Only Aggressive Elephants are Fast Elephants

Wild Asian elephants distinguish aggressive tiger and leopard growls according to perceived danger.

Prey species exhibit antipredator behaviours such as alertness, aggression and flight, among others, in response to predators. The nature of this response is variable, with animals reacting more strongly in situations of increased vulnerability. Our research described here is the first formal study to investigate night-time antipredator behaviour in any species of elephants, Asian or African. W...

Laboratory characteristics of poxviruses isolated from captive elephants in Germany

Elephants avoid costly mountaineering

Understanding the behavioural decisions underlying animal movements is a major challenge. Here we report evidence for the importance of the abiotic terrain feature 'gradient' in guiding the movements of African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana). Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking data overlaid onto digital elevation and surface gradient models show that elephants tend to avoid steep...

Longitudinal study of Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, indicates intermittent shedding of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1 during pregnancy

INTRODUCTION EEHV-1 is a viral infection of elephants that has been associated with a fatal haemorrhagic syndrome in Asian elephants. Previous studies have suggested that pregnant animals may shed more virus than non-pregnant animals. METHODS This study examined whether pregnancy affected the frequency or magnitude of shedding of elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus 1 (EEHV1) using Taq man r...

Why Elephants Gallop: Assessing and Predicting Organizational Performance in Federal Agencies

'In a recent article published in this journal, the authors argued that elephants and public organizations have something in common. Both are saddled with inaccurate stereotypes. Elephants are believed to be slow and insensitive creatures, when in fact they can run very fast and are very sensitive. Similarly, public organizations are believed to be low-performing and unresponsive, when in fact ...