Elephant (Eyewitness Lvg World Video)

Elephants, who reign supreme in the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Video: ELEPHANT, have been everything in our cultures from deities to political party symbols to children's book heroes. They are the largest, not to mention heaviest, land animals on Earth. The two surviving species, the African and the Asian Elephants are all that remain of trunked animals; the mammoth, previously their closest relatives, are long extinct. ...Learn More

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Elephants, who reign supreme in the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Video: ELEPHANT, have been everything in our cultures from deities to political party symbols to children's book heroes. They are the largest, not to mention heaviest, land animals on Earth. The two surviving species, the African and the Asian Elephants are all that remain of trunked animals; the mammoth, previously their closest relatives, are long extinct. Our fascination of these animals, who are seemingly left over from a time gone by, is explored in this captivating video which combines beautiful footage of elephants in their natural habitats with additional close-ups filmed in the Eyewitness studio. Elephants are classified as pachyderms for their inch thick skin, along with other animals like the rhino. But hands down their most distinguishing feature is their trunk, which is part nose, part upper lip, and over 100,000 muscles working together to accomplish some amazing feats. With this one appendage, elephants can among other things swat flies, reach for leaves, lift tree trunks, bathe, and greet one another with the equivalent of our handshake. Their skeletal structure and anatomy, strict vegetarian diet, communication and migration habits are all covered in detail. Tusks are actually overgrown front teeth, and are used for eating, digging and fighting over territory. Legend has it one incarnation of Buddha was as an elephant with six tusks, four of which he sacrificed for human greed. Unfortunately our greed was not satisfied and elephants are still illegally killed for their ivory, or "white gold." They have deep emotions and seem to grieve over other elephant remains. For centuries, elephants were used as man's supreme war machine until the invention of firearms, but have been used as recently as the Vietnam War to haul supplies. The reproductive cycle, herding instincts, and trainability are all discussed, and one common myth is debunked-elephants do not appear to be afraid of mice. With only two species remaining, this addition to the Eyewitness series teaches respect for the elephant and our need to work with them to ensure their survival. They are known as a keystone species, if they were removed the ecosystem in which they thrive might collapse without them.

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