Amboseli National Park Tusks are the only two front teeth of an elephant and grow throughout an elephant’s lifetime. Used to dig and find food, to play and fight, tusks are important tools although some elephants are born without one or both. Made of ivory, which has long been coveted by certain cultures, elephants have sadly been poached (killed) for their tusks. In recent years, many people have asked if tusked can be dyed/painted to help protect elephants. However, practically speaking, as with our own teeth, ivory (or dentine) is a very hard substance so, in the case of dying the tusks, it would be incredibly difficult to ensure that the colour permeates the surface. Without this, the dye on the outer surface could be buffed or sanded away, thereby not acting as a deterrent. Added to this, anesthetising an elephant can be a dangerous procedure for the animal and as tusks grow at approximately 2cm per year, meaning that this process of staining the tusks would have to be repeated many times throughout an elephant’s life. Instead, we believe that changing human behaviour (not modifying elephants) is the only long term solution and work through Anti-Poaching and awareness campaigns to help put an end to ivory poaching.
Amboseli National Park The female elephant normally gives birth to a single calf, unless she has twins. Female elephants might give birth every five years, and continue to mate until about the age of 50. The female elephant’s pregnancy will last up to 23 months, longer than many other animals. When she does give birth, the calf can weigh anywhere from 200 to 320 pounds. The labor can last for several days, beginning with labor pains. The female elephant will lose her mucous plug, and contractions increase as the labor continues. Wild elephants normally give birth at night. It is believed this is to provide them with an undisturbed environment. A female in labor has been known to make attempts to interrupt the birth, if it is occurring during the day or early dawn.
Amboseli National Park Amboseli has an endless underground water supply from Kilimanjaro’s ice cap, feeding a large swamp in the park Elephants swim in the swamp during the heat of the day and emerge from there half black, half grey, often with egret birds hitching a ride on their backs.
