Back to the future: Mastodon extends the time limit on DNA sequencing
In a new paper in the open access journal PLoS Biology, Michael Hofreiter from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, and colleagues from Switzerland and the United States, announce the sequencing of the complete mitochondrial genome of the mastodon (Mammut americanum), a recently extinct relative of the living... view more... (2007-07-24)
Satellite tracking reveals threats to Borneo pygmy elephants
A new WWF study tracking pygmy elephants by satellite shows that the remaining herds of these endangered elephants, which live only on the island of Borneo, are under threat from forest fragmentation and loss of habitat. view more (2007-08-09)
WWF peeks into mysterious life of Borneo's pygmy elephants
The same satellite system used by the U.S. military to track vehicle convoys in Iraq is helping World Wildlife Fund shed light on the little-known world of pygmy elephants in Borneo. view more (2005-12-19)
Biologists find jumbo welfare problems in zoo elephants
Zoo elephants are stressed and unhealthy, with a massively reduced life expectancy, according to Oxford University biologists Dr Ros Clubb and Dr Georgia Mason. In an independent report released today [Wednesday 23 October], they call for zoos to stop importing and breeding elephants until they can prove that their welfare problems are completely... view more... (2002-10-21)
Elephants avoid costly mountaineering
Using global-positioning system data corresponding to the movements of elephants across the African savannah, researchers have found that elephants exhibit strong tendencies to avoid significantly sloped terrain, and that such land features likely represent a key influence on elephant movements and land use. view more (2006-07-25)
Have you ever seen an elephant...run?
If an elephant is thundering towards you at 15mph you are probably not too concerned with the finer points of biomechanics or the thorny question about whether they are truly running or not. view more (2006-08-21)
Uncertain future for elephants of Thailand
Worries over the future of Thailand' s famous elephants have emerged following an investigation by a University of Manchester team. view more (2008-07-28)
APS Podcast Updates Research on Elephant Seismic Communication
Caitlin O'Connell-Rodwell's insight that elephants 'talk' and 'listen' to vocalizations that they send through the ground grew from long hours of observation and experimentation, as well as her own in-depth knowledge of insects that communicate seismically. view more (2009-09-21)
Social standing influences elephant movement
When resources are scarce, who you know and where you're positioned on the social totem pole affects how far you'll go to search for food. At least that's the case with African elephants, according to a study led by ecologists at the University of California, Berkeley, who collaborated with researchers at Save the Elephants, a non-profit research... view more... (2007-10-30)
Toothed Embryo Of Mammoth
For the first time, a well-preserved lower jawbone of a mammoth embryo is found by paleontologist E.N. Mashchenko and his colleagues in the Tomsk area. Judging from the size and structure of the bone, the embryo is from 14 to 16 weeks old, which is the last stage of its development (the pregnancy of mammoths as well as elephants lasts for almost... view more... (2002-06-17)
Key to elephant conservation is 'in the sauce'
What do hot sauce aficionados and African elephants have in common? They both feel the burn of chilli peppers, the key ingredient for resolving human-elephant conflicts in Africa while raising money for farmers and conservation. view more (2005-08-01)
Fossil is missing link in elephant lineage
A pig-sized, tusked creature that roamed the earth some 27 million years ago represents a missing link between the oldest known relatives of elephants and the more recent group from which modern elephants descended, an international team that includes University of Michigan paleontologist William J. Sanders has found. view more (2006-11-02)
Destruction of Sumatra forests driving global climate change and species extinction
Turning just one Sumatran province's forests and peat swamps into pulpwood and palm oil plantations is generating more annual greenhouse gas emissions than the Netherlands and rapidly driving the province's elephants into extinction, a new study by WWF and partners has found. view more (2008-02-27)
Missing: 2,000 elephants
Elephants in Zakouma National Park, the last stronghold for the savanna elephants of Central Africa's Sahel region, now hover at about 1,000 animals, down from an estimated 3,000 in 2006. view more (2008-12-12)
Elephant highways of death
A new study coordinated by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society and other groups found that Central Africa's increasing network of roads - which are penetrating deeper and deeper into the wildest areas of the Congo Basin - are becoming highways of death for the little known forest elephant. view more (2007-04-03)
A plan for reintroducing megafauna to North America
Dozens of megafauna (large animals over 100 pounds) - such as giant tortoises, horses, elephants, and cheetah - went extinct in North America13,000 years ago during the end of the Pleistocene. view more (2006-10-03)
When animals evolve on islands, size doesn't matter
A theory explaining the evolution of giant rodents, miniature elephants, and even miniature humans on islands has been called into questions by new research published today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. view more (2007-11-07)
Genetic Analysis of Asian Elephants in India Reveals Some Surprises
Researchers in India and from The Earth Institute at Columbia University have discovered that one of the few remaining populations of Asian elephants in India is actually two genetically distinct groups. view more (2005-12-20)
Cambridge award recognises conservation work in Africa
A student at the University of Kent's Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE) has been awarded a top prize for his efforts to conserve wildlife in Africa. Noah Sitati, a Kenyan PhD, has studied the interactions between elephants and people around the world famous Masai Mara National Reserve, where the BBC's Big Cat Diary is filmed. At... view more... (2003-04-03)
Scientists find elephant memories may hold key to survival
A recent study by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) suggests that old female elephants-and perhaps their memories of distant, life-sustaining sources of food and water-may be the key to survival during the worst of times. view more (2008-08-12)
|
|
