“Relephant” Facts

BRIANA THAI
Staff Writer

In the U.S., elephants are used as entertainment in the circus and are usually hunted for their ivory tusks. However, in Asia and India, they are used for transportation.

Elephants are used for transportation in Asia and India because of their unbelievable strength! Aside from this, they have the ability to navigate through heavy terrain and dense forests. Recent discoveries have shown that elephants can communicate over long distances by producing a subsonic rumble that can travel over the ground faster than sound through air. Other elephants receive the messages through the sensitive skin on their feet and trunks.

Asian cultures respect the high intelligence level and superior memory of the Asian elephant, which symbolizes wisdom and royal power. Many customs believe that elephants are good luck and that, if an individual rides on one, they feel more powerful.

Within the Asian culture, elephants are culturally iconic to those in India. According to mythologies, the gods and the demons churned the oceans in a search for the elixir of life so they would be immortal. As they did so, the ‘navratnas’, also known as the nine gems, surfaced, one of which was an elephant.

Although elephants represent something different to us, we cannot ignore the importance theses mammals have in countries like India and Asia.