elephant habitat

9 Stories

Deforestation Could Wipe Out Sumatran Elephants

Creatures face extinction in 30 year

(Newser) - If deforestation isn't slowed right away, wild Sumatran elephants could be extinct within three decades, environmentalists say. The creatures have been labeled "critically endangered," with their numbers cut in half since 1985; now, only 2,400 to 2,800 remain. The forests of Sumatra in Indonesia—host...

Elephant Rampage Kills 1 in India

Elephant gores man to death in Mysore, India

(Newser) - Two wild elephants killed a man and injured others on a rampage in southern India. The New Delhi Television channel today aired footage showing the body of a man at the feet of one of the animals in the city of Mysore. One elephant was trapped inside a farm and...

Attacks by Elephants, Tigers Rise in India

In some cases, humans have become prey

(Newser) - In parts of India such as the Sundarban Islands of West Bengal, humans are encroaching more than ever into the habitat of local wildlife. But here, the familiar story has a twist: elephants and tigers are responding by killing and even eating humans, ABC News reports. The latter is a...

Queen of Spain Pleads for Grief-Stricken Zoo Elephant

Barcelona Zoo urged to move bereaved elephant to more suitable habitat

(Newser) - Spain's Queen Sofia has intervened to help save an elephant campaigners say is dying of grief, the Independent reports. Susi, Barcelona Zoo's only elephant, lives alone in a concrete compound and has exhibited behavior experts say shows anxiety and deep depression since her companion died last year. The queen has...

Zoo Elephants Die Much Younger Than Those in Wild

(Newser) - Elephants in the wild live up to three times longer as those in zoos, a new study says. The six-year report by British and Canadian scientists is sure to fire up the debate between animal rights activists and zoos over the well-being of the animals. African and Asian elephants tend...

Numbers Soaring, S. Africa Mulls Elephant Cull

In 13 years since killing ban, overpopulation posing serious threat

(Newser) - South Africa's 1995 ban on culling elephants has proven wildly successful—perhaps too successful, writes Karen Lange in National Geographic. As the population has skyrocketed from 8,000 to 13,000 in the years since, starving elephants are now ravaging vegetation and taxing the nation's ecosystem, forcing experts to consider...

Elephant Squad Keeps the Peace
Elephant Squad Keeps the Peace
Dec 6, 2007 2:46 PM CST

Elephant Squad Keeps the Peace

Indonesia using novel solution to rampages

(Newser) - Conflicts between elephant and man are common in Indonesia, fueled by the establishment of plantations ever-deeper into the Sumatran jungle. Since 2002, 42 people and 100 elephants have died in clashes, the Wall Street Journal reports. Enter the “Flying Squad,” four trained elephants and their keepers who patrol...

Elephants Know Who to Trust
Elephants Know Who to Trust
Oct 21, 2007 7:21 AM CDT

Elephants Know Who to Trust

(Newser) - Elephants apparently never forget a smell or clothing, at least when it comes to spotting their human hunters, researchers have discovered. Pachyderms in a study remained calm near members of an African community who had not harmed them, but instantly shied from those in a tribe who hunted them. It's...

Crazed Elephants Ravage Village
Crazed Elephants Ravage Village
Oct 14, 2007 7:26 AM CDT

Crazed Elephants Ravage Village

(Newser) - A marauding herd of some 100 elephants has run amok on an Indian island, destroying homes and crushing fields as they feast on sugarcane. Panicky villagers were using firecrackers and bonfires in a bid to drive off the animals. Some 50 families have moved to a school for shelter. 

9 Stories