chin.

Most charges are stopped before the target is reached. HOWEVER if an attack is followed through an elephant is quite capable of killing rhino and hippo, and of wrecking vehicles.

At top speed an elephant can travel at 40 km/h (25 miles/h).

However their biggest asset is not their speed. Their primary defense is their sheer bulk, tusks and trunk as well as their strength in numbers. Adult elephants have virtually no enemies except humans. Wonder why…

Day Four : That Amazing Trunk!

With estimated muscle counts ranging between 40,000 and 150,000, the trunk of an elephant is the most extraordinary and dexterous nose in creation. The trunk feels a bit like a hairy tree trunk or hard, crackly old leather! It’s extremely strong and yet gentle and sensitive as well, and is both capable of killing a lion - or caressing a frightened elephant calf.

It can pick leaves, strip branches, pull bark off trees, and pick up objects as small as a coin. It can suck up a gallon of water to squirt into a mouth or on a hot back (Elephants do not drink through their trunk, but use it to draw the liquid).

With their trunks elephants throw dust in the air, rub their eyes, greet one another, sound calls, test uncertain ground, smell danger--or a potential mate--and snorkel. African elephants have two lobes on the tips of their trunks (Asians have only one) that act like fingers.

Since elephants spend most of their time eating and drinking, those fingers get a steady workout, grasping seeds, roots, fruit, flowers, leaves, branches, bark, grass, and even thorns to pacify an incurable appetite.

Elephants can consume as much 300 pounds of forage a day, and up to 50 gallons of water. They drink whenever they can since they may have to go for a couple days or more without water during dry spells or while traveling.

Elephants are fast walkers and some herds have been observed to cover 120 miles in one day. However, 15 miles is a closer average for an elephant. More than most of us walk, anyway.

Elephants communicate a lot through touch, taste, and smell. A mother may bat her calf with her tail to make sure he is still following behind her, or she may turn and shove him as discipline. Two elephants who meet will "greet" with trunks outstretched, sniffing for clues about the other. (Incidentally, some scientists say that excited behaviour during greetings may suggest that elephants remember one another, even after being separated for many years.)

Elephants on alert will raise their trunks like periscopes, with the tips pointed toward whatever ill wind is blowing. They also can make more than 25 various vocalizations. Trumpets, screams, rumbles, and grunts all send a message, depending on how they are made.

A series of long, low rumbles may be a signal for the family to get up and move on. A trumpet may be a show of intimidation; a special soft hum is a mother's song to her newborn. Some calls are made only by females, only by males, or by calves.
Thanks to http://www.wildlife-pictures-online.com, http://oceans2earth.org/volunteer