Let's see ... I am an African elephant, born in 1861 (not 1906) in the French Sudan from where he was imported to France and kept in the old Zoo Jardin des Plantes close to the railway station Gare d'Austerlitz in Paris. In 1865, I was transferred to the London Zoo, where I became famous for giving rides to visitors. It was the London zoo-keepers that gave me my name — it is likely either an afflicted version of the word jambo, which is Swahili for "hello," or of the Swahili word "jumbe," which means "chief."
I was sold in 1882 to P. T. Barnum, owner of "The Greatest Show on Earth", the Barnum & Bailey Circus for $10,000 US. Estimated to be 3.25 metres high in the London Zoo, it was claimed that I was approximately 4 metres tall by the time of my death. I died at a train station in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, where I was crushed by a locomotive. Many believe that I was killed trying to save a young elephant known as Tom Thumb. There is a statue at the site commemorating the tragedy. Many metalic objects were found in my stomach, including pennies, keys, and rivets (I was hungry - what can I say?.
They donated my skeleton to the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. My heart was sold to Cornell University. My hide was stuffed and traveled with Barnum's circus for a number of years. In 1889, Barnum donated the rest of me to Tufts University, where I was displayed until destroyed by a fire in 1975. My tail, which survived the fire, is kept in the University archives. My ashes are kept in a 14-ounce Peter Pan Crunchy Peanut Butter jar in the office of the Tufts athletic director. My statue was erected on the Tufts campus after the fire, however this statue erroneously depicts an Asian elephant, not an African elephant. In honor of Barnum's donation of the elephant's hide and more than $50,000, I became the Tufts mascot.
As a result of Barnum's publicity the word "jumbo," my name is now synonymous with "large" or "huge."
Facts About The Asian Elephant:
- The Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) – formerly known as the Indian Elephant - is smaller than its African relatives, and the easiest way to distinguish the two is the smaller ears of the Asian Elephant. Asian elephants tend to grow to around 7 - 12 feet (two to four metres) in height and 6,500 - 11,000 lb (3,000 - 5,000 kg) in weight.
- Asian elephants are found in India , China , Myanmar , Thailand , Cambodia , Malaysia ,Sri Lanka , Sumatra, and Borneo . The Asian elephant is widely domesticated, and has been used in forestry in Southeast Asia for centuries.
- Asian Elephants have other differences from their African relatives, including a more arched back than the African, one "finger" at the tip of their trunk as opposed to two, four nails on each hind foot instead of three, and 19 pairs of ribs instead of 21.
- Also, unlike female African Elephants, female Asian Elephants lack tusks.
Facts About the African Elephant:
- The African Elephant (Loxodonta africana) can range in size from 20 - 24 ft (6 - 7.3 m) long and 10 - 13 ft (3 - 4 m) high. At up to 22,000 lb (10,000 kg) it is the largest land animal in the world.
- African elephants tend to be larger than the Asian species and both male and female African elephants have long tusks. The African Elephant's larger ears are rich in veins and thought to help in cooling off the blood in the hotter African climate.
- African Elephants have two "fingers" at the tip of their trunk, three nails on each hind foot and 21 pairs of ribs. Female African Elephants have tusks unlike the female Asian elephants.
A Brief History of the Elephant:
The elephant can be traced back 26 million years when there were many species that had similar characteristics as today's elephants. Today, only two living species remain: the African Elephant and the Asian Elephant.
Elephants have been used in various capacities by humans over the years. They were used in the military and for heavy labor, such as uprooting trees and moving logs. They have also played a strong role in religion: a white elephant is considered holy in Thailand;
Ganesh, the Hindu God of wisdom, has an elephant's head.
Today, elephants are facing numerous threats: the disappearance of natural habitats due to human activity, and poaching for their ivory tusks, meats and hides, to name a few. Many experts believe there is little future for the elephant outside protected areas.
Elephants used to exist in great numbers across Africa and parts of Asia but today these gentle giants are endangered. Rampant ivory poaching from 1979-89 more than halved Africa 's wild elephant populations from 1.4 million to a mere 600,000. Today, numbers may be as low as 400,000. In Asia , it is estimated that no more than 40,000 Asian elephants remain in the wild.
Me skiing:
Baby Elephant
Add to My Profile | More Videos
