1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:03,159 Speaker 1: M Hey everybody, it's me Josh Um. For this week's 2 00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:07,880 Speaker 1: select I've chosen our February two thousand, nineteen episode Elephants 3 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:12,840 Speaker 1: Colon the Best Animals. Could this be the most enjoyable 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:15,880 Speaker 1: episode we've ever made? It could be, It could be. 5 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:18,239 Speaker 1: I can't really think of any better one right now, 6 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: so we'll say it is for the time beating. I 7 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 1: hope you enjoyed listening to this classic episode as much 8 00:00:23,200 --> 00:00:31,000 Speaker 1: as Chuck and I enjoyed making it. Welcome to Stuff 9 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:40,000 Speaker 1: You Should Know, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey, 10 00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark, There's Charles 11 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,800 Speaker 1: w Chuck, Bryan Jerry. We're just feeling wacky or here. 12 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: You want to know why? Why? Because this is the 13 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:53,680 Speaker 1: stuff you should know about. Maybe the greatest animal walking 14 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:57,800 Speaker 1: the planet. And I'm including human beings elephants. I'm big 15 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 1: on elephants. Love elephants. Might be Emily spirit animal. She 16 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:09,839 Speaker 1: hasn't decided yet. Yeah I can say you really, Oh yeah, wow, 17 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:11,920 Speaker 1: they have the same spirit animal that's gonna eat. Yeah, 18 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,680 Speaker 1: I know I like that. I didn't know that. I 19 00:01:14,720 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: didn't know you MEI was an elephant or she is 20 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: big time into elephant elephantist m hm um, all right, Charles, 21 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: are you ready for this? Yes, and really quickly. Because 22 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: we love elephants. We want to go on a safari 23 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,120 Speaker 1: one day. You know I've mentioned before, but now I 24 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: know and we'll get to this later. I was like, man, 25 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,040 Speaker 1: I want to I want to swim with those things. 26 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 1: Don't do it. No, I shouldn't do it. Don't write them, Nope, 27 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,320 Speaker 1: don't do any of those things where you see people 28 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:47,600 Speaker 1: on Facebook bragging about writing and getting made by elephants. 29 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:51,240 Speaker 1: Don't do it. Yeah, it's true, Like that's not ethical 30 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:55,200 Speaker 1: or humane because we'll just say it now. The reason 31 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:59,360 Speaker 1: why is because too elephants are wild animals. They're not domesticated. 32 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: Although they display some really bizarre affectionate behavior towards humans 33 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: there that can make you think they are domesticated, they're 34 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:13,799 Speaker 1: still wild animals. So to train them to basically ensure 35 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: that they're not ever going to, you know, stomp a 36 00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: person or something like that, you have to take them 37 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 1: as as babies and what's called crushing their spirit and 38 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:28,519 Speaker 1: just basically scare them so bad or beat them physically. Right, 39 00:02:28,880 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: that's part of the process of crushing their spirit. Like, yeah, 40 00:02:33,400 --> 00:02:36,680 Speaker 1: beat them, be rate them, starve them, tie their legs together, 41 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: keep them in a pen. All to basically teach them 42 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:42,080 Speaker 1: that humans are in charge and that they should be 43 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:45,960 Speaker 1: scared to death of of doing anything untoward toward a human. 44 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,200 Speaker 1: That's how you can write an elephant, or how you 45 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: can bathe with an elephant, or um, you me wanted 46 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: a painting by an elephant, Like, there's elephants that make paintings. 47 00:02:56,000 --> 00:02:59,240 Speaker 1: There's one here in Atlanta, Okay that makes paintings. So 48 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: we researched it right before we were about to order, 49 00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:03,919 Speaker 1: and she's like, wait a minute, let me just see 50 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: if this is okay. And it turns out that they 51 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: basically used the same techniques to to make an elephant 52 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: do what human wants it to, you have to be 53 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: very cruel to them usually, so there you go. People 54 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: don't do it. Yeah, it was a weird intro. Well 55 00:03:23,639 --> 00:03:26,679 Speaker 1: it was in my crawl. Uh, obviously it was in 56 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: yours a little bit. But let's talk about elephants, the 57 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: good stuff. There are three species. You probably grew up 58 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,080 Speaker 1: thinking like I did that there's the African elephant and 59 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: the Asian elephant. Sure that everybody knows that. But now 60 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: they have broken down the African element element the elephant 61 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: into two camps, the bush elephant and the forest elephant, 62 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: both African and like I said, for many many years, 63 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: and you will still see in a lot of places, um, 64 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,560 Speaker 1: just two species. But that is that is not true anymore. 65 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: No one to three um so, and the bush elephant 66 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: and the forest elephant are so closely related that if 67 00:04:06,680 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: they if they run up against one another, because some 68 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:14,040 Speaker 1: of their their habitats kind of overlap, they could reproduce 69 00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:17,839 Speaker 1: and have babies, which no problem whatsoever. But the Asian 70 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 1: elephant is so distantly related to them, even though they 71 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,920 Speaker 1: seem you know, it's just another kind of elephant that 72 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:31,160 Speaker 1: they probably they could conceivably have a kid. And actually 73 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,680 Speaker 1: one was born in a zoo in the seventies, but 74 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: he died after like I think, twelve days of an infection. 75 00:04:37,560 --> 00:04:42,080 Speaker 1: Um that they probably aren't really supposed to aren't supposed 76 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: to breed, I guess is how you'd put it, right, 77 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 1: have offspring. Yeah, so uh, we're gonna be talking about 78 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,320 Speaker 1: all three, um not interchangeably. We'll we'll point out when 79 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:58,800 Speaker 1: we're talking about what but the African bush elephant, those 80 00:04:58,839 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 1: are the biggest ones. They have the biggest ears um 81 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,559 Speaker 1: or at least larger than the Asian elephants, and both 82 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: sexes for the African bush elephants are more likely to 83 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: have tusks. Um. Some male Asian elephants have tusks, but 84 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:18,920 Speaker 1: they're not as prominent. That's where you see the smaller tusks. 85 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: And then all three species have five toes on the 86 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: front feet, but the African bush elephant has three toes 87 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: on the rear. Asian elephants have four toes on the 88 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: rear on each foot. Yeah, there's a lot of different 89 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,000 Speaker 1: toes going on, a lot of different toes. Uh. And 90 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: the African forest elephant is generally about the same shape 91 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:46,400 Speaker 1: as his bush bush friend, but they have straighter tusks 92 00:05:46,480 --> 00:05:49,360 Speaker 1: because they're going It makes sense they're going through the forest, 93 00:05:49,760 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: so their tusks don't stick way out and get caught 94 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,800 Speaker 1: on every other tree that they're walking by. Yes, and 95 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: I thought this was really interesting. Um, the the African 96 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:06,239 Speaker 1: um forest elephants are so elusive that like, they don't 97 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,839 Speaker 1: they have no idea how many there are, all of 98 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: the all the ideas about their behavior and the stuff 99 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,479 Speaker 1: that they do is just assumptions made based on the 100 00:06:15,520 --> 00:06:18,760 Speaker 1: bush elephant that they're related to. They're that good at 101 00:06:18,800 --> 00:06:22,839 Speaker 1: like keeping away from humans. I just think that's amazing. Yeah, 102 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,080 Speaker 1: and they have they're a little bit smaller um than 103 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:29,800 Speaker 1: the uh than their their friends on the savannah, but 104 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:34,120 Speaker 1: they have the same toe arrangement as the Asian elephant, right, 105 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,559 Speaker 1: which is interesting. So the I I never really thought 106 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,040 Speaker 1: about it, but like, um, a lot of the elephants. 107 00:06:40,040 --> 00:06:43,120 Speaker 1: When I think of elephants, I never realized I was 108 00:06:43,160 --> 00:06:45,960 Speaker 1: thinking of two different species, but they really do. Like 109 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: the Asian elephant and the African bush elephant, they have 110 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: a lot of differences that you can just very quickly 111 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: see which is which kind like the Asian elephant has 112 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,599 Speaker 1: kind of like the rounded dome head and they have 113 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: kind of a hump back and they are a little smaller. 114 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: And then the African bush elephants they're very, very big 115 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,560 Speaker 1: with the big old ears, and they have basically what's 116 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:11,000 Speaker 1: called like a saddleback. It's kind of flatish, right, or 117 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:14,360 Speaker 1: maybe even concave a little bit too. Yeah, and here's 118 00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:16,320 Speaker 1: Here's one of the facts of the show for me 119 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: is there's like fifty and here and there's so many, 120 00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: but elephants have They have tusk nous like we have handedness. 121 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: They use their right or their left tusk more often 122 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 1: than the other. And if you ever wonder which tusk 123 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:33,760 Speaker 1: is the more dominant one, look and see which one shorter, 124 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:35,960 Speaker 1: because that's the one that gets worn down quicker. I 125 00:07:36,000 --> 00:07:38,640 Speaker 1: thought that was amazing, pretty neat. I just figured they 126 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:47,000 Speaker 1: were interchangeable. Yep, nope, yep nope. So like it's really 127 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:50,080 Speaker 1: kind of I had to stop and put myself into this, 128 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: like standing like imagine myself standing next to these elephants 129 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 1: for like measurements for the average Yeah, you're like, what 130 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 1: six ft? Yeah, it's just about I'm pretty good. I'm 131 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: like a human dollar bill. You know, a dollar bill 132 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:04,760 Speaker 1: is like a little about six inches. Same thing here, 133 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: I'm six ft okay, so just stand me next to 134 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:10,360 Speaker 1: something you'd be like, it's about six ft okay. Don't 135 00:08:10,400 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: you know about the dollar bill? Well? No, is that 136 00:08:13,120 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: used as a measuring device when you're short of ruler? Yeah, 137 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: it's about six inches. What if you have no cash 138 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: but you do have a ruler, then you're can you 139 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:24,960 Speaker 1: spend the ruler and a and a hat shop? You 140 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,640 Speaker 1: could consuerably trade it. Remember that guy who traded, he moved. 141 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: He went from a paper clip to like a house 142 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 1: trading up. Oh yeah, that guy. That guy could turn 143 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:36,960 Speaker 1: a ruler into cash. He and soy Bombs share an 144 00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:43,199 Speaker 1: apartment now and uh an upstate New York. Soy Bomb. Alright, 145 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:47,600 Speaker 1: so let's talk about the size of these ladies and men, 146 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,160 Speaker 1: because okay, so everybody, imagine me standing next to an elephant, 147 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: and you'll really drive all this home. Yes, right, So 148 00:08:53,679 --> 00:08:57,760 Speaker 1: an African forest elephant is Josh's height up to about 149 00:08:57,840 --> 00:09:02,120 Speaker 1: eight feet at the shoulder. Yeah, okay, yeah, you don't 150 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,440 Speaker 1: measure from the top of the dome. Um. I wonder 151 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: why they do that with animals. That's always kind of 152 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 1: the case, right, because I think if the animals, like, well, 153 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:13,040 Speaker 1: I want to seem taller, they could just lift their 154 00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: head up very high, you know, or if they're trying 155 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:18,080 Speaker 1: to keep a low profile, they keep their head down 156 00:09:18,160 --> 00:09:20,240 Speaker 1: so the shoulder it's tough to you know, like when 157 00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:24,080 Speaker 1: they're having their kindergarten class picture taken. Uh, the African 158 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 1: bush elephant is taller. It's about eight to ten feet 159 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:30,800 Speaker 1: at the shoulder. That's the biggest one. Yeah, four to 160 00:09:30,920 --> 00:09:33,360 Speaker 1: six tons, two to five tons on the forest. African 161 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,520 Speaker 1: and then Asian is seven to nine ft about three 162 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:41,440 Speaker 1: to five short tons. And we should say there's a 163 00:09:41,440 --> 00:09:44,959 Speaker 1: lot of variation in size here because I think one 164 00:09:44,960 --> 00:09:48,760 Speaker 1: of these experts said that the outliers can be as 165 00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:53,320 Speaker 1: big as taller or larger overall than the average, which 166 00:09:53,360 --> 00:09:56,960 Speaker 1: is cute variation. Yeah, there's I think the record for 167 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:00,040 Speaker 1: an Asian elephant. And remember there, you know, at a 168 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: shoulders seven and nine feet that's still pretty pretty good size, 169 00:10:03,400 --> 00:10:06,560 Speaker 1: but the record was eleven and a quarter feet tan. 170 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: That's a big elephant. Like can you imagine that's almost 171 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:13,119 Speaker 1: two of me? Yeah, like me standing on my own shoulders, 172 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: maybe squatted you own just a little bit at the shoulder. 173 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,600 Speaker 1: That's how big that elephant was. And when you're when 174 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:24,040 Speaker 1: you're talking short tons, that's two thousand pounds. So like 175 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:28,000 Speaker 1: an African bush elephant can get on average up to 176 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 1: twelve thousand pounds. That's a big boy or a girl. Yeah, 177 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: the boys are a little bit bigger. Um, and they 178 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:41,239 Speaker 1: live a long long time. Here's sort of some inspiring 179 00:10:41,280 --> 00:10:46,280 Speaker 1: and sad facts. They can live fifty to seventy years. Uh, 180 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: they've found and recorded at least one elephant that lived 181 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: to be eighty six. That has set the record, which 182 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 1: is just amazing. But here's the saddest thing. Um, if 183 00:10:56,559 --> 00:11:01,800 Speaker 1: you are a zoo elephant, you live maybe less than 184 00:11:01,840 --> 00:11:05,160 Speaker 1: half as long. So I have to say this. The 185 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:10,439 Speaker 1: RSPCA in West sus six England. UM has been there. 186 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,680 Speaker 1: Their numbers have been controversial before. But in this two 187 00:11:14,679 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 1: thousand and eight study, they they took hundred African and 188 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,839 Speaker 1: Asian elephants that lived in European zoos over the course 189 00:11:23,840 --> 00:11:26,319 Speaker 1: of forty five years. And this is what they came 190 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,559 Speaker 1: up with. So, I mean even in the article that 191 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:33,920 Speaker 1: people weren't necessarily contesting this data. But I think the 192 00:11:33,960 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: way that they explained it was that this was old 193 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:39,120 Speaker 1: data and so it gave you a good idea of 194 00:11:39,840 --> 00:11:44,040 Speaker 1: how long elephants lived in captivity, you know, a few 195 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:47,200 Speaker 1: decades ago, back before they knew more about keeping them 196 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: in zoos. Yeah, and here's what it says. It said 197 00:11:50,679 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: UM thirty six years and a national park in Kenya, 198 00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:58,440 Speaker 1: UM seventeen years in a zoo. But it looks to 199 00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:01,480 Speaker 1: me like, unless I'm reading this wrong, at UM elephants 200 00:12:01,520 --> 00:12:04,120 Speaker 1: that work in timber camps. You know, they're very strong, 201 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 1: so they are still using in timber camps to paul 202 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:11,319 Speaker 1: wood uh and trees and things. They actually live longer 203 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: than zoo elephants. Yeah, So the timber elephants of Burma, 204 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,560 Speaker 1: of me and mar are very well taken care of 205 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:23,480 Speaker 1: from what I understand, like they're they're considered semi captive 206 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: and for like the last hundred years or so, UM 207 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:30,319 Speaker 1: the people of Burma have used them to basically move 208 00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:33,439 Speaker 1: huge trees right to pull them out of the forest 209 00:12:34,160 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 1: for like logging and stuff. But they're really well cared for. 210 00:12:37,559 --> 00:12:40,520 Speaker 1: There's like government veterinarians that do health checks and each 211 00:12:40,559 --> 00:12:43,439 Speaker 1: elephant has their own log and from what I saw, 212 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 1: which seems mind blowing to me because there they're you know, 213 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:51,840 Speaker 1: um being held captive in a way to work for humans. 214 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:55,959 Speaker 1: And so just based on you know, our our track 215 00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: record of using animals like that, I it's just weird 216 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:01,480 Speaker 1: to be that they would be very well taken care of. 217 00:13:01,520 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 1: But supposedly they are um and they're considered semi captive 218 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 1: because at night they're allowed to just kind of wander 219 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:09,840 Speaker 1: around and go free in the forest and they interact 220 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:13,600 Speaker 1: with wild Asian elephants, and that's how they actually reproduce. Um, 221 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 1: they're they're not like, there's no kind of reproductive oversight. 222 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:22,439 Speaker 1: It's just go wild, you know. And Um, they apparently 223 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,160 Speaker 1: live very long because they're very well taken care of. Yeah, 224 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: and here's a little factoid for you. When they get 225 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:33,720 Speaker 1: pregnant in those working camps, they get maternity leave for 226 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,960 Speaker 1: about a year. Yes, So a couple of more quick 227 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,720 Speaker 1: facts and then we'll take a break. Um, little BB 228 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: elephants are cared for by their mothers until they are 229 00:13:46,520 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: anywhere between thirteen and twenty years old. So it's almost like, well, 230 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: not quite, but it's almost like the human experience a 231 00:13:55,720 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 1: little bit. Yeah, you know somewhere in there. I doubt 232 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 1: if you're sitting your thirteen year old off, but if 233 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:03,400 Speaker 1: you're a terrible parent, maybe let's say it's you know, 234 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:05,560 Speaker 1: thirteen to twenty. Let's say that's eighteen years. It's about 235 00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:08,679 Speaker 1: like a high school age. Uh. And that's also when 236 00:14:08,679 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: they reach sexual maturity. It takes about twenty two months 237 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:17,040 Speaker 1: of gestation, which is the longest longest gestational period of 238 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: any animal, I'm sorry, any mammal, and a little BB 239 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:23,760 Speaker 1: elephant ways between a hundred and fifty and two fifty pounds. 240 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:27,120 Speaker 1: It's pretty cute. We take a break, Yes, all right, 241 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 1: more pounded facts right after this, Chuck. I just think 242 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: it's adorable that both of our wives got us into elephants. 243 00:14:54,360 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 1: We're gonna have to take us safari together. We should 244 00:14:57,200 --> 00:14:59,360 Speaker 1: do that, although that's very dangerous, Like we don't even 245 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 1: fly to you know, Tennessee together. We feared that the 246 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: plane will go down and the podcast will be over. 247 00:15:05,560 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 1: I guess we could trade off then it would be 248 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 1: pretty amazing story though, Like the podcast would go down 249 00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:13,760 Speaker 1: in history. If you and I were eaten by tigers 250 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: would be kind of it'd be a heck of a 251 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:18,720 Speaker 1: way to go. Well, Emily, and you make it just 252 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:20,680 Speaker 1: take it over, there you go, and it would just 253 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:24,080 Speaker 1: all be about animals. They should do something together sometime, 254 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,920 Speaker 1: you know, you like, like they should read listener mail 255 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: or something like that, or or or they should just 256 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:32,560 Speaker 1: start their own show called stuff you should Know about 257 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:36,600 Speaker 1: our husbands. There you go. People that good idea. I 258 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: don't know if we would know, we would not they'd 259 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:41,760 Speaker 1: be like, you think they're so great. Let's tell you 260 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: about these schlubs. No, no, no, no, no, these puts 261 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 1: is so there should be a ding sound because these 262 00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: puts on every show from now on. All right, Elephants 263 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 1: eat a hundred to six hundred pounds of food in 264 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:59,640 Speaker 1: a day and drink between sixteen and forty gallons of water. 265 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: Say that again, brother, hundreds of six hundred pounds of 266 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:07,480 Speaker 1: food in a day. Um, and they are eating And 267 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,800 Speaker 1: I love this. They basically spend their day when they're awake, 268 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,880 Speaker 1: fourteen to sixteen hours a day just sort of looking 269 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 1: to eat and drink. Yeah, which is it stinks? Like 270 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 1: if you think about it, the reason why they have 271 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:22,320 Speaker 1: to eat that much is not because they're so big, 272 00:16:22,840 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 1: but because, well it is in part but mostly because 273 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: they're herbivores and their digestive system is ridiculously inefficient. Like 274 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 1: if if elephants are as intelligent as they appear to be, 275 00:16:34,960 --> 00:16:37,480 Speaker 1: and probably even more than they appear to be, once 276 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:39,360 Speaker 1: we start to like learn more about them, I think 277 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:43,160 Speaker 1: all it's gonna do is just provide a cascading series 278 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: of woes. Um. They Like, if they didn't have to 279 00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:51,320 Speaker 1: spend so much of their time looking for food, what 280 00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: would they be doing? Maybe they would learn to paint 281 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 1: on their own maybe. So the reason why they're they're um. 282 00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:00,440 Speaker 1: They eat so much again, is because they don't digest 283 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:05,440 Speaker 1: a lot of that food, and so undigested stuff comes 284 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: out as poop in such frequency that you can actually 285 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:13,040 Speaker 1: make paper out of it. There's elephant poop paper. People 286 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:14,960 Speaker 1: use it and they get the fiber out of the 287 00:17:15,119 --> 00:17:19,800 Speaker 1: elephant poop to make paper with. That's how how undigested 288 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:22,639 Speaker 1: so much of their food is. Yeah, they eat, like 289 00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:25,560 Speaker 1: you said, they are herbivore, so they all kinds of plants. Um. 290 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: They love fruit. Imagine that's like the sweet sweet nectar 291 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:34,159 Speaker 1: when compared to you know, like dry bamboo. Um. And 292 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:36,840 Speaker 1: they can study their poop and learn a lot from 293 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:40,160 Speaker 1: their poop, just like most animals. Well, elephants don't study 294 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:44,439 Speaker 1: their own poop. How do you know they might? Now, 295 00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,160 Speaker 1: of course, scientists study it, and they can. They can 296 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:49,880 Speaker 1: learn a lot by you know, because like you said, 297 00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:53,440 Speaker 1: those African forest elephants, they're very elusive in the forest 298 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:55,000 Speaker 1: and you can't find them, but you can't find their 299 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,920 Speaker 1: poop everywhere. Yeah, you can tell their anus size from 300 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:02,000 Speaker 1: their poop size, which sounds hilarious and it is. But 301 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:05,880 Speaker 1: you also can tell like the age and the general 302 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:09,360 Speaker 1: size of the elephant based on their anus size, which 303 00:18:09,359 --> 00:18:13,320 Speaker 1: you find based on their poop size. That's right. Plus 304 00:18:13,359 --> 00:18:16,359 Speaker 1: you can make a banging paper out of it too. Sure. 305 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,080 Speaker 1: The range. The African bush elephants have a very wide 306 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:24,080 Speaker 1: range across Africa. UM. South of the Sahara Desert and 307 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:28,280 Speaker 1: the forest elephant are in rainforest that's the name. Uh. 308 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:31,640 Speaker 1: Near the equator, sort of around Cameroon is where they're 309 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:36,760 Speaker 1: largely centered. As far as Asian, they're all over Southeast Asia. UM, 310 00:18:36,800 --> 00:18:40,160 Speaker 1: they have some in China even, but India is really 311 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:42,919 Speaker 1: where you're going to find the most Asian elephants. UM 312 00:18:43,440 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 1: see Thailand and Anesia, Sumatra, Sri Lanka. They each have 313 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,520 Speaker 1: more than a thousand, and we already talked about Burma 314 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: a little bit. They have the second largest total population worldwide, 315 00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,880 Speaker 1: I guess, except for India. They have the the largest 316 00:18:56,960 --> 00:19:00,240 Speaker 1: captive population though of at least five thousand, all working 317 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,360 Speaker 1: in those government timber camps, which again I'm just I'm 318 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 1: sure somebody's gonna write and be like, H don't believe 319 00:19:06,359 --> 00:19:08,680 Speaker 1: they're not taking very well care. But I didn't see 320 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,880 Speaker 1: anything like that, which I'm just astounded by. I don't 321 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 1: know if that's coming across or not, but I'm really astounded. Yeah, 322 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:20,199 Speaker 1: and if you listen to our episode, um, well, I 323 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:22,440 Speaker 1: guess it's either from last week or it'll be next week. 324 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:27,560 Speaker 1: And then I'm predicting the future about elephants swimming and 325 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 1: the which one was at Locknest lock Ness. They do 326 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:34,400 Speaker 1: love to swim, and they are very floaty. They're very buoyant. Um, 327 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:36,919 Speaker 1: they won't. You're not gonna find an elephant drowned in 328 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:39,960 Speaker 1: the water. They can not only swim, but if they 329 00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:44,239 Speaker 1: get tired, they can just float bob. Yeah, they can 330 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:48,360 Speaker 1: bob in the water. And they apparently an elephant has 331 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:53,560 Speaker 1: been recorded as swimming forty eight kilometers thirty miles. Pretty 332 00:19:53,560 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 1: amazing and six hours at a stretch. Yeah, that's pretty nuts. 333 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: And Babe, the elephants. One of the one of the 334 00:20:01,600 --> 00:20:04,359 Speaker 1: greatest things you can do is sit around and watch 335 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:09,679 Speaker 1: baby elephants splashing in kittie pools on YouTube. They love it. 336 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:12,600 Speaker 1: They love to swim. Yeah, let's talk about the trunk. 337 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:15,879 Speaker 1: Because when you see an elephant and you watch this, 338 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:18,200 Speaker 1: if you'd like, really study an elephant for a while, 339 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:22,960 Speaker 1: you look at that trunk. It's it's it's amazing. It 340 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:29,320 Speaker 1: looks like a completely separate living thing. Almost sometimes it was. Yeah, 341 00:20:29,359 --> 00:20:31,359 Speaker 1: but it's a nose. It's basically their upper lip and 342 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,679 Speaker 1: their nose combined together in this elongated form. Yeah. But 343 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:36,399 Speaker 1: when they you know, you watch an elephant, a lot 344 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 1: of times they're just standing still. But this trunk is 345 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,760 Speaker 1: doing so many crazy looking things. I see what you mean. Yeah, 346 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:44,560 Speaker 1: it just looks like its own, like its own animal, 347 00:20:44,600 --> 00:20:50,320 Speaker 1: almost like um, the thing from the Adams Family, the 348 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,159 Speaker 1: disembodied hand. That's exactly what I was thinking, or the 349 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: alien hands syndrome guy from our short lived TV show, 350 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:02,040 Speaker 1: right right, basically the same thing, right exactly. Uh. And 351 00:21:02,200 --> 00:21:04,240 Speaker 1: one of the big theories is is that trunk, and 352 00:21:04,280 --> 00:21:07,320 Speaker 1: this makes a lot of sense to me evolutionarily speaking, 353 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:13,720 Speaker 1: is that trunk developed um as compensation. Basically, I can 354 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:16,960 Speaker 1: reach things higher without having to grow, or I can 355 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:19,400 Speaker 1: get things on the ground without having to crouch down 356 00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: and put my head on the ground, which makes me 357 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: very very vulnerable to attack. So I have this big, long, 358 00:21:25,160 --> 00:21:28,240 Speaker 1: extended nose that can go get stuff on the ground 359 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:29,840 Speaker 1: or up above me, and I can still sort of 360 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:33,560 Speaker 1: be safe. Yes, Okay, so it's a nose that you 361 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: can use to get things with, including water. Apparently it 362 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,560 Speaker 1: holds up to two gallons of water in the trunk, 363 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:45,920 Speaker 1: just in the trunk um. But it's also really um dextrous. 364 00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 1: I guess it has a hundred thousand muscles in it, 365 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:53,240 Speaker 1: both fast twitch and slow twitch. So I've read that 366 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: an elephant can pull a limb off of a tree 367 00:21:56,119 --> 00:21:59,120 Speaker 1: with its trunk or pluck a blade of grass out 368 00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 1: of the ground like it's it can it can do 369 00:22:02,119 --> 00:22:06,119 Speaker 1: it all. Basically, it can deal cards whatever. But you 370 00:22:06,160 --> 00:22:09,680 Speaker 1: shouldn't train an elephant to deal cards. No, just put 371 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,919 Speaker 1: the cards down and walk away. And if it happens, 372 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:16,480 Speaker 1: it happens. That is that is the motto of dealing 373 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:21,959 Speaker 1: with elephants. Um And initially, you know, evolution might have said, hey, 374 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: use these great things to drink water out of. But 375 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:27,000 Speaker 1: like we said, and we'll continue to hammer this home. 376 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:30,640 Speaker 1: Elephants are super smart. So they said, hey, I've got 377 00:22:30,680 --> 00:22:36,480 Speaker 1: this really long fifth arm that has two hundred thousand 378 00:22:36,560 --> 00:22:39,119 Speaker 1: muscles in it, so I can get food, and I 379 00:22:39,119 --> 00:22:42,159 Speaker 1: can bathe myself, and I can pick up dust and 380 00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,159 Speaker 1: mud and put it all over my body. If I 381 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:45,800 Speaker 1: don't want to get sunburned, or if I want to 382 00:22:46,160 --> 00:22:48,639 Speaker 1: have a sort of low fi insect repellent, or I 383 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:51,520 Speaker 1: can communicate with my buddy over there with my trunk. Yeah, 384 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 1: there's a lot of stuff they do with their trunk 385 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:55,760 Speaker 1: that we're starting to figure out. There's a group called 386 00:22:55,800 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 1: Elephant Voices UM, and they have an elephant just there's 387 00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:05,200 Speaker 1: database based on decades of studying elephants up close, UM, 388 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:09,560 Speaker 1: and they have a really complex and intricate UM basically 389 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:11,960 Speaker 1: a sign language that includes more than just their trunk, 390 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:14,440 Speaker 1: but their trunk plays a big role in it too. Yeah. 391 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:19,359 Speaker 1: There's one example on this article flop trunk on head UM, 392 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:23,120 Speaker 1: and that is an elephant basically raising the head vertically 393 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:26,720 Speaker 1: and then flipping their trunk really high up in the 394 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:28,960 Speaker 1: air and letting it PLoP down on their head. That 395 00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:33,320 Speaker 1: is a very specific play based gesture, kind of a 396 00:23:33,400 --> 00:23:36,360 Speaker 1: joyful play. Yeah, Like if you see an elephant doing that, 397 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,240 Speaker 1: they're having a good time. Yeah. The the Elephant Gestures database, 398 00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 1: the names of the different things the gestures sound like 399 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:47,600 Speaker 1: they were all written by Nell. Flop trunk on head 400 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:51,679 Speaker 1: at least that you can make. So I've got another factor. 401 00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:55,639 Speaker 1: The podcast for you ready, all right, baby elephants suck 402 00:23:55,680 --> 00:24:01,280 Speaker 1: their trunks like human babies suck their thumbs. That amazing. 403 00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 1: I mean, forget about it, man, I can't even with 404 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:10,120 Speaker 1: the stuff. Uh. And in Tim Burton's going to ruin 405 00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:12,679 Speaker 1: it all with a new Dumbo movie. Oh is it 406 00:24:12,880 --> 00:24:16,120 Speaker 1: live action or you know he's yeah, I think it's 407 00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,520 Speaker 1: live action and c G. I why he's going to 408 00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:22,560 Speaker 1: ruin it? Sure he is, poor Tim Burton. He's the 409 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:27,840 Speaker 1: ruiner of things. You ruined everything. You ruiner elephants. All 410 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:30,800 Speaker 1: elephants originated in Africa and then spread throughout the world 411 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:36,200 Speaker 1: from there, including North America across like everything else, across 412 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:39,639 Speaker 1: the bearing straight Land Bridge or Ice Bridge, depending on 413 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 1: when it was, and then all the way into South 414 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 1: America from there. Yeah. That you can make a pretty 415 00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 1: strong case that they drew humans into North America because 416 00:24:48,520 --> 00:24:53,080 Speaker 1: they migrated first and humans probably followed them as hunters 417 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:59,439 Speaker 1: over like millions of years later. Oh yeah, so um 418 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:05,080 Speaker 1: the this is weird. So the mammoth and the elephant 419 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:10,200 Speaker 1: share a common ancestor. Their most recent common ancestors six 420 00:25:10,280 --> 00:25:14,480 Speaker 1: million years in the past, which means that elephants and 421 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,959 Speaker 1: mammoth's coexisted at the same time. Like elephants have been 422 00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:21,080 Speaker 1: around a really long time. It's just I guess when 423 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 1: they moved out of Africa, um, and beyond Asia up 424 00:25:25,320 --> 00:25:28,399 Speaker 1: into you know the Russian steps in Siberia and across 425 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,080 Speaker 1: the land Bridge and then back down into North America 426 00:25:31,080 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 1: and then eventually South America, they took on like many 427 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:36,399 Speaker 1: different forms, but the wooly mammoth is the one you 428 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:40,240 Speaker 1: typically think of. But there were elephants at the same time. 429 00:25:40,280 --> 00:25:43,159 Speaker 1: There were also mammoths and there were other kinds of 430 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,920 Speaker 1: mammoths besides the wooly mammoth, which I think we did 431 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: a wooly mammoth episode. We did do a wooly mammoth episode. Um, 432 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: if you say so, we did, and they were all over. 433 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:57,880 Speaker 1: There was also a type of mammoth or not even 434 00:25:57,880 --> 00:25:59,879 Speaker 1: a mammoth. It was just a different type of l 435 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:05,040 Speaker 1: elephant called a Gampa theater um that was in South America. 436 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:06,719 Speaker 1: And if you look at a gampa theater I think 437 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:08,919 Speaker 1: it was a little bigger than the elephants of today, 438 00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:12,080 Speaker 1: but it just looks like an elephant. And um, they 439 00:26:12,160 --> 00:26:15,000 Speaker 1: used to hunt them down in South America and hunted 440 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:17,960 Speaker 1: him to extinction. They think possibly a combination of that 441 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 1: and climate change. But you don't think of elephants in 442 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: and the America's but there definitely were some here for 443 00:26:24,359 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: a very long time. But climate change can't be real, Josh, 444 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:30,679 Speaker 1: because it's snowed last week, right, Well, yeah exactly. I 445 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:33,720 Speaker 1: mean just imagine that it hadn't snowed, and we would 446 00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:37,560 Speaker 1: all know that climate change is real. Um. So there 447 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,000 Speaker 1: is a or was rather a naturalist in the eighteenth 448 00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:44,040 Speaker 1: century France name and this is a great name. You 449 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,080 Speaker 1: want to say it? Actually you're a French expert. Oh, 450 00:26:47,119 --> 00:26:53,360 Speaker 1: I wasn't expected this. George Louis Leclerc, the Conte de Beoufon. 451 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:57,040 Speaker 1: Was that his title? Is that what that means? Yeah, 452 00:26:57,040 --> 00:27:00,800 Speaker 1: he's the Count of Bouffon, which I'd be like, can 453 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: I get another count Chip instead of Bouffan. Don't know 454 00:27:04,840 --> 00:27:08,560 Speaker 1: what's wrong with buff It's so so it's okay, It's 455 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,960 Speaker 1: it's a a kind of a garish word, you know 456 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:15,119 Speaker 1: what I'm saying. Sure it sounds like Buffont. Yeah, and 457 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 1: like who wants at Bouffont hairdy these days? Nobody, nobody 458 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:22,520 Speaker 1: except the Bift two and maybe that lady from the 459 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 1: old Um Simpson. Now, what was the name of that steakhouse? 460 00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:35,359 Speaker 1: The local steakhouse out back Steaks. No, what's the other one? Longhorn. 461 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:38,040 Speaker 1: Do you remember the ads of the nineties with the 462 00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,680 Speaker 1: lady with the bouffont Yeah you do. I really don't. 463 00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:43,920 Speaker 1: What was her deal? She was just like a proto 464 00:27:44,000 --> 00:27:48,520 Speaker 1: hipster lady. It was. Yeah, it was on the Longhorn commercials. 465 00:27:49,119 --> 00:27:52,080 Speaker 1: Very interesting, man, Now I could go for a steak. Yeah, 466 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:56,000 Speaker 1: me too. Um, All right, so where were we? Right? 467 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:02,360 Speaker 1: The eighteenth century century naturalist Um, he wrote a lot 468 00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:05,520 Speaker 1: in about natural history, and he loved the elephant, and 469 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:11,200 Speaker 1: he was really knocked out by the intelligence of what's 470 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,960 Speaker 1: that funny? Just the idea of him being like, man, 471 00:28:14,040 --> 00:28:17,960 Speaker 1: I am knocked out by that is far out man. Um. 472 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:22,120 Speaker 1: He was knocked out by the brain and the intelligence 473 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,960 Speaker 1: of the elephant. And he said it approaches near to 474 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:28,760 Speaker 1: man and understanding as much at least as matter can 475 00:28:28,800 --> 00:28:32,840 Speaker 1: approach to mind. Which I understood the first half of that. 476 00:28:32,880 --> 00:28:35,720 Speaker 1: I think in eighteenth century speak, that means these dudes 477 00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: are really smart, right, And I mean like he wasn't 478 00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,840 Speaker 1: just you know, making stuff up here like this is 479 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 1: he was onto something because elephants are extremely intelligent from 480 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:49,880 Speaker 1: what we can tell. And again, we're just learning more 481 00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:51,560 Speaker 1: and more about him. And as we learn more about 482 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 1: him and start like study the way that they interact 483 00:28:55,120 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: with one another and how they interact with us, we're like, well, 484 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,400 Speaker 1: these are some of the sharpest animals on the planet. Yeah, 485 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:06,200 Speaker 1: they have different personalities. Uh, each elephant has its own personality. 486 00:29:06,440 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 1: And you know, you've heard about an elephant not forgetting. 487 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,720 Speaker 1: They do have a great memory and great recognition ability. 488 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:16,400 Speaker 1: And this story, everyone, I love. This story is kind 489 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:21,240 Speaker 1: of the best thing ever. At a sanctuary in uh Tennessee, 490 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:25,160 Speaker 1: there was a resident elephant named Jenny. They introduced a 491 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:30,240 Speaker 1: new lady named Shirley, an Asian elephant, and they went 492 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,400 Speaker 1: berserk for one another. They were checking each other out, 493 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:38,200 Speaker 1: they were slapping trunks. They were really animated. Uh. They 494 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:43,040 Speaker 1: described it as euphoria bellowing, and then Jenny starts bellowing, 495 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:46,120 Speaker 1: and they said that I've never experienced anything that intense 496 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:50,280 Speaker 1: without it being aggression. They did so a little digging, uh, 497 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:53,640 Speaker 1: and it turns out that twenty three years earlier, for 498 00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:56,640 Speaker 1: just a few months, Jenny and Shirley were in the 499 00:29:56,680 --> 00:30:00,760 Speaker 1: same circus together and they saw each other twenty three 500 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:04,480 Speaker 1: years later and we're like, girl, what do you what 501 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 1: have you been up to? Well, I think it is 502 00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,840 Speaker 1: cool about that story in addition to the fact that 503 00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: like they remembered each other after twenty three years, but 504 00:30:12,200 --> 00:30:14,440 Speaker 1: that also it says so much about them that they 505 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 1: were able to form a bond like that just a 506 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,400 Speaker 1: few months. In just a few months. Yeah, I think 507 00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 1: this has a tremendous amount about elephants and elephants society. 508 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:28,480 Speaker 1: What a story. I love it so um because they 509 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: have these kind of relationships with one another, they have 510 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 1: really complex um as. It puts a very rich um 511 00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:41,800 Speaker 1: societies and families and groups that they live in their 512 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 1: their their social networks are very rich and complex, right. Yeah. 513 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:50,560 Speaker 1: And one of the ways, um, I mean, like I 514 00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:53,600 Speaker 1: didn't realize this, but I came across this in researching 515 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:57,240 Speaker 1: this article. Apparently, like if you see like a bunch 516 00:30:57,240 --> 00:31:00,360 Speaker 1: of deer hanging around, or some birds flying together, they're 517 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:03,560 Speaker 1: not like buddies or friends. They don't know one from another. 518 00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:07,760 Speaker 1: Typically stop don't say that, But I mean I hadn't 519 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:09,880 Speaker 1: really thought about that before. I was just a second 520 00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,240 Speaker 1: back always assumed at least they were they knew each 521 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 1: other by smell or something like that. But from what 522 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: I saw, I can't remember where I saw it, but 523 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,040 Speaker 1: they were They were saying like, it's atypical for animals 524 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:26,160 Speaker 1: to recognize one another as individuals, and the elephants definitely 525 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:29,480 Speaker 1: do and as as evidenced by that story. But that 526 00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 1: kind of lends evidence to the idea that elephants are 527 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:36,160 Speaker 1: self aware, which is a growing awareness among humans that 528 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:38,600 Speaker 1: elephants seem to be self aware. And one way we 529 00:31:38,640 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: test animals to see if they're self aware is called 530 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,160 Speaker 1: the mirror test, which is kind of a test. I 531 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:46,480 Speaker 1: think we can improve on it, but it does it 532 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:51,600 Speaker 1: does suggest that the possibility that the animal sees itself 533 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 1: as an individual. Yeah, so this was developed by Gordon 534 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:58,880 Speaker 1: Gallup Jr. Seventies So I definitely think there's an update 535 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:02,480 Speaker 1: that we need here. We need this uh two point 536 00:32:02,480 --> 00:32:05,520 Speaker 1: o version. But they did. They test a lot of animals, 537 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:11,360 Speaker 1: um apes, great apes, dolphins, orcas, and magpies have passed 538 00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,920 Speaker 1: this test, along with one Asian elephant named Happy. And 539 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:17,880 Speaker 1: what they do is they get a mirror, They take 540 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,880 Speaker 1: the animal and put a red mark and paint this 541 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,920 Speaker 1: red mark, and let's say on their face, something that 542 00:32:23,960 --> 00:32:27,120 Speaker 1: they can't see without a mirror. They hold up the 543 00:32:27,120 --> 00:32:31,120 Speaker 1: mirror and if the animal looks at the mirror and 544 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,040 Speaker 1: then doesn't, like, like, if they did this to me, 545 00:32:34,080 --> 00:32:35,800 Speaker 1: I would throw my poop at the mirror and smashed 546 00:32:35,840 --> 00:32:38,800 Speaker 1: the mirror. But if the animal doesn't do that, and 547 00:32:38,800 --> 00:32:42,560 Speaker 1: they actually touched their own face, then they understand that 548 00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:46,800 Speaker 1: they're seeing themselves and not some other weird animal across 549 00:32:46,840 --> 00:32:49,640 Speaker 1: from them. Right, they see they realize that they're seeing 550 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:53,720 Speaker 1: their reflection in that shows self awarrees, if they if 551 00:32:53,720 --> 00:32:56,320 Speaker 1: they laugh at how silly they look, then that really 552 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,960 Speaker 1: shows self awareness, maybe even self consciousness. You know. Yeah, 553 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:02,320 Speaker 1: and it takes human children a couple of years to 554 00:33:02,360 --> 00:33:04,920 Speaker 1: pass this test. We should say, yes, did you I 555 00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:10,680 Speaker 1: So there's apparently not all the great apes past the 556 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,440 Speaker 1: test that guerrillas don't, which is weird. But they think 557 00:33:14,480 --> 00:33:19,480 Speaker 1: that possibly guerrillas don't because making eye contact in um 558 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:23,320 Speaker 1: the guerrilla world is such an aggressive act that they 559 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:25,720 Speaker 1: just don't look at themselves in the mirror enough to 560 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:28,040 Speaker 1: see that they have that mark on their face. That's 561 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 1: what they think. Yeah, and this doesn't you know, this 562 00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:32,479 Speaker 1: isn't like we said it's pretty low fi. It's not 563 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:35,360 Speaker 1: some you can't say this is proof that they are 564 00:33:35,400 --> 00:33:38,960 Speaker 1: self aware and sentient. But um, it's a pretty cool test. 565 00:33:39,520 --> 00:33:43,280 Speaker 1: It is. Plus also, dogs don't pass it, which automatically 566 00:33:43,320 --> 00:33:46,640 Speaker 1: means that it's a failure of a test because Momo 567 00:33:46,680 --> 00:33:49,440 Speaker 1: herself proves that all and all dogs are self aware 568 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:52,880 Speaker 1: and smart, imperfect in every way. Yeah, and they also 569 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:55,680 Speaker 1: do point out with dogs like their their best Uh, 570 00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:58,280 Speaker 1: the way they see the world is through their nose, 571 00:33:58,960 --> 00:34:01,280 Speaker 1: So maybe this isn't the best test for them, right, 572 00:34:01,600 --> 00:34:05,360 Speaker 1: So they could do a cent version maybe right. I 573 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:06,880 Speaker 1: don't know how you would do it. I've been trying 574 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 1: to figure it out for days with Mama just in 575 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,200 Speaker 1: my head. But yeah, I'll eventually experiment on mo and 576 00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:15,319 Speaker 1: then well, there is another test that they use to 577 00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:19,280 Speaker 1: kind of show self awareness and the idea of individual identity, 578 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:22,439 Speaker 1: and that's the third party relationships. This is pretty cool, 579 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:26,200 Speaker 1: so um they I guess they. It says they accidentally 580 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:30,520 Speaker 1: drive a jeep in between an elephant and her her 581 00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:34,440 Speaker 1: offspringer baby, and the elephant might not notice because she's 582 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:38,759 Speaker 1: busy doing something else. But if another elephant trumpets to 583 00:34:39,040 --> 00:34:41,800 Speaker 1: the mom elephant to say, hey, there's a jeep between 584 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:44,839 Speaker 1: you and your baby. That elephant is indicating that it's 585 00:34:44,880 --> 00:34:48,000 Speaker 1: aware that that mom and that baby are related, that 586 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:52,000 Speaker 1: they have a relationship that has nothing to do necessarily 587 00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:55,839 Speaker 1: with that third elephant who warned the mom that's not 588 00:34:55,880 --> 00:35:01,359 Speaker 1: supposed to exist among non sentient being. And by the way, 589 00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:04,160 Speaker 1: if all this talk about sentience and self awareness among 590 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:06,520 Speaker 1: animals is floating your boat. We did a two part 591 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:10,720 Speaker 1: series on animal rights that touched on this heavily. Yeah, 592 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:13,120 Speaker 1: that's right, because it was a famous case where they 593 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:16,759 Speaker 1: were trying to get a personhood and human rights for 594 00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 1: a chimp. Right, yeah, the Non Human Rights Project they 595 00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:24,720 Speaker 1: moved on to elephants, including the elephant Happy that passed 596 00:35:24,760 --> 00:35:27,960 Speaker 1: the mirror test, and right now Happy is in the 597 00:35:27,960 --> 00:35:32,040 Speaker 1: Bronx Zoo, and the Non Human Rights Projects position is 598 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:37,880 Speaker 1: basically like um, an elephants range is like at least 599 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:42,120 Speaker 1: a hundred times what the exhibit that Happy lives in. 600 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:46,480 Speaker 1: It's like an acre and their range is so wide 601 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:50,040 Speaker 1: that in a single day, Happy in Africa would probably 602 00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:52,920 Speaker 1: walk about a hundred acres. But Happy as an acre 603 00:35:53,280 --> 00:35:58,040 Speaker 1: and happy as a sentient being and deserves better and 604 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:00,960 Speaker 1: so they're trying to spring her by making her and 605 00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:05,160 Speaker 1: by by bestowing personhood through the courts. And they actually 606 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:08,080 Speaker 1: got a habeas corpus issued, which you only do that 607 00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:10,520 Speaker 1: for humans. And then the only other time it's it's 608 00:36:10,560 --> 00:36:14,239 Speaker 1: happened is with chimps through the Non Human Rights Project. Uh, 609 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:17,319 Speaker 1: and it's up in the air. But the judge basically said, hey, 610 00:36:17,960 --> 00:36:21,440 Speaker 1: you guys need to show whether or not you're unlawfully 611 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:26,919 Speaker 1: imprisoning Ascension being a person. Basically. Yeah, so that's where 612 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:29,040 Speaker 1: it stands right now. All right, Well, let's take a 613 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:31,480 Speaker 1: break and contemplate that for a couple of hours and 614 00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:34,320 Speaker 1: then we'll dust ourselves off, come back and talk a 615 00:36:34,360 --> 00:36:37,680 Speaker 1: little bit about the difference between male and female elephants 616 00:36:37,719 --> 00:37:00,719 Speaker 1: and more about their social component right after this. So 617 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:02,719 Speaker 1: this is fun when you talk about the male and 618 00:37:02,760 --> 00:37:07,160 Speaker 1: female elephants. This whole episode is fun. It is. So 619 00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:11,719 Speaker 1: males leave when they're young teenagers. They leave earlier than 620 00:37:11,760 --> 00:37:15,719 Speaker 1: the little ladies do. They set off on their own. Um. 621 00:37:15,800 --> 00:37:17,920 Speaker 1: They might move from group to group. They may join 622 00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,960 Speaker 1: up with another family, but by and large they usually 623 00:37:21,960 --> 00:37:25,839 Speaker 1: get around and live alone. Um. But they do, they 624 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:29,880 Speaker 1: do form groups when they need to UM. It's not permanent. 625 00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:32,640 Speaker 1: You know, it could change, and it is a static situation. 626 00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:36,680 Speaker 1: UM kind of like going between different groups and different 627 00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:39,360 Speaker 1: groups of males getting together. But when they do get together, 628 00:37:39,480 --> 00:37:43,640 Speaker 1: the males, there is a definite hierarchy involved, um seniority 629 00:37:43,680 --> 00:37:47,040 Speaker 1: based on size and age, and that hierarchy is really 630 00:37:47,080 --> 00:37:50,440 Speaker 1: important UM to kind of maintain order when it comes 631 00:37:50,520 --> 00:37:53,879 Speaker 1: to like who gets the water first and stuff like that, 632 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:57,000 Speaker 1: right or where where which way we're gonna walk to 633 00:37:57,120 --> 00:37:59,719 Speaker 1: go find water? Something like that. There needs to be 634 00:37:59,760 --> 00:38:03,240 Speaker 1: some uddy in charge. But supposedly when when there's plenty 635 00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:05,560 Speaker 1: of water and everybody's got all the food they need 636 00:38:05,640 --> 00:38:10,600 Speaker 1: or whatever, that's that hierarchy can break down pretty easily, UM, 637 00:38:10,640 --> 00:38:13,520 Speaker 1: but also informally not like it. It breaks down in 638 00:38:13,560 --> 00:38:16,560 Speaker 1: like society just crumbles among this group of males and 639 00:38:17,000 --> 00:38:19,879 Speaker 1: it breaks down because it's not necessary, which is kind 640 00:38:19,880 --> 00:38:23,439 Speaker 1: of neat. And apparently the groups of males that hang 641 00:38:23,480 --> 00:38:28,439 Speaker 1: out together are um are likened to a group of 642 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:32,880 Speaker 1: like old drinking buddies. They're just rowdy. Yeah, it's kind 643 00:38:32,920 --> 00:38:35,280 Speaker 1: of funny, rough housing and all that kind of stuff. 644 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:39,279 Speaker 1: Males occasionally will go through something. It's kind of like 645 00:38:39,320 --> 00:38:46,000 Speaker 1: being in heat. It sounds like called must well well done, 646 00:38:46,160 --> 00:38:49,480 Speaker 1: m us th h uh. And this is when they 647 00:38:49,520 --> 00:38:53,560 Speaker 1: just their testosterone goes through the roof and they are like, 648 00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:59,200 Speaker 1: I need to mate, Like yesterday, I got the itch, 649 00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:02,200 Speaker 1: I got a year itch and I can't scratch it 650 00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:05,719 Speaker 1: with my tusk because they're fixed. Rough housing with my 651 00:39:05,800 --> 00:39:09,720 Speaker 1: drinking buddies isn't helping. None of that is helping. Um. 652 00:39:09,760 --> 00:39:14,480 Speaker 1: And when they're going through this must phase, um, they actually, 653 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:19,759 Speaker 1: like all the other male elephants recognize this and say, hey, um, 654 00:39:19,920 --> 00:39:23,480 Speaker 1: freddie over. There's as you can tell, guys, is he's 655 00:39:23,480 --> 00:39:26,560 Speaker 1: really feeling it. So why don't we let him drink first? 656 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:29,360 Speaker 1: And why don't we just kind of go where he 657 00:39:29,400 --> 00:39:32,279 Speaker 1: wants to go? Right now, he's leaking a trail of 658 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:36,279 Speaker 1: urine everywhere. That's literal physical warning to the rest of 659 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:39,200 Speaker 1: us to stay back. Yeah, and to a little sent 660 00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:43,200 Speaker 1: for for ladies to say, well, well, well let me 661 00:39:43,239 --> 00:39:45,600 Speaker 1: follow this trail and see where it goes. It smells 662 00:39:45,640 --> 00:39:51,360 Speaker 1: like sex panther a d percent of the time. What 663 00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:55,000 Speaker 1: is the half it works? Half the time? Half the 664 00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:57,880 Speaker 1: time it works of the time. I don't remember. I 665 00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:00,840 Speaker 1: should know that we both should chuck. Both just failed 666 00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:04,400 Speaker 1: spectacularly and occasionally, uh, and this is kind of what 667 00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:06,440 Speaker 1: I've seen is the only times when elephants really get 668 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:10,760 Speaker 1: aggressive with one another. But um, if it gets pretty extreme, um, 669 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:13,879 Speaker 1: and these male elephants that there's a couple of them 670 00:40:14,080 --> 00:40:17,120 Speaker 1: um going through must they will they will go at 671 00:40:17,160 --> 00:40:19,880 Speaker 1: it to um to get the lady. They will go 672 00:40:20,040 --> 00:40:23,200 Speaker 1: each other. Um. And you know, no one wants to 673 00:40:23,200 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 1: talk about that because it's everyone wants to think elephants 674 00:40:26,560 --> 00:40:29,040 Speaker 1: are always getting along. But sometimes when there's a couple 675 00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:32,319 Speaker 1: of dudes around that are both super repped up, they 676 00:40:32,560 --> 00:40:34,680 Speaker 1: can get in a fight over a lady to the 677 00:40:34,719 --> 00:40:37,759 Speaker 1: death sometimes. And I think you kind of said it, 678 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:41,080 Speaker 1: but males mostly live on their own, and they do 679 00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:44,680 Speaker 1: form these groups, and they do have friendships and bonds 680 00:40:44,719 --> 00:40:47,440 Speaker 1: with other males, but they are very frequently found like 681 00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:51,400 Speaker 1: traveling by themselves, probably to avoid stuff like that. But 682 00:40:51,480 --> 00:40:53,879 Speaker 1: if you're bummed out by the fact that elephants will 683 00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:58,920 Speaker 1: kill other elephants to to have access to females, you 684 00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:03,640 Speaker 1: can take heart and that elephants aren't territorial at all. 685 00:41:03,840 --> 00:41:07,240 Speaker 1: They don't have territory, and when different groups of elephants 686 00:41:07,239 --> 00:41:11,640 Speaker 1: whether it's males and uh, groups of females or different 687 00:41:12,360 --> 00:41:15,239 Speaker 1: groups of um of the same sex or whatever. You 688 00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:17,640 Speaker 1: have a bunch of different groups of elephants coming together 689 00:41:17,640 --> 00:41:19,800 Speaker 1: in the same place. They basically have a party a 690 00:41:19,880 --> 00:41:23,640 Speaker 1: jamboree to like if it's a body of water or 691 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:25,160 Speaker 1: a place where there's a lot of fruit or some 692 00:41:25,200 --> 00:41:28,040 Speaker 1: reason for a bunch of elephants who don't know one 693 00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:32,799 Speaker 1: another get together. It's not only a party, but at 694 00:41:32,840 --> 00:41:35,960 Speaker 1: that party you can have like Shirley's in, uh, who 695 00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:39,879 Speaker 1: is it? And Jenny's going, Oh my god, I haven't 696 00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:42,320 Speaker 1: seen you in twelve years. What are you up to? 697 00:41:42,440 --> 00:41:46,040 Speaker 1: Is that your little baby? It's the sweetest thing. Yeah, 698 00:41:46,120 --> 00:41:48,840 Speaker 1: they like they get really excited when they see old friends. 699 00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:52,759 Speaker 1: They'll do like pirouettes pe poops. Sometimes they pee and 700 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:56,879 Speaker 1: poop out of excitement to see one another, which is adorable. Yeah, 701 00:41:56,960 --> 00:41:59,920 Speaker 1: and is um kind of lone wolf? Is the may 702 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:04,040 Speaker 1: males can be um. The females are really um. This 703 00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:08,120 Speaker 1: is when you really like get the heartwarm, going, heartwarm, 704 00:42:08,360 --> 00:42:13,239 Speaker 1: heart warm, still give you heartwarm thinking about this is 705 00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:16,080 Speaker 1: when it can warm your heart. Because females they lived 706 00:42:16,200 --> 00:42:19,880 Speaker 1: very much and organized uh in an organized way. They 707 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:24,920 Speaker 1: live in family groups. There are mothers sometimes three generations altogether, 708 00:42:25,600 --> 00:42:29,200 Speaker 1: and their little pups and their aunts and their moms 709 00:42:29,239 --> 00:42:32,040 Speaker 1: and grandmas. There might be up to thirty of them 710 00:42:32,040 --> 00:42:36,000 Speaker 1: together with all their kids, and they're all lead, which 711 00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:38,200 Speaker 1: is usually the oldest one, but not always, but they're 712 00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:41,040 Speaker 1: led by a matriarch, and the matriarch is the one 713 00:42:41,080 --> 00:42:44,920 Speaker 1: that's like, let's go this way. Um, not because I 714 00:42:45,080 --> 00:42:48,400 Speaker 1: just am older and smarter, but I actually have experience 715 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:52,200 Speaker 1: that I can remember that will help lead us to safety. Yeah, 716 00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:55,960 Speaker 1: which is pretty spectacular. It's another thing that's that's remarkable 717 00:42:56,040 --> 00:43:00,600 Speaker 1: about elephants is that the matriarchs lead by experience. There 718 00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:07,640 Speaker 1: was this um this drought in Tanzania, and the different 719 00:43:07,719 --> 00:43:10,920 Speaker 1: herds led by matriarchs, they were old enough to remember 720 00:43:10,960 --> 00:43:14,360 Speaker 1: the last drought back in nineteen fifty eight to nineteen 721 00:43:14,480 --> 00:43:17,400 Speaker 1: sixty one, the ones that had lived through that before. 722 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:22,359 Speaker 1: As younger, younger elephants um they remembered how the herd survived, 723 00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:25,680 Speaker 1: and so their herd was likelier to survive that drought 724 00:43:26,280 --> 00:43:29,800 Speaker 1: than herds that were led by younger matriarchs that hadn't 725 00:43:29,840 --> 00:43:32,680 Speaker 1: lived through that previous drought. So they remember this stuff 726 00:43:32,719 --> 00:43:36,640 Speaker 1: and they they lead their their herds based on this 727 00:43:36,719 --> 00:43:39,400 Speaker 1: past experience and the wisdom that they gained from it. 728 00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:42,600 Speaker 1: Let's just say it through from wisdom. They lead by 729 00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:48,880 Speaker 1: wisdom they do. And some matriarchs are very confident. Uh, 730 00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:52,160 Speaker 1: they are very um. Some are very vigilant though, and 731 00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:53,920 Speaker 1: a little more nervous. It kind of depends on who 732 00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:57,160 Speaker 1: your matriarch is. Some are very maternal. And you know 733 00:43:57,160 --> 00:43:59,360 Speaker 1: when they they send the signal for everyone to go, 734 00:43:59,480 --> 00:44:03,160 Speaker 1: They're like, let's wait because Janice is little pup is 735 00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:07,960 Speaker 1: still bathing, so let's all hang out. Uh. Then some 736 00:44:08,040 --> 00:44:10,080 Speaker 1: of them are more like no, no, no, come on, 737 00:44:10,160 --> 00:44:12,840 Speaker 1: get get out of water. We're going. We're leaving now, 738 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:16,240 Speaker 1: come on, Janice, I'm going with or without you. Janice 739 00:44:16,320 --> 00:44:20,600 Speaker 1: is like, what a bummer? Uh. And then they're together 740 00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:23,600 Speaker 1: also for a very practical reason. Um, they help each 741 00:44:23,600 --> 00:44:27,600 Speaker 1: other out. They babysit for one another God's sake. M hmm. 742 00:44:28,920 --> 00:44:32,560 Speaker 1: I love that they babysit for each other, Josh. I 743 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:36,320 Speaker 1: know they like the mom can go off and forage 744 00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:39,040 Speaker 1: for food for pup and know that the pup is 745 00:44:39,080 --> 00:44:42,920 Speaker 1: being watched by some of her herd members. Her family 746 00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:48,360 Speaker 1: members is what they're called. That's right. If a matriarch dies, um, 747 00:44:48,400 --> 00:44:51,000 Speaker 1: there's a little short time where they're like, all right, 748 00:44:51,040 --> 00:44:54,120 Speaker 1: who's who's who's next? Who's gonna step up? They have 749 00:44:54,320 --> 00:44:59,360 Speaker 1: ranked choice voting. That's how advanced they're. They're more advanced 750 00:44:59,400 --> 00:45:05,120 Speaker 1: than every state in the Union besides main Um. A 751 00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:08,360 Speaker 1: lot of times, like we said, it's the oldest remaining female, 752 00:45:08,360 --> 00:45:10,880 Speaker 1: like she would be next up, but sometimes it is not. 753 00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:14,279 Speaker 1: Sometimes it is the matriarch's daughter, um, and she will 754 00:45:14,320 --> 00:45:19,319 Speaker 1: just assume the position of mom of her mother as matriarch. Yeah, 755 00:45:19,520 --> 00:45:22,840 Speaker 1: kind of like she like, um, uh oh, what is 756 00:45:22,880 --> 00:45:28,160 Speaker 1: that called where where you like become king or queen 757 00:45:28,640 --> 00:45:32,839 Speaker 1: because your father mother was king or queen. I can't 758 00:45:32,840 --> 00:45:37,760 Speaker 1: remember what it's called. But yeah, basically, uh, that that 759 00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:41,440 Speaker 1: that can that exists in the elephant society, if that 760 00:45:41,440 --> 00:45:45,120 Speaker 1: that elephant happens to be like suited for the job 761 00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:47,840 Speaker 1: and if there's an issue, if there's a dispute, whereas 762 00:45:47,920 --> 00:45:50,600 Speaker 1: some elephants are like actually I don't think she's ready yet. 763 00:45:50,600 --> 00:45:54,040 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna follow her. I'm gonna follow Janice, and 764 00:45:54,120 --> 00:45:57,439 Speaker 1: Janice will be like far out that's it. Like the 765 00:45:57,520 --> 00:46:00,640 Speaker 1: Janis and the other elephants that want to her. They 766 00:46:00,680 --> 00:46:03,520 Speaker 1: go off on their own family. There's no battle, there's 767 00:46:03,560 --> 00:46:06,440 Speaker 1: no there's no fight to the death over dominance. It's 768 00:46:06,480 --> 00:46:08,759 Speaker 1: just like, all right, we'll see later. And then they 769 00:46:08,800 --> 00:46:11,440 Speaker 1: may see each other later at that clearing or at 770 00:46:11,480 --> 00:46:14,799 Speaker 1: that watering hole and be just happy as pie to 771 00:46:14,840 --> 00:46:18,320 Speaker 1: see one another. And they may also even travel together, 772 00:46:18,400 --> 00:46:21,760 Speaker 1: but just at a much greater distance, but within communicating 773 00:46:21,800 --> 00:46:24,680 Speaker 1: distance to like warn one another and kind of basically 774 00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:27,359 Speaker 1: keep up the same pace. But they just keep their 775 00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:31,839 Speaker 1: distance more. Yeah. They they'll growl at one another. They'll trumpet, um, 776 00:46:31,960 --> 00:46:35,240 Speaker 1: they'll grunt, they will uh, they will stomp their feet, 777 00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:39,640 Speaker 1: they will flick their ears, that will use their trunks. Um. 778 00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:43,400 Speaker 1: They will angle their heads and tusks and switch their tails. 779 00:46:43,400 --> 00:46:46,760 Speaker 1: These are all communications. Uh. And while they were stomping, 780 00:46:46,760 --> 00:46:48,319 Speaker 1: and then while they do have those big sturdy feet, 781 00:46:48,320 --> 00:46:50,840 Speaker 1: they're also really sensitive. So if an elephant is just 782 00:46:50,880 --> 00:46:54,600 Speaker 1: standing still, it can feel the vibrations in the ground 783 00:46:54,719 --> 00:46:57,759 Speaker 1: of something far away or someone calling them from far 784 00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:00,440 Speaker 1: away through through the ground through their feet, like the 785 00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:05,560 Speaker 1: rumbling through the ground of an elephant growling like miles away. 786 00:47:06,239 --> 00:47:08,760 Speaker 1: And they also that trunk we I forgot to mention. 787 00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:12,920 Speaker 1: It's they have a really sensitive sense of smell. Supposedly 788 00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:16,359 Speaker 1: they can smell water up to twelve miles away, and 789 00:47:16,400 --> 00:47:20,560 Speaker 1: that they've been water right. They've been shown to smell 790 00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:25,400 Speaker 1: storms up to like a hundred and fifty miles away. Yeah, amazing, 791 00:47:25,560 --> 00:47:28,160 Speaker 1: pretty amazing. I don't know if we've gotten this across 792 00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:30,920 Speaker 1: or not, but elephants are pretty amazing. We do that 793 00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:33,680 Speaker 1: with all our animal podcasts. I know, I love it. 794 00:47:33,880 --> 00:47:35,839 Speaker 1: They should do one about like, I don't know, what's 795 00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:40,240 Speaker 1: a boring animal that's not so impressive. Let's see, let's 796 00:47:40,280 --> 00:47:43,200 Speaker 1: see they're all great. Yeah, I really can't think of 797 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:48,160 Speaker 1: a boring animal. Like, there's something fascinating about every animal. 798 00:47:48,800 --> 00:47:50,440 Speaker 1: I was gonna say frogs, and I was like, oh, no, 799 00:47:50,520 --> 00:47:54,000 Speaker 1: frogs turned out to be pretty fascinating. Frogs are the best. No, 800 00:47:54,160 --> 00:47:58,319 Speaker 1: elephants are the best. Uh. There's this one researcher that 801 00:47:58,560 --> 00:48:02,719 Speaker 1: um firmly believes that elephants have a sense of humor. Uh. 802 00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:05,560 Speaker 1: And she said she was recalling how they play and 803 00:48:05,600 --> 00:48:09,200 Speaker 1: they would charge her car and she thought they were 804 00:48:09,239 --> 00:48:14,080 Speaker 1: tripping and falling and tusk the ground, and they kept 805 00:48:14,160 --> 00:48:17,080 Speaker 1: doing it and she was like, no, I know what 806 00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:21,520 Speaker 1: they're doing. Now. They're they're pratt falling. They are pretending 807 00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:25,080 Speaker 1: to fall in front of the car and having a 808 00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:27,560 Speaker 1: good time doing it. Yeah, Like they pretended they were 809 00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:31,120 Speaker 1: charging her car in the sanctuary, and like within they 810 00:48:31,239 --> 00:48:33,880 Speaker 1: tripped right before it, and it happened enough times that 811 00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:38,800 Speaker 1: she realized that they were they were joking. Yeah, it's amazing. 812 00:48:41,040 --> 00:48:44,000 Speaker 1: What else, Well, this is you know, the saddest thing, 813 00:48:44,040 --> 00:48:47,279 Speaker 1: because everyone knows that elephants mourn. We've all seen the 814 00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:50,880 Speaker 1: videos and it is true. I think in our Grief episode, 815 00:48:51,080 --> 00:48:53,640 Speaker 1: I told the story of Domini, the elephant who basically 816 00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:58,400 Speaker 1: died of a broken heart from grief. Don't retell that story, 817 00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:04,200 Speaker 1: but um, they very famously grieve. Um, there will be 818 00:49:04,760 --> 00:49:09,200 Speaker 1: extended morning periods for groups of elephants. There are grieving 819 00:49:09,320 --> 00:49:14,799 Speaker 1: rituals over corpses. Uh. And they also suffer PTSD if 820 00:49:14,840 --> 00:49:18,080 Speaker 1: they witness violence. So if they see a poacher kill 821 00:49:18,160 --> 00:49:22,799 Speaker 1: and d tuscan elephant, they will have literal PTSD and 822 00:49:22,920 --> 00:49:25,920 Speaker 1: stress sentence. So one thing I saw it was like 823 00:49:26,000 --> 00:49:32,799 Speaker 1: that PTSD is it's tough to compare it to human PTSD, 824 00:49:33,320 --> 00:49:38,120 Speaker 1: but that there are like real pronounced effects on them 825 00:49:38,280 --> 00:49:42,080 Speaker 1: um usually related to stress, but also apparently related to 826 00:49:42,640 --> 00:49:46,560 Speaker 1: not having been brought up in their society, so that 827 00:49:46,600 --> 00:49:49,600 Speaker 1: when they when they like wouldn't say like an orphan 828 00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:53,160 Speaker 1: that survives the culling and is raised like outside of 829 00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:58,680 Speaker 1: elephant society. It's just not quite right when you compare 830 00:49:58,680 --> 00:50:01,440 Speaker 1: it to an elephant that was raised by elephants, you 831 00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:05,719 Speaker 1: know throughout its to maturity and that they frequently call 832 00:50:05,800 --> 00:50:08,480 Speaker 1: it things like PTSD or things like that. But it's 833 00:50:08,480 --> 00:50:12,279 Speaker 1: like it's almost its own thing. But again, if you 834 00:50:12,360 --> 00:50:15,600 Speaker 1: did that to a deer or a bird or something, 835 00:50:16,160 --> 00:50:19,879 Speaker 1: it's not going to have that same effect. It's it's 836 00:50:19,920 --> 00:50:22,320 Speaker 1: not I hate to say it, but it doesn't appear 837 00:50:22,360 --> 00:50:27,279 Speaker 1: to be smart enough to suffer psychological damage. Maybe that's 838 00:50:27,280 --> 00:50:31,479 Speaker 1: good from a traumatic experience. Yeah, I mean, don't feel 839 00:50:31,480 --> 00:50:35,400 Speaker 1: sorry for the deer. He's probably quite glad. You should 840 00:50:35,400 --> 00:50:37,680 Speaker 1: still feel sorry for the deer for what we do 841 00:50:37,760 --> 00:50:40,680 Speaker 1: to deer. No, well, yeah, that's a whole another that's 842 00:50:40,680 --> 00:50:43,600 Speaker 1: all other story about these little things that go on 843 00:50:43,640 --> 00:50:46,760 Speaker 1: the front of my car that's supposedly keep deer away, 844 00:50:46,760 --> 00:50:48,480 Speaker 1: but I don't know if they work. I've seen him 845 00:50:48,480 --> 00:50:51,239 Speaker 1: the giant hands that clap and saying, oh the way, dear, 846 00:50:52,480 --> 00:50:54,080 Speaker 1: I don't even know how this thing works, and it 847 00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:57,040 Speaker 1: very well may not work at all. But the way 848 00:50:57,080 --> 00:50:59,279 Speaker 1: I put it to Emily, I was like, unless he's 849 00:50:59,320 --> 00:51:02,279 Speaker 1: actually a act deer, then it's worth like the five 850 00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:05,280 Speaker 1: dollars that it cost. Let's just just give it a shot. 851 00:51:05,920 --> 00:51:09,960 Speaker 1: Do you remember those those hats um that like it 852 00:51:10,040 --> 00:51:15,160 Speaker 1: had a cord would clap that? Sure? But Dad had 853 00:51:15,200 --> 00:51:17,880 Speaker 1: one of those? Did he really? Oh? Man, did he 854 00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:20,640 Speaker 1: ever have the hat with the two uh the beers 855 00:51:20,640 --> 00:51:23,200 Speaker 1: on both sides. He wasn't quite cool enough for that one, 856 00:51:23,280 --> 00:51:25,920 Speaker 1: but he was cool enough for the clapping hat. Okay, 857 00:51:26,000 --> 00:51:28,680 Speaker 1: I think that's the opposite of cool. Actually, I think 858 00:51:28,760 --> 00:51:32,920 Speaker 1: so too the herbal Elvis. So we we mentioned before 859 00:51:33,200 --> 00:51:37,879 Speaker 1: about um how to interact with elephants, and the only 860 00:51:37,920 --> 00:51:41,560 Speaker 1: way that we found to interact with elephants ethically is 861 00:51:41,600 --> 00:51:44,239 Speaker 1: if you go on an ethical safari and observe them 862 00:51:44,280 --> 00:51:49,239 Speaker 1: from afar m through your binoculars or you know, if 863 00:51:49,239 --> 00:51:50,840 Speaker 1: you're in the car and you can see them. Great. 864 00:51:51,400 --> 00:51:55,600 Speaker 1: But if you see something that's advertised as an elephant sanctuary, 865 00:51:55,880 --> 00:52:00,600 Speaker 1: say something, yeah, I mean sanctuary. There's no law that 866 00:52:01,120 --> 00:52:04,200 Speaker 1: dictates when you can use that word. And when travelers 867 00:52:04,200 --> 00:52:07,160 Speaker 1: hear that word, they think, oh, well, this means this 868 00:52:07,239 --> 00:52:12,520 Speaker 1: is where elephants go to be taken care of because 869 00:52:12,520 --> 00:52:15,439 Speaker 1: it's a sanctuary. I see it's right there on the sign, right. 870 00:52:15,520 --> 00:52:17,960 Speaker 1: It's not necessarily what that means. That elephant that you 871 00:52:18,080 --> 00:52:21,080 Speaker 1: ride or bathe in the pool with may have been 872 00:52:21,920 --> 00:52:24,560 Speaker 1: had its spirit crushed by being kept in that tiny 873 00:52:24,600 --> 00:52:27,239 Speaker 1: pin and starved and beaten for weeks at a time. 874 00:52:28,040 --> 00:52:32,359 Speaker 1: This founder of the UK group called Action for Elephants UK, 875 00:52:33,560 --> 00:52:39,520 Speaker 1: Maria Mossman. She basically says, any any place that advertises 876 00:52:39,800 --> 00:52:44,040 Speaker 1: unnatural behavior just stay away from because they're not like, 877 00:52:44,480 --> 00:52:48,480 Speaker 1: elephants shouldn't be doing tricks for humans, and that includes 878 00:52:48,520 --> 00:52:51,279 Speaker 1: like bathing with the elephants, which does sound awesome, and 879 00:52:51,360 --> 00:52:54,040 Speaker 1: elephants do bathe and they love to swim and frolic. 880 00:52:54,480 --> 00:52:57,680 Speaker 1: But the big problem with that is that in a 881 00:52:57,760 --> 00:53:00,399 Speaker 1: sanctuary where that's how you get the people to come, 882 00:53:01,160 --> 00:53:02,719 Speaker 1: that means you have to keep the elephant in the 883 00:53:02,719 --> 00:53:06,239 Speaker 1: water all day and let people climb all over it 884 00:53:06,320 --> 00:53:10,720 Speaker 1: all day. That's just genuinely unnatural. It's unnatural for human 885 00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:14,319 Speaker 1: to ride an elephant. Like you just there. It's really 886 00:53:14,320 --> 00:53:17,280 Speaker 1: easy to step back. Once you think in the broad 887 00:53:17,440 --> 00:53:21,160 Speaker 1: term of unnatural behavior, all of this, all of the 888 00:53:21,600 --> 00:53:26,160 Speaker 1: starts to to become quite clear. You know, what you 889 00:53:26,160 --> 00:53:28,960 Speaker 1: should and shouldn't do with an elephant or or you know, 890 00:53:29,480 --> 00:53:32,920 Speaker 1: participate in with an elephant and instead just let it 891 00:53:32,960 --> 00:53:35,440 Speaker 1: do its elephant thing and observe it from afar and 892 00:53:35,480 --> 00:53:38,200 Speaker 1: appreciate it from afar. Yeah. I saw a video the 893 00:53:38,200 --> 00:53:40,320 Speaker 1: other day, though, the black lab that was best friends 894 00:53:40,320 --> 00:53:43,160 Speaker 1: with an elephant. I didn't see that one, you know, 895 00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:44,759 Speaker 1: I just I don't. I don't know the background of 896 00:53:44,800 --> 00:53:47,759 Speaker 1: this elephant. But this black lab was climbing all over 897 00:53:47,800 --> 00:53:50,600 Speaker 1: in it and jumping off in the water, and they 898 00:53:50,600 --> 00:53:53,120 Speaker 1: looked like they were having a good time. It's unnatural 899 00:53:53,960 --> 00:53:57,080 Speaker 1: that dog should be punished for doing it. It was unnatural, 900 00:53:57,160 --> 00:54:00,759 Speaker 1: but it wasn't a human. It was a dog. Um 901 00:54:01,040 --> 00:54:04,319 Speaker 1: Labs they're great. They're they're pretty great too. Uh As 902 00:54:04,360 --> 00:54:10,080 Speaker 1: far as there um their threats, obviously, all three species 903 00:54:10,160 --> 00:54:13,239 Speaker 1: are in decline. It's super sad. Their range, which is 904 00:54:14,200 --> 00:54:17,600 Speaker 1: um a great range like you're talking about, has been 905 00:54:18,400 --> 00:54:23,720 Speaker 1: encumbered upon by humans for centuries and thousands of years. 906 00:54:23,760 --> 00:54:27,520 Speaker 1: Even there Uh, they just don't have as much room 907 00:54:27,560 --> 00:54:31,560 Speaker 1: thanks to people and deforestation and fences and roads and 908 00:54:31,600 --> 00:54:35,520 Speaker 1: oil pipelines and things. And then there's the poaching problem 909 00:54:35,680 --> 00:54:38,840 Speaker 1: of killing elephants for their tusks and now their skin. 910 00:54:39,520 --> 00:54:43,160 Speaker 1: That's a new thing. It's just terrific to think about. Yeah, 911 00:54:43,480 --> 00:54:46,759 Speaker 1: brand new. As of like two thousand thirteen, some I 912 00:54:46,840 --> 00:54:50,160 Speaker 1: believe a Chinese entrepreneur said, Hey, you know it would 913 00:54:50,200 --> 00:54:53,400 Speaker 1: be cool as if I started a trend for beads 914 00:54:53,719 --> 00:54:56,680 Speaker 1: jewelry made out of elephants skin. Let me do that. 915 00:54:56,880 --> 00:54:59,759 Speaker 1: And now all of a sudden, the number of elephants 916 00:54:59,800 --> 00:55:04,239 Speaker 1: that killed for their skin jumped in Burma, just over 917 00:55:04,280 --> 00:55:07,640 Speaker 1: the border from China from ten a year in two 918 00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:11,040 Speaker 1: thousand twelve to sixty one in two thousand and sixteen. 919 00:55:12,000 --> 00:55:14,080 Speaker 1: And they had already their skin had already been used 920 00:55:14,080 --> 00:55:18,680 Speaker 1: in traditional Chinese medicine to cure guestritis and ulcers and 921 00:55:18,719 --> 00:55:22,759 Speaker 1: regrows skin allegedly, um which accounts for that ten in 922 00:55:22,800 --> 00:55:25,840 Speaker 1: two thousand twelve. But apparently the jewelry really caused this 923 00:55:26,000 --> 00:55:29,880 Speaker 1: jump over the last few years. Yeah, China looks like 924 00:55:29,920 --> 00:55:32,960 Speaker 1: they have granted licenses to import at least thirty five 925 00:55:32,960 --> 00:55:36,879 Speaker 1: elephants for skinning over the last couple of years. So 926 00:55:36,920 --> 00:55:40,040 Speaker 1: that's just awful. It really is a great way to 927 00:55:40,120 --> 00:55:42,600 Speaker 1: end the show. Yeah, and there's I mean, they're not 928 00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:46,239 Speaker 1: endangered from what I understand. I think they're listed as 929 00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:51,000 Speaker 1: vulnerable by the World Wildlife Foundation, but they their numbers 930 00:55:51,000 --> 00:55:55,200 Speaker 1: have gone down dramatically. In nineteen thirty there were ten 931 00:55:55,280 --> 00:55:59,200 Speaker 1: million wild elephants in Africa. There's four hundred and fifteen 932 00:55:59,200 --> 00:56:03,520 Speaker 1: thousand today then and just in a decade, I believe 933 00:56:04,200 --> 00:56:08,040 Speaker 1: in the two thousands, they dropped by a hundred and 934 00:56:08,080 --> 00:56:12,480 Speaker 1: eleven thousand in just one decade. UM. And in some places, 935 00:56:12,520 --> 00:56:16,560 Speaker 1: I mean most of it's poaching. Um, some countries still 936 00:56:16,600 --> 00:56:22,640 Speaker 1: have like it's legal to trade in ivory um South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, 937 00:56:22,719 --> 00:56:28,000 Speaker 1: Namibia and Aswatiny which you may know and love, formerly Swaziland. 938 00:56:28,400 --> 00:56:31,600 Speaker 1: It's legal to trade in elephant ivory in the US, 939 00:56:31,719 --> 00:56:35,080 Speaker 1: the UK, Japan, and Thailand. It's legal to trade an 940 00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:39,399 Speaker 1: antique elephant ivory um that was you know, brought into 941 00:56:39,480 --> 00:56:44,400 Speaker 1: market before they start they enacted laws against it. But um, 942 00:56:44,600 --> 00:56:47,320 Speaker 1: that's that's pretty much the biggest threat. And then also, 943 00:56:47,400 --> 00:56:50,600 Speaker 1: like you said, their habitat encroachment, Like if you build 944 00:56:50,600 --> 00:56:55,400 Speaker 1: a pipeline, the elephants just don't step over pipelines. They're like, 945 00:56:55,440 --> 00:56:58,320 Speaker 1: oh okay, well our our range just got cut in half. 946 00:56:58,480 --> 00:57:01,320 Speaker 1: And again their range is in enormous like an African 947 00:57:01,360 --> 00:57:05,799 Speaker 1: bush elephant, their home range is like to almost three 948 00:57:05,920 --> 00:57:10,960 Speaker 1: million acres. They'll walk hundreds of acres in a single day. So, 949 00:57:11,040 --> 00:57:13,080 Speaker 1: I mean, even keeping one in the zoo, even if 950 00:57:13,080 --> 00:57:15,200 Speaker 1: you're keeping it alive, even if you keep it alive 951 00:57:15,239 --> 00:57:18,680 Speaker 1: for a while, like you're really robbing it of its experience. 952 00:57:19,160 --> 00:57:21,960 Speaker 1: Even in a large sanctuary, you're still robbing it of 953 00:57:22,000 --> 00:57:25,000 Speaker 1: a lot of its experience too. It's basically like we 954 00:57:25,000 --> 00:57:28,440 Speaker 1: we we need to preserve and sustain their home ranges 955 00:57:28,600 --> 00:57:32,320 Speaker 1: is really the best way to to to keep them around. 956 00:57:32,840 --> 00:57:34,720 Speaker 1: It's like the whale shark. It's like you're used to 957 00:57:34,760 --> 00:57:38,960 Speaker 1: the ocean. How about this large pool exactly? We got 958 00:57:39,000 --> 00:57:41,400 Speaker 1: a real problem with that. That's another episode we did 959 00:57:41,400 --> 00:57:44,040 Speaker 1: our zoos Good or Bad for animals? Yeah, man, that 960 00:57:44,160 --> 00:57:46,080 Speaker 1: was that was a good one. I got one last 961 00:57:46,120 --> 00:57:50,480 Speaker 1: thing got so you remember that that thing that went around? 962 00:57:50,520 --> 00:57:53,840 Speaker 1: It was like on Twitter for a while it was elephants, 963 00:57:53,840 --> 00:57:57,600 Speaker 1: sea humans and think we're cute the way that we 964 00:57:57,680 --> 00:58:00,720 Speaker 1: see puppies and think they're cute. Non, remember that, Oh 965 00:58:00,760 --> 00:58:06,360 Speaker 1: it was huge, massive, totally made up. All right, Well 966 00:58:06,360 --> 00:58:10,400 Speaker 1: I'm glad I didn't see it. Yeah, okay, well I 967 00:58:10,400 --> 00:58:15,120 Speaker 1: guess that's it. Thanks for bursting that bubble. I couldn't 968 00:58:15,160 --> 00:58:18,760 Speaker 1: just let that stay in No, of course not. Um. So, yeah, 969 00:58:18,800 --> 00:58:22,200 Speaker 1: there's a good Snopes article about that that's worth checking out. Um, 970 00:58:22,560 --> 00:58:25,680 Speaker 1: but that doesn't mean that they don't actually think we're cute. 971 00:58:25,840 --> 00:58:29,240 Speaker 1: It's just never been proven. How about that. If you 972 00:58:29,280 --> 00:58:32,160 Speaker 1: want to know more about elephants, go learn more about elephants. 973 00:58:32,160 --> 00:58:34,360 Speaker 1: Are definitely worse things you could do with your time. 974 00:58:34,400 --> 00:58:39,400 Speaker 1: And since I said that, it's listener mail time, I'm 975 00:58:39,400 --> 00:58:41,320 Speaker 1: gonna call this a bit of a Maya Kalpa. On 976 00:58:41,360 --> 00:58:46,360 Speaker 1: our Central Park episode when we spoke about Robert Moses, Yeah, um, 977 00:58:46,440 --> 00:58:49,320 Speaker 1: I don't remember like saying this guy was the best 978 00:58:49,320 --> 00:58:52,240 Speaker 1: thing ever or anything, but there was a darker history 979 00:58:52,280 --> 00:58:54,200 Speaker 1: there that I we did not know about, and we'd 980 00:58:54,240 --> 00:58:57,160 Speaker 1: like to correct that. Yes, we heard from a few people. 981 00:58:57,160 --> 00:58:59,880 Speaker 1: He said, uh, and this is from Joe Kennedy. He said, 982 00:58:59,880 --> 00:59:02,520 Speaker 1: if you do some deeper research on Robert Moses will 983 00:59:02,560 --> 00:59:04,800 Speaker 1: discovered the troubling and true effect he had and continues 984 00:59:04,840 --> 00:59:08,200 Speaker 1: to have on the racial and socio economic segregation entrenched 985 00:59:08,240 --> 00:59:10,440 Speaker 1: in our cities. I won't fled your email with a 986 00:59:10,440 --> 00:59:13,080 Speaker 1: book length argument, but many books and papers have been 987 00:59:13,080 --> 00:59:17,840 Speaker 1: written on the topic, many of them mentioning Robert Moses specifically. UM, 988 00:59:17,880 --> 00:59:19,480 Speaker 1: I would ask that you take a deeper dive into 989 00:59:19,480 --> 00:59:22,880 Speaker 1: this particular character, uh, if nothing else, and for your 990 00:59:22,880 --> 00:59:25,480 Speaker 1: own opinions and views of his effect on our country 991 00:59:25,480 --> 00:59:28,480 Speaker 1: and racial tensions that persists throughout I've never written into 992 00:59:28,480 --> 00:59:31,080 Speaker 1: a podcast or a radio show or website of any kind, really, 993 00:59:31,400 --> 00:59:33,080 Speaker 1: but I thought this is important to point out because 994 00:59:33,120 --> 00:59:36,440 Speaker 1: it's all too common the people who have committed heinously 995 00:59:36,600 --> 00:59:39,320 Speaker 1: racist and hateful ax in this history of our country 996 00:59:39,360 --> 00:59:41,920 Speaker 1: are excused on the basis being a product of their times, 997 00:59:42,320 --> 00:59:46,160 Speaker 1: we're having done good elsewhere, or whatever other excuses propped 998 00:59:46,240 --> 00:59:49,520 Speaker 1: up to protect their character. Uh. And listen, guys, I 999 00:59:49,520 --> 00:59:51,520 Speaker 1: have listened to enough of your shows to know that 1000 00:59:51,600 --> 00:59:54,560 Speaker 1: you were smart guys with broad, educated worldviews. It seemed 1001 00:59:54,600 --> 00:59:56,680 Speaker 1: like you were morally good people. So I'm not suggesting 1002 00:59:56,720 --> 01:00:01,280 Speaker 1: anything other than a little more research on this specific character. Uh, 1003 01:00:01,400 --> 01:00:04,000 Speaker 1: just so you know for yourselves. Thanks for the show, 1004 01:00:04,080 --> 01:00:07,160 Speaker 1: guys and your endless hours of entertainment and education. I 1005 01:00:07,200 --> 01:00:09,840 Speaker 1: truly enjoyed them. That is Joe Kennedy, And we heard 1006 01:00:09,840 --> 01:00:12,720 Speaker 1: from other people, but we appreciate you bringing that to 1007 01:00:12,800 --> 01:00:16,120 Speaker 1: light for sure. Yeah, thanks Joe. Appreciate and everybody who 1008 01:00:16,120 --> 01:00:20,240 Speaker 1: wrote in to say, uh, he's actually a villain. Yeah, yeah, 1009 01:00:20,280 --> 01:00:24,120 Speaker 1: we just I And actually i'd heard about him before separately. 1010 01:00:24,160 --> 01:00:26,480 Speaker 1: I didn't connect the two and realize that that was 1011 01:00:26,520 --> 01:00:29,680 Speaker 1: the same guy. Yeah, we dropped the ball, chuck. Yeah. Well, 1012 01:00:29,720 --> 01:00:32,800 Speaker 1: we'll try and do better everybody. Okay. Uh, Well, if 1013 01:00:32,840 --> 01:00:34,320 Speaker 1: you want to get in touch with us to tell 1014 01:00:34,400 --> 01:00:37,000 Speaker 1: us how we can do better, we always love to improve, 1015 01:00:37,080 --> 01:00:39,720 Speaker 1: So do that. Do it nicely, but do it. Uh. 1016 01:00:39,840 --> 01:00:42,120 Speaker 1: You can go to onto our website Stuff you Should 1017 01:00:42,120 --> 01:00:45,040 Speaker 1: Know dot com and check out our social links there, 1018 01:00:45,200 --> 01:00:47,880 Speaker 1: and you can send us an email to stuff Podcast 1019 01:00:48,240 --> 01:00:53,880 Speaker 1: at how Stuff Works dot com. Stuff you Should Know 1020 01:00:54,000 --> 01:00:56,760 Speaker 1: is a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts 1021 01:00:56,840 --> 01:01:00,200 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, 1022 01:01:00,360 --> 01:01:08,440 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H m 1023 01:01:08,680 --> 01:01:08,800 Speaker 1: hm