Meet these friends of elephants

The Times of India , Monday, April 07, 2014
Correspondent : Saswati Mukherjee
BANGALORE: At an event on January 26, many curious minds gathered at the Rangoli Art Centre on MG Road to be a part of Elephant Enigma. It was an art and information exhibition featuring large photographic panels and texts detailing the magnificence and intelligence of elephants, their struggles and challenges in an ever-changing world, and their long yet complex relationship with humans.

Two months later, the people who got together that day joined hands to form Friends of Elephants (FOE), an informal group whose members have a common dream -- to contribute towards elephant conservation and welfare.

Each one gathered at the event in January had one dream - to contribute individually towards elephant conservation and welfare.

The group proposes to design educational and research programmes on elephants, empower forest watchers, conduct training sessions, help in providing educational support to watchers' families and also sponsor a child's education.

Captive elephants weigh heavily on their minds. "One key person in this equation is the mahout. We can look for resources and manpower to help the mahout's family. This way we can motivate them to treat elephants better. Holding informal workshops, offering family-care suggestions and saving resources are some areas where we can meaningfully intervene," says Surendra Varma of the Asian elephant research & conservation programme, IISc, who is also the coordinator of FOE.

Ever since the news about this group started doing the rounds, many Bangaloreans have shown interest in the cause. Today, FOE has 25 active members spreading the good word on conservation. on the social media as well.

"I have always wanted to contribute but didn't know how. Now I can help alcohol-prone mahouts by engaging them in de-addiction programmes or putting them on medication," said Dr Sunil Mallesh, MD of Gayathri Hospital, Vijaynagar. An avid wildlife photographer, Dr Sunil has been on many safaris around the world. and is interested in some philanthropic work now.

FOE proposes to meet once in two months to discuss elephant-conservation programmes.

FIRST STEP

On Monday, FOE will screen Calling Ganesha, a short film on the dangers faced by Asian elephants, followed by a panel discussion and an open-house session at the Rangoli Art Centre.

"We can discuss the kind of problems these elephants face and create awareness too. We intend to hold a lot of meetings and connect with those who want to work towards conservation. We are making a well-researched movie," said Padma Ashok. Padma and her husband Ashok Hallur are founder-trustees of Save Tiger First. The duo designs posters and makes movies, aiding the discourse on conservation in a creative way. They have designed the invite for this event as well.

FOR A LARGER CAUSE

We propose to extend the ambit of Friends of Elephants, and include chapters in different cities and regions. We are very excited about the prospect of an informal coalition and a network of international affiliations with the purpose of sharing expertise and resources to secure the future and wellbeing of elephants worldwide

Dr Dag Goering | photographer, veterinarian and conservationist. He heads the Elephant Earth initiative with his wife, author Maria Coffey

JUMBO TRIVIA

* The trunk of a jumbo is a fusion of the nose and upper lip. It's the longest nose in the animal kingdom with over 40,000 muscles that enables the elephant to feed, drink and defend itself and interact with family members. It's also used as a sensory organ.

* Elephants spend about 16 to 18 hours a day eating. The ancestors of today's elephants changed their feeding behavior eight million years ago. The lower lip of the Asian elephant is long and tapered, and short and round in African elephants.

* Ivory poaching is driving rapid evolution in elephants, with scientists suggesting that in the last 150 years, the world's elephant population has evolved much smaller tusks. The average size of both African and Asian elephant tusks has gone down by half. It's believed that killing of most bulls with large tusks for ivory has resulted in fewer large-tusked offspring.

* They have small eyes and poor eyesight

* Elephants walk on their toes. The spongy, elastic cushion that encases their feet enables them to walk silently and helps them to dig up roots, create holes to collect water and move across harsh landscapes.

Though the natural color of both the Asian and African elephants is graying black, their color varies according to the color of the area's soil that they throw on their backs

 
SOURCE : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Bangalore/Meet-these-friends-of-elephants/articleshow/33356231.cms
 


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